Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, Ph.D.

tlopezbu@gmu.edu


Assistant Professor

George Mason University

Year of PhD: 2009

Phone: 703-993-9363

Address: 3351 Fairfax Dr. MS 4D3

City: Arlington, Virginia - 22201

Country: United States

About Me:

Tehama Lopez Bunyasi is a political scientist engaged in research, teaching and advocacy around issues of structural racism in the United States. 

Research Interests

Race, Ethnicity and Politics

Public Opinion

Structural Racism

Racial Inequality

Whiteness

Racial Identity

Racial Attitudes

White Consciousness

Activism

Countries of Interest

United States

My Research:

Dr. Lopez Bunyasi's research is grounded in matters of race and racism in the United States with specializations in racial attitudes and ideologies, structural inequality, Whiteness, Latino racial identity, and political behavior.

Publications:

Journal Articles:

(2019) "The Role of Whiteness in the 2016 Presidential Primaries", Perspectives on Politics

Donald Trump initiated his run for president by framing the United States as a nation in descent. Adopting the slogan “Make America Great Again,” he set his campaign against a backdrop of loss and declared a mission for reclamation. Numerous analysts claim that his candidacy and rhetoric galvanized white voters who feel left behind by changing times, but few have been able to provide direct evidence of a racialized sense of disadvantage, and most polls were not prepared to ask such specific questions prior to the Iowa Caucus. Using data from the National Study of Color-Blindness and Race-Consciousness—a unique nationally-sampled dataset fielded two weeks before the beginning of the 2016 primary election season—I demonstrate that Trump was not only the most popular candidate among white voters, but that he was especially supported by whites who think that their racial group fares worse in the job market than do black Americans, who feel that being white has been personally detrimental to their job prospects; who believe that there are generally more disadvantages to being white than there are advantages; and who disagree with the notion that systematic racism mainly benefits whites. My analysis argues that how whites think about whiteness mattered for their likelihood to support Donald Trump.

(2019) "Linked Fate over Time and Across Generations" with Candis Watts Smith and Jasmine Carrera Smith, Politics Groups and Identities

Linked fate and group consciousness have helped scholars explain and predict the political attitudes, participatory behavior, and policy preferences of people of color (see Gay, Hochschild, and White 2016 for a helpful review of this literature). These concepts are rooted in the idea that when people believe that their racial or ethnic group membership influences their life chances, they are likely to consider the group when making political decisions. Though the thread of white supremacy holds the racial order largely intact, the shape and manifestations of the United States’ racialized social system has changed over time. Do the racial hallmarks of each era differently shape a group’s sense of linked fate? Our effort here is to get an understanding of whether and the extent to which Blacks’ and Latinxs’ sense of linked fate has shifted over time and across generations. Specifically, we ask: Given the ups and downs in racial progress over the past thirty years, have levels of Black and Latinx linked fate changed significantly over time, perhaps in response to critical moments? Do Blacks and Latinxs in different generational cohorts systematically differ in the extent to which they believe their individual well-being is tied into the well-being of their group? The answer to both of these questions appear to be “yes.”

(2019) "Do All Black Lives Matter to Black People? Respectability Politics and the Limitations of Linked Fate" with Candis Watts Smith, Journal of Race Ethnicity and Politics

Cathy Cohen’s (1999) theory of secondary marginalization helps to explain why the needs of some members of Black communities are not prioritized on “the” Black political agenda; indeed, some groups are ignored altogether as mainstream Black public opinion shifts to the right (Tate 2010). However, the contemporary movement for Black Lives calls for an intersectional approach to Black politics. Its platform requires participants to take seriously the notion that since Black communities are diverse, so are the needs of its members. To what extent are Blacks likely to believe that those who face secondary marginalization should be prioritized on the Black political agenda? What is the role of linked fate in galvanizing support around these marginalized Blacks? To what extent does respectability politics serve to hinder a broader embrace of Blacks who face different sets of interlocking systems of oppression, such as Black women, formerly incarcerated Blacks, undocumented Black people, and Black members of LBGTQ communities in an era marked by Black social movements? We analyze data from the 2016 Collaborative Multi-Racial Post-Election Survey (CMPS) to assess whether all Black lives matter to Black Americans.

