Race realism / Racial realism

The term “race realism” (as well as variants such as “racial realism”) originated in the 1990s as a euphemism for racist or white supremacist beliefs.  People who call themselves “race realists” typically claim there are observable differences between members of various races in areas such as intelligence and propensity for violence and that, rather than being racist, they are merely being “realistic” in acknowledging those purported (but false) racial differences.

The term is often associated with scientific racism (the use of scientific techniques or language, as well as pseudoscience, to cloak racist convictions).  British psychologist Christopher Brand (1943-2017), for example, who became controversial in the 1990s for claiming that blacks were less intelligent than whites, described himself as a “race realist,” as has Jared Taylor, publisher of the white supremacist American Renaissance website and one of the most prominent American promoters of scientific racism. Over the years, usage of the term has spread to many other prominent white supremacists, from David Duke to Nick Fuentes, who use it when not wishing to acknowledge their explicitly racist views.