Code Switch Trump shared a racist "joke." That humor is an American tradition
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Feb 14, 2026 Raul Perez, sociologist and author of The Souls of White Jokes, studies how racist humor has bolstered white supremacy. He traces racist comedy from 1800s blackface to Jackson-era politics. He connects those roots to modern meme culture and shows how jokes can normalize dehumanization in institutions.
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Humor Built White Identity
- Racist humor creates social bonds by producing a shared sense of superiority among whites.
- Raul Perez argues this pleasure helped build and teach whiteness in early U.S. culture.
Blackface Minstrelsy As Mass Entertainment
- Blackface minstrelsy was the most popular U.S. entertainment in the 1800s and taught white audiences to enjoy demeaning Black people.
- Performances traveled nationwide and normalized buffoonery of Black people as public spectacle.
Whiteness Was Politically Constructed
- White identity had to be socially constructed and taught to diverse European-origin groups.
- Raul Perez links this construction to political projects like forming a 'white man's democracy.'
