About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

2 Duke F. L. & Soc. Change 125 (2010)
To Be Muslim or Muslim-Looking in America: A Comparative Exploration of Racial and Religious Prejudice in the 21st Century

handle is hein.journals/dukef2 and id is 125 raw text is: TO BE MUSLIM OR MUSLIM-LOOKING IN AMERICA: A COMPARATIVE EXPLORATION OF RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE IN THE 21ST CENTURY SHERYLL CASHINt I. IN TRO D U CTIO N .......................................................................................................... 125 II. POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR DIFFERENTIAL BIAS AGAINST MUSLIMS ................. 129 A. Islamophobia and Mainstream Journalism that Propagates Stereotyp es ............................................................................................... 131 B. The Impact of Anti-Muslim Media on Bias Against Muslims .............. 132 C. The Comparative Experience of African-Americans ............................. 133 III. W H AT TO D o A BOUT IT .......................................................................................... 137 I. INTRODUCTION This Essay begins with a confession. In taking implicit association tests (IATs) designed to measure my unconscious attitude toward two particular demographic groups, I discovered that I, an African-American, harbored a slight automatic preference for Europeans over blacks and for other people over Arab-Muslims. Both of these results were contrary to my professed or conscious assertions of neutrality. Why would a pro-integration scholar who seeks to promote cross-racial understanding and inclusion exhibit such implicit biases? And why is it that a majority of others who take these tests register similar implicit biases? The point of my confession is to underscore the fact of widespread unconscious bias. Unfortunately, a large body of evidence from experimental psychology demonstrates such bias on the part of whites and minorities against racial minorities, especially African-Americans.1 This is in contrast to a dramatic reduction in explicit or reported bias against blacks. Indeed, there is much evidence to support the conclusion that a t Professor of Law, Georgetown Law, and author of The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class are Undermining the American Dream (PublicAffairs, 2005). This Essay was written in anticipation of a symposium held at Duke University School of Law in February 2010 about the Muslim experience of discrimination. Professor Cashin would like to thank Craig Francis Dukin for his invaluable research assistance. 1. Lawrence D. Bobo & Camille Z. Charles, Race in the American Mind: From the Moynihan Report to the Obama Candidacy, 621 ANNALS AM. ACAD. POL. & Soc. Sci. 243, 253 (2009). See generally Jerry Kang, The Trojan Horses of Race, 118 HARV. L. REv. 1489 (2005).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most