"Feeling Race": The Field Of Racialized Emotions In Trump America

Emotions such as fear, joy, sadness, and anger may be universal, but racialization has produced race-specific "feelings." Unfortunately, most of our analysis on race has reduced race-induced emotions to just "negative" ones (e.g., hate, anger, etc.) or ignored them altogether by focusing on the material aspects of racial domination. In this talk I will theorize racialized emotions and argue that they are as material, and thus, as consequential, as other structures and practices of racial domination. Cognitions matter, but emotions matter too! Albeit my goal is to provide a general argument about the significance of racialized emotions, I will highlight how they play out in Trump America. I will conclude by making a case for an "emotional politics" to fight Trumpism and help energize social movements to build the "new society."