The white racial equilibrium is a social, historical, and cultural location where whiteness is insulated from critique and the importance of race is largely ignored by white people. The expectation of the white racial equilibrium is one way white people define their whiteness, and this expectation protects white supremacist epistemologies and ideologies. We completed interviews with fourteen white undergraduate students to understand more about the processes employed by students when challenged by the white racial disequilibrium. Using consensual qualitative research (CQR), we coded their responses and found seven representative domains, with two categories endorsed by every participant: “assumption of valid knowledge” and “non-racist beliefs.” While some respondents displayed thoughtfulness about race and whiteness, findings suggest that most participants attempted to restore the white racial equilibrium by centralizing the innocence and beneficence of whiteness and white people through various rhetorical maneuvers, including (1) invoking superficial and incomplete knowledge of complex racial topics, and (2) depersonalizing themselves from racist acts and ideas, among others. This study contributes to the whiteness literature by providing descriptions of how white students attempt to re-establish the white racial equilibrium after facing disruptions to their expectations for conversations about race. Implications for anti-racist psychologists are discussed.

中文翻译：

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调查白人种族平衡和白人的权力维持

白人种族平衡是一个社会、历史和文化位置，白人不受批评，种族的重要性在很大程度上被白人忽视。白人种族平衡的期望是白人定义白人的一种方式，这种期望保护了白人至上主义的认识论和意识形态。我们完成了对 14 名白人本科生的采访，以更多地了解学生在受到白人种族不平衡挑战时所采用的过程。使用共识定性研究 (CQR)，我们对他们的回答进行了编码，并找到了七个具有代表性的领域，其中两个类别得到了每个参与者的认可：“假设有效知识”和“非种族主义信仰”。虽然一些受访者表现出对种族和白人的体贴，调查结果表明，大多数参与者试图通过各种修辞手法集中白人和白人的天真和仁慈来恢复白人种族平衡，包括（1）援引对复杂种族话题的​​肤浅和不完整的知识，以及（2）使自己脱离种族主义行为和想法等。这项研究通过描述白人学生在面对他们对种族对话的期望受到干扰后如何试图重新建立白人种族平衡的描述，为白人文学做出了贡献。讨论了对反种族主义心理学家的影响。包括 (1) 援引对复杂种族主题的肤浅和不完整的知识，以及 (2) 使自己脱离种族主义行为和思想等。这项研究通过描述白人学生在他们对种族对话的期望受到干扰后如何试图重新建立白人种族平衡，从而为白人文学做出贡献。讨论了对反种族主义心理学家的影响。包括 (1) 援引对复杂种族主题的肤浅和不完整的知识，以及 (2) 使自己脱离种族主义行为和思想等。这项研究通过描述白人学生在他们对种族对话的期望受到干扰后如何试图重新建立白人种族平衡，从而为白人文学做出贡献。讨论了对反种族主义心理学家的影响。