Apologies in Racialized Organizations

Abstract

How do organizations reproduce racism while apologizing for it? We address this question using a racialized decoupling perspective, examining how organizational apologia discursively disconnects formal commitments to race neutrality from actual anti-racist actions. Analyzing a data set of apology statements issued in the United States, we show that beneath recurring apologetic narratives that acknowledge offense, deny intent, and signal diversity lie three key dynamics that (1) center racialized emotions, (2) preserve white ignorance, and (3) promote abstract liberalism. Through these dynamics, organizations, respectively, hierarchize reactions, deflect accountability, and project virtue—all in ways that distance themselves from the need for change. These apologies ultimately serve to neutralize the momentum of racial critique, functioning as myth and ceremony that allow organizations to appear good and non-racist while maintaining existing racial structures. We conclude by suggesting ways forward.