Part 2 – The History and Science of Inequality

In conjunction with the release of Steve Phillip’s new book, Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America, Democracy in Color presents a three-part podcast series exploring one crucial question.

White men are 29% of the U.S. population, but dominate positions of power across nearly every sector. 

In Part 2 of this special series, Steve and Sharline turn to historical and scientific research to explore the existing justifications of inequality. They trace a throughline from slavery and Reconstruction to elite universities and modern-day DEI backlash. They also unpack how systems of power were deliberately engineered to defend “natural inequality” and how definitions of “merit” were rewritten to protect them.

Then, UC Berkeley law professor john a. powell explains how unconscious bias influences our everyday decisions and how small, invisible assumptions add up to massive disparities that eventually start to feel normal, and even inevitable.

REFERENCES:

Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America by Steve Phillips – available now!

john a. powell – About

Jennifer Eberhardt – About

Jerome Karabel – The Chosen

Isabel Wilkerson – Caste