“color-blind” society

Race Has Always Mattered

Race matters in the United States, and virtu­ally throughout the world. Throughout U.S. history, race and racial conflict shaped and reshaped the categories into which all identities were classified. Since its beginning, the ra­cial struggles at the heart of U.S. society created the nation’s politics and cul­ture. Winnant argues that although race matters, it is as problematic a concept today as ever. He calls the current period one of “uni­versal racial dualism.”