(2018) "Get in Formation: Black Women's Participation in the Women's March on Washington as an Act of Pragmatic Utopianism" with Candis Watts Smith, The Black Scholar

While participation in more recent protests and social movements such as Occupy Wall St. and #BlackLivesMatter are clearly associated with stances against wealth inequality and demands for the recognition of Black humanity, respectively, the warp speed of the development of the Women’s March made its points of focus more amorphous. Why did Black women attend the Women’s March on Washington, after all? What were their goals? What role do Black women play in enhancing democracy? Asking Black women participants of the Women’s March on Washington why they decided to descend upon the nation’s capital one day after Donald Trump’s inauguration offers scholars of politics, race, and gender particular insight into the concerns, aspirations, and communal orientations of those Americans most likely to be treated as electoral monoliths, and uncritical partisan loyalists. By analyzing the survey responses of 89 Black women who participated in the Women’s March on Washington, we find that the motivations of Black women at the Women’s March coalesce around the advancement of an intersectional pragmatic utopianism, a synthesis of (1) a recognition that racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and xenophobia diminish the quality of life and democracy in the United States, and (2) an aspiration to “rework the terms of what is thinkable and sayable”3—such as demanding that the US adopt human rights as it ostensibly does civil rights, practice inclusion, and achieve egalitarianism.

(2018) "Structural Racism and the Will to Act", Radical Teacher

Each spring semester, I teach a graduate-level course entitled Race and Conflict. In 2017, it was scheduled to begin four days after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and three days after the Women’s March. As I revised the syllabus over the winter holiday break, having taught this course twice before, the post election zeitgeist weighed heavily upon me. The national mood was one of unpredictability, and for millions of Americans, the outcome of the election was still generally unfathomable. It would be imperative, I thought, to keep two pedagogical principles in mind as I re-designed the curriculum: relevancy and flexibility. The content would counterbalance the growing narrative of unprecedented times by illuminating just how ingrained are the racial disparities of our nation. I would have my students examine the gravity of the situation—the structural racism that is and has always been greater than any one person—and consider models of collective resistance, our only real chance at “a more perfect union.”

(2015) "'Breaking Bad’ in Black and White: What Ideological Deviance Can Tell Us about the Construction of ‘Authentic’ Racial Identities" with Leah Wright Rigueur, Polity

This article contributes to the study of racial-group politics by examining how Black and White Americans create authentic racial identities through the regulation of ideological adherence to color-consciousness and color-blindness, respectively. The article first theorizes about the relationship between racial ideology and racial authenticity. We then illustrate our hypotheses through an analysis of responses of Black and White racial group members to Black conservatives and White racial justice activists, whose viewpoints and agendas are read as contradictory to the broad goals of the majority of their racial counterparts. We explore, through an examination of empirical instances of chastisement, exclusion, and public de-authentication of individuals who deviate from the dominant ideology of their racial group, some of the ways Black and White Americans attempt to control in-group political behavior and to enforce indigenous standards for group-based public representation.

(2015) "Color-cognizance and Color-blindness in White America: Perceptions of Whiteness and Their Potential to Predict Racial Policy Attitudes at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century", Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

This study estimates how many white Americans believe that white identity is connected to the treatment they receive and the life chances of their racial group, and it explores the extent to which color-cognizance and color-blindness are related to the racial policy preferences of whites. The analysis uses data from five nationwide public opinion polls fielded between 2000 and 2009. Contingency tables are used to determine the prevalence of perceptions of racial privilege, racial disadvantage, and racial irrelevance, and logistic regression models are used to predict the determinant value of these perceptions on policy support. This study finds that a minority of white Americans report benefits from being white. However, whites who perceive racial privileges are consistently more supportive of policies aimed at minimizing such advantages and are more intent on securing racially equitable treatment than are those whites who believe that white identity is a liability. The analysis also finds that privilege-reporting whites are more likely to support a diversity-driven form of affirmative action than are their racial counterparts who express color-blind beliefs. Finally, this study provides evidence that whites who espouse color-blind views are more likely to support racially progressive policies when compared with whites who report racial disadvantages. The discussion advises researchers to remain attentive to the dominant population’s articulated views of whiteness and the fissures that animate their internal political differences.

Books Written:

(2019) Stay Woke: A People's Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter (with Candis Watts Smith), New York University Press

The essential guide to understanding how racism works and how racial inequality shapes black lives, ultimately offering a road-map for resistance for racial justice advocates and antiracists. When #BlackLivesMatter went viral in 2013, it shed a light on the urgent, daily struggles of black Americans to combat racial injustice. The message resonated with millions across the country. Yet many of our political, social, and economic institutions are still embedded with racist policies and practices that devalue black lives. Stay Woke directly addresses these stark injustices and builds on the lessons of racial inequality and intersectionality the Black Lives Matter movement has challenged its fellow citizens to learn. In this essential primer, Tehama Lopez Bunyasi and Candis Watts Smith inspire readers to address the pressing issues of racial inequality, and provide a basic toolkit that will equip readers to become knowledgeable participants in public debate, activism, and politics. This book offers a clear vision of a racially just society, and shows just how far we still need to go to achieve this reality. From activists to students to the average citizen, Stay Woke empowers all readers to work toward a better future for black Americans. Praise "Lays bare the common sense assumptions that both sustain and obscure racism..Makes it impossible for anyone to sleep on 'Black Lives Matter' and the ongoing struggle to end racism as we know it." ~Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination "An examination of the Black Lives Matter movement that bridges gaps between academic discourse and popular culture in powerful, provocative ways ... A valuable guidebook that deconstructs myths and provides actionable steps people can take to avoid complacency and complicity; essential reading on social justice." ~STARRED Library Journal "This is the essential guide on race, racism, the BLM movement, fighting for racial justice, fighting against racial injustice, and more. I am looking at you, fellow white people! Buy this book and read it. Own it, love it, memorize it, and live it." ~Ms. Magazine

Media Appearances:

TV Appearances:

(2019) C-SPAN

Authors and editors discussed the importance of university presses and the role they play in American society.

(2018) C-SPAN

A panel of academics talked about the impact of public policy on race relations in the U.S. More specifically the discussion focused on the question of whether the solidarity of African Americans can be transferred to the U.S. as a whole to bridge the racial gap.

(2012) PBS

Interviewed for PBS Election Special, Race 2012: A Conversation about Race and Politics in America.

Radio Appearances:

(2019) Top of Mind with Julie Rose podcast, BYU radio

"The Reality of Racism in America" episode.

(2019) Rising Up With Sonali podcast

"It's been more than 5 years since the rallying anti-racist cry of 'Black Lives Matter' went viral. Focused initially on violent episodes of police brutality and vigilante attacks of black people, the movement broadened as a critique of systematic and institutional racism in America. Today we turn to the co-author of a new book intended as a guide for anti-racists, Stay Woke: A People's Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter. Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, Assistant Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and author along with Candis Watts Smith of the new book Stay Woke: A People's Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter."

(2019) Getting to Yes, And podcast, The Second City Works

"Kelly connects with scholars Tehama Lopez Bunyasi and Candis Watts Smith about their new book 'Stay Woke', which looks at the pressing issue of racial inequality in America - from housing to schools to healthcare."

(2019) New Books Network podcast

"The New Books Network is a consortium of author-interview podcast channels dedicated to raising the level of public discourse by introducing scholars and other serious writers to a wide public via new media. Covering 80+ subjects, disciplines, and genres, we publish over 100 episodes every month and serve a large, worldwide audience."

(2019) The Freedom Plow--a Podcast by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists

"Five years ago, 12-year old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio. Rice, who was playing with a toy pellet gun, was shot by the officer within two seconds after he got out of his police car. The incident was the latest in a series of police killings and excessive use of force incidences in the city. A Department of Justice investigation completed a few weeks after Rice's killing found persistent and systemic patterns of misconduct by the Cleveland Police Department. This episode looks back at how local organizers and activists in Cleveland engaged in a daily resistance struggle to make changes in policing culture in the aftermath of Rice’s death. It also looks at the broader terrain of the Black Lives Matter movement and related discourses that position racial justice at the forefront of U.S. politics and policymaking. We have two guests. Joseph "Joe" Worthy is the Ohio Director of Youth Leadership and Organizing at the Children’s Defense Fund. In 2014, he was a member of the New Abolitionist Association and a frontline activist working mainly with young people in response to the police killing of Tamir Rice. Dr. Tehama Lopez Bunyasi is Assistant Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. She is the co-author (with Dr. Candis Watts Smith) of the new book, Stay Woke: A People's Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter."

(2017) Voice of America

Interviewed by Voice of America International Edition correspondent Lori Lundin to discuss Donald Trump’s response to the racial violence in Charlottesville, VA and the rise of hate groups in the United States.

(2017) Scene on Radio podcast, "Seeing White" series: Episode 40--Citizen Thind

"The story of Bhagat Singh Thind, and also of Takao Ozawa – Asian immigrants who, in the 1920s, sought to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that they were white in order to gain American citizenship. Thind’s 'bargain with white supremacy,' and the deeply revealing results."

Newspaper Quotes:

(2012) The New York Times

Contributor to online forum, Room for Debate: "When Too Many People are in Prison."