Racial Contrast Theory

This paper introduces a new interdisciplinary theory on interracial relations called the Racial Contrast Theory. The theory posits that Asian Americans, more than any other racial group in the United States, are uniquely juxtaposed against Black people both historically and social-cognitively. The racial contrast between Asian and Black Americans serves two interrelated functions: to maintain White supremacy (i.e., the ideology that centers White people and Whiteness as the ideal and unspoken default) and to justify anti-Black racism (i.e., the ideology that Black people and Blackness are inferior). This paper reviews the unique juxtaposing role that Asian Americans play in perpetuating these two ideologies, and it describes how racial contrast theory can synthesize and organize seemingly disparate social psychological theories. By moving beyond the traditional Black-White framework to emphasize the contrasting roles of Asian Americans in perpetuating White supremacy and anti-Black racism, racial contrast theory challenges traditional approaches to intergroup dynamics.