False Assumption Registry

Race & Ethnicity

47 entries in this category

• Groups Have Equal Innate Potential
  Races and the sexes have the same innate distribution of potential, making all group disparities the result of environmental forces.
  Mainstream still holds this assumption to be true despite evidence against it 26 sources
• Policing Disparities Prove Discrimination
  Disproportionate police searches of Black and Latino drivers indicate intentional racial discrimination unrelated to crime rates.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 7 sources
• Anti-Police Activism Cuts Homicides
  Reducing police presence through anti-police activism will lower violence and homicide rates in Black communities.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 6 sources
• Affirmative Action Causes No Reverse Discrimination
  Civil rights protections and affirmative action do not discriminate against white people.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 6 sources
• Implicit Bias Test Predicts Discrimination
  The Implicit Association Test measures unconscious racial bias that causes discriminatory behavior.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 4 sources
• Race Equals Self-Identification
  Racial categories on official forms like college applications and censuses are flexible personal self-identities rather than fixed biological ancestries.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 3 sources
• Places Drive Homicide Differences
  Differences in firearm homicide rates between adjacent neighborhoods are primarily caused by environmental features of places rather than differences in people.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 3 sources
• Capitalizing Black But Not White Shows Respect
  Capitalizing 'Black' honors shared history and identity of people of African origin, while lowercase 'white' is appropriate due to lack of comparable shared culture.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• Mississippi Miracle is Selection Bias
  Mississippi's rise in fourth-grade NAEP reading scores stems mainly from retaining weak third-graders rather than real reforms like phonics.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• Pretendians Are Authentic Natives
  Individuals claiming Native American or First Nations ancestry based on family stories qualify as indigenous for academic, publishing, and grant benefits.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 2 sources
• PACE Exam Biased Against Minorities
  The scientifically developed PACE federal civil service hiring exam was fatally biased against blacks and Latinos.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 2 sources
• School Spending Closes Racial Gaps
  Racial gaps in school achievement are primarily caused by lower spending on black students, and increasing spending will narrow those gaps.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 2 sources
• Whites Need Proof of Anti-White Bias
  Majority-group plaintiffs like whites must show 'background circumstances' suggesting discrimination against their group to pursue Title VII claims, unlike minority plaintiffs.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 2 sources
• BLM Boosts Black Mental Health
  Black Lives Matter activism and the George Floyd Racial Reckoning would improve well-being and reduce despair among black Americans.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• Test-Optional Admissions Select Talent
  Eliminating standardized test requirements allows colleges to better identify academically superior applicants through holistic review.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 2 sources
• West Indian Success from Slavery Culture
  Black West Indians outperform Afro-Americans on income, education, and occupational prestige due to cultural differences rooted in the provision ground system of British Caribbean slavery.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Israelis Aren't White
  Israelis belong in a distinct non-white MENA racial category rather than the white category.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Skull Size Reveals No Traits
  The size and shape of the head have no bearing on mental and behavioural traits in either individuals or groups.
  Mainstream still holds this assumption to be true despite evidence against it 1 sources
• Gifted Programs Shut Out Minorities
  Gifted programs shut out high-performing Black and Latino children from low-income families due to systemic flaws that districts can fix.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Affirmative Action Trivially Boosts Blacks
  Racial preferences provide only trivial employment benefits to Black workers.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Distant Racism Explains Black Problems
  Current black socioeconomic troubles stem from white racism in the distant past rather than events of the last half century.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Disarming Criminals is Racist
  Taking guns off criminals at point-of-use is racist because it disproportionately affects black offenders.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Racial Realism Unneeded for Crime Control
  Effective crime reduction does not require public acknowledgment of racial disparities in murder rates.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• NYT Can Omit Black Homicide Rates
  Mainstream media can safely withhold information on racial gaps in homicide rates from readers without impairing public understanding of key events.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Suppress Native American Alcohol Research
  Scientists should cover up Native Americans' binge drinking problems rather than study their biochemical causes.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• White Actors Can't Play Robot Roles
  Replacing an Asian American actor with a white actor in a humanoid robot role constitutes a racial recasting misstep drawing justifiable backlash.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• 80% Blacks Merit in Elite Institutions
  In elite institutions, 80% of blacks got in via merit and 20% through quotas.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Colleges Treat Asians Like Whites
  Asian American students face no additional barriers relative to white students when applying to selective colleges.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• BLM Policies Normalized Homicides
  Homicide rates following the BLM era and Racial Reckoning would return to pre-2014 levels without lasting increases.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• BLM Media Hype Protects Black Lives
  Intense media promotion of Black Lives Matter improves safety and reduces gun violence in black communities.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Hitler Snubbed Owens for Being Black
  Adolf Hitler refused to shake Jesse Owens' hand and left the stadium specifically because Owens was black, humiliating Nazi racial ideology.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Class Quotas Substitute for Race Quotas
  Class-based affirmative action will benefit blacks in elite admissions as much as race-based quotas by capturing the effects of systemic racial injustice through socioeconomic status.
  Mainstream still holds this assumption to be true despite evidence against it 1 sources
• Iowa Football Racially Biased Against Blacks
  University of Iowa football program exhibits serious racial bias causing black athletes to transfer at higher rates than whites.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Slave Ancestors Require Atonement
  Descendants of slave traders and owners must feel deep shame and seek atonement for their ancestors' involvement in slavery.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• White Diva Insults Are Racist Violence
  Insults from white Broadway performers toward black performers constitute racialized microaggressions, bullying, and violence requiring cancellation and anti-bias training.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Quotas Remedy Contracting Discrimination
  Racial and gender quotas in federal transportation contracting effectively remedy the ongoing effects of past discrimination.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Harvard Complies with Affirmative Action Ban
  Harvard reduced black freshman enrollment after the Supreme Court's ban on race-conscious admissions.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Post-Apartheid South Africa Safe for Whites
  White residents and farmers in post-apartheid South Africa would live safely under black majority rule through liberal coexistence.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Racial Reckoning Reduces Police Shootings
  The racial reckoning and intense focus on racial bias in policing after George Floyd's death would reduce fatal police shootings.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• White Flight Driven by Bigotry
  White residents fled urban neighborhoods due to irrational racist stereotypes about black crime and disorder when blacks moved in during the mid-20th century.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Noticing NBA Racial Patterns Dangerous
  Curiosity about racial overrepresentation in NBA performance is unseemly, inappropriate, and leads to discrimination or worse.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Racial Preferences Aid Naval Academy
  Racial preferences in US Naval Academy admissions improve diversity without significantly harming merit or officer quality.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• AP Score Inflation Closes Racial Gaps
  Inflating scoring standards on AP exams will narrow persistent racial performance gaps and prepare underrepresented students for college success.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Skull Study Is Racist and Icky
  Scientific study of human skulls for brain evolution insights is inherently racist, unscientific, and distasteful.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Glory Road Broke Basketball Segregation
  Texas Western's 1966 NCAA championship with an all-black starting lineup was a deliberate civil rights milestone that triumphed over Southern racism in college basketball.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Black Genius Bears Racial Burden
  Black musical geniuses like Sly Stone fail under a unique 'burden of black genius' while white rock stars like Led Zeppelin succeed effortlessly and build generational wealth.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Social Equity Cannabis Licenses Empower Ex-Offenders
  Preferential cannabis retail licenses and funding for people previously prosecuted for marijuana offenses will create successful flagship businesses and recompense historical wrongs from the drug war.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources