The Meanings of Race Matter

Abstract

Given the historical legacies of racial exclusion and disparities within U.S. higher education and contemporary manifestations of racial tensions on college campuses, this study explores the meanings college students make of race within a sociopolitical context often claimed to be “postracial” (i.e., one where race no longer matters). Based on interviews with a sample ( n = 40) of undergraduates recruited from two U.S. West Coast public research universities, constructivist grounded theory methods allowed for an emergent understanding of how precollege experiences and campus contexts influenced race-related patterns in students’ experiencing of and learning about race. Such experiences contributed to six patterns of racial meaning (ancestry, culture, concept, embodiment, identity, power) that help explain how college students refute postracial claims and see race mattering (or not) on multiple levels.