Uncovering Reactions to the Racial Resentment Scale across the Racial Divide

Race remains at the forefront of the public agenda, and understanding how white and black Americans understand race relations and racial issues has become all the more critical. Amid the lively debate surrounding the meaning of the racial resentment scale, we utilize open-ended reactions from white and black Americans to identify the key themes that emerge from how both whites and blacks understand this canonical measure. Based on these reactions, we suggest that the scale should be recast as Structural versus Individual Attributions for Black Americans’ Economic and Social Status (SIA) and advocate further investigation into similarities and differences in black and white public opinion.