After The White Establishment, What’s Next?

In the week since Election Day we’ve heard a lot about the waning of the white majority. Bill O’Reilly kicked it off even before the race had been called, declaring on Fox News that “the white establishment is now the minority.” Maureen Dowd argued a few days later that the “white male patriarchy” was in a “delusional death spiral.” Conservatives have been fretful about being painted into a demographic corner, and liberals gleeful about their diverse winning coalition.

On the face of it, reports of the white establishment’s demise seem quite premature. Most people of color remain acutely aware of the whiteness of privilege and the privilege of whiteness. Just look at Congress, the Fed, or the Joint Chiefs. Or think of the power brokers in your own town: the partners at the big law firms, the attending physicians at the best hospitals. You’ll see that the white establishment remains very much in the majority.

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