A Step and a Push in Understanding People Without an Immigrant Background: An Analysis of Crul et al. (2024)

This commentary offers an analysis of the article “The Integration Into Diversity Paradox: Positive Attitudes Towards Diversity While Self‐Segregating in Practice” by Maurice Crul, Lisa‐Marie Kraus, and Frans Lelie, published in this thematic issue of Social Inclusion (Crul et al., 2024). I argue that the article is a step and a potential push forward in research on people without an immigrant background. The step forward is their findings that people without an immigrant background tend to have more positive attitudes about ethnic diversity, and yet, an important segment of these people have little to no contact with people with an immigrant background. Their findings may be part of burgeoning evidence suggesting that the emergence of “critical white racial identity,” defined by a heightened awareness critique of the privileges of whiteness, is steeped in a liberal political orientation that values diversity and racial equity learned in and reinforced by politically homophilous social networks, educational institutions, and professional organizations, and characterized by high socioeconomic status, insulating individuals against a status threat perceived by poorer whites.