race-coded policy

welfare

is a policy which is has little to do with race but which implicitly evokes racial imagery and attitudes in order to stimulate opposition or support.

Research by Martin Gilens, however, leads us to consider another possibility race-coded policies. Race-coded policies are race-neutral, yet have become linked with black Americans in the minds of white citizens. Giles argues that welfare is an example of such a policy. Gilens maintains, 'Although poliitcal elites typically use race-neutral language in discussing poverty and welfare, it is now widely believed that welfare is a 'race-coded' topic that evokes racial imagery and attitudes even when racial minorities are not explicitly mentioned. Thus, because welfare is linked to race, Gilens hypothesizes that opposition to welfare policy among whites largely stems from their racial attitudes.'

is an example of a race-coded policy, a policy which is has little to do with race but which implicitly evokes racial imagery and attitudes in order to stimulate opposition or support.

Martin GilensThinkers

Martin Gilens