The Codification of Racism

A little side project exploring the origin and evolution of the term "racism" from inception to modern day.

Dive into the origins and evolution of one of the most charged words in history—racism. This side project explores how the term was born, its transformation through ideological and political struggles, and its journey from a concept critiquing oppression to a weapon in modern-day cultural battles, unpacking how "racism" became a driver for leftist ideologies and societal shifts. It's a bold, unapologetic look at the word that reshaped public discourse, from inception to now.

This project will become a short book when it’s done.

Subscribers to The Red Menace Collective will receive a free digital copy of the book and be able to follow along with draft chapters as the book is written.

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This is the forth chapter in the book, covering the post-civil rights era through the 1990s, when DEI started taking shape.

The Codification of Racism

Between the Civil Rights era and the 1990s, American academia underwent a seismic shift. By the mid-20th century, critical theory had migrated into American academia, particularly through the influence of Jewish figures like Herbert Marcuse, who became a pivotal figure in American intellectual circles after emigrating from Germany during World War II. Marcuse, known for works such as One-Dimensional Man, critiqued the ways capitalism, bureaucracy, and modern technology perpetuated domination. In Counterrevolution and Revolt (1972), Marcuse stated:

"Racism serves as a vital instrument in the perpetuation of domination, by dividing and dehumanizing, thereby justifying and maintaining exploitation."

This perspective highlights how systemic racism operates as a tool to uphold economic and social hierarchies. His ideas resonated with the civil rights and student movements, bridging the gap between critical theory's European roots and its American applications. Marcuse also served as a mentor to Black radical Angela Davis, one of his students at the University of California, San Diego. Under Marcuse's guidance, Davis connected critical theory with activism, applying its principles to her work in Black liberation movements and critiques of the prison-industrial complex. Davis remains a prominent communist activist to this day.

The Frankfurt School’s intellectual migration laid the groundwork for incorporating analyses of systemic racism into academia, eventually influencing the development of frameworks like critical race theory (CRT).

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Continue below the paywall to access the full chapter.