Ideas change everything

3 myths about racism that keep the US from progress

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Candis Watts Smith |

TEDxPSU

• February 2020

Racism morphs, spreading and hiding behind numerous half-truths and full-blown falsities about where it lives and who embodies it. In this actionable talk, political scientist Candis Watts Smith debunks three widely accepted myths about racism in the US and calls for a nuanced, more expansive definition to support this new era of anti-racist action.

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Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Racism morphs, spreading and hiding behind numerous half-truths and full-blown falsities about where it lives and who embodies it. In this actionable talk, political scientist Candis Watts Smith debunks three widely accepted myths about racism in the US and calls for a nuanced, more expansive definition to support this new era of anti-racist action.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxPSU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Elect leaders that share your ambition and vision for a multiracial democracy.

Start early — children are experts at fairness, and it’s our job as adults to help them graduate to become experts of equity.

About the speaker

Candis Watts Smith

Political scientist

See speaker profile

Candis Smith is on a mission to eliminate outdated, inaccurate commonsense ideas about inequality.

Learn more

Racial Stasis: The Millennial Generation and the Stagnation of Racial Attitudes in American Politics

Christopher D. DeSante and Candis Watts Smith | University of Chicago Press (2020)

Christopher D. DeSante and Candis Watts Smith - *Racial Stasis: The Millennial Generation and the Stagnation of Racial Attitudes in American Politics*

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxPSU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Elect leaders that share your ambition and vision for a multiracial democracy.

Start early — children are experts at fairness, and it’s our job as adults to help them graduate to become experts of equity.