Identity Capitalists: The Powerful Insiders Who Exploit Diversity to Maintain Inequality

In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shocked the world when they stepped down as senior members of the British royal family. In a globally televised interview with Oprah Winfrey and in their subsequent docuseries, Harry and Meghan, the couple expressed disbelief that Britain’s royal institution, “The Firm,” did not defend them from a barrage of dehumanizing, prying, and racist media coverage. In theory, Meghan’s salient identity marker as the first person of color to marry into the royal family was a valuable asset for the modernizing institution to protect. The former royals drew worldwide attention to what law professor Nancy Leong refers to as “identity capitalism,” the practice of gaining value from someone else’s identity group. So the introduction of a biracial woman into a historically white institution provides the institution the social status of appearing increasingly inclusive and welcoming. The harsh reality that the former royals faced, and the purpose of Identity Capitalists: The Powerful Insiders Who Exploit Diversity to Maintain Inequality, reveals that the symbol of diversity belies the depth of real work required for racial reckoning.

Leong emphasizes that identity capitalism is a phenomenon that implicates everyone—“As with capitalism itself, opting out is almost impossible” (189). We all play roles as identity capitalists, or in-group members who control power resources and who profit from out-group identities. We also act as identity entrepreneurs, or out-group members, often a numerical minority, who leverage our identities to gain advantages with the in-group. Leong’s framework provides an opportunity for diversity and equality advocates to interrogate how identity is intentionally exploited. She provides a plethora of personal, pop cultural, and historical references to explicate these concepts.

In the first chapter, Leong introduces readers to the consequences of “fake diversity.” She describes the pressure on universities to present themselves as racially harmonious institutions to appeal to potential students and alumni donors who care about diversity. This intention results in some schools taking shortcuts to emphasize a display of diversity and use out-group members as props (16). She highlights multiple instances where students of color noticed themselves photoshopped in forged scenarios—such as onto an admission brochure as a happy brown face within a sea of white students at a football game they never attended, or multiplied in a group photo to appear as if there were more students of color enrolled in a summer program. In one egregious example, a young woman was surprised to see her photo on a website for a college that she merely visited and did not attend. Leong also provides accounts of untenured professors (with limited social power) who were pressured by their departments to pose for photos that benefited the school but did not reflect their own departments’ racial representation. She examines how higher education institutions strategically derive value as desirable and diverse campuses from falsely presenting students and faculty of color. This phenomenon often leaves people feeling used, and in some cases, she points out, the universities have to contend with litigation from complainants who raise concerns about the school using their likeness in dishonest ways.

Next, Leong identifies identity capitalism across a wide range of industries and time periods to uncover chronicled patterns of identity capitalism upheld by people in power to promote their agendas. She recounts how in the nineteenth century white, wealthy, and elite women provided justification for their male counterparts to oppose women’s right to vote out of personal concern that voting would undermine their status. By promoting the opinions of a small but powerful group of women, the men gained social advantages and kept their voting power by simply presenting themselves as supporting the real views of select women around them (49). Leong shows that there is nothing new under the sun when she deftly connects this type of behavior to the tactics of Supreme Court associate justice Brett Kavanaugh as he relied on a subset of women during his confirmation hearings to drown out voices from a female majority and further his own self-interest (48). Her data provides insight into the pervasive and historical impulse of the in-group to hold on to power.

Drawing on her legal background, Leong posits that identity capitalism is rife within the legal system. She details the example of conservative activist Edward Blum, who embarked on a multiyear strategy to erase affirmative action policies (137). In a high-profile case, Blum specifically sought out Asian plaintiffs to bring lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, alleging intentional discrimination against Asian American applicants (138). She details how Blum acts as an identity capitalist when he uses select Asian voices as mouthpieces to advance his anti-affirmative action agenda. She points out that Blum’s claim that race-conscious admissions discriminated against Asian Americans ultimately served to further marginalize students who were historically excluded from higher education settings. Leong advocates that coverage of identity-based cases must include transparent descriptions of an organization’s history and strategy so that the public has a full set of facts on the driving force behind movements that do not accurately reflect the views of an out-group (140).

Leong encourages organizations and individuals to lead with honesty, apology, education, and authenticity as strategies for combating identity capitalism. These principles are offered as an antidote for the superficiality of identity capitalism. For instance, she suggests that public schools are a prime site to build racial empathy among racially diverse groups, but as a society we fail to fully interrogate that the decisions of some white parents to pull their children from public schools often reflect their true feelings about the lengths they will go to give their children advantages over other people’s children. When we see these dynamics unfold, she wonders, who speaks against them? As we are all involved in identity capitalism, we are also charged with the responsibility to be braver to pave the way toward progress. The only appropriate response to identity capitalism is to engage in difficult work to make substantive racial progress a reality.

Leong’s suggestions for combating identity capitalism are largely in response to incidents. For instance, she maintains that a full-throated apology is warranted after an offense has been committed. But I want more suggestions for proactive action. The education principle provides opportunity for ongoing (un)learning, and Leong specifically calls on education institutions to ensure that students have access to accurate information on implicit and explicit bias to analyze and disrupt instances of identity capitalism (170). Whereas the book starts with clear examples of wrongs committed by higher education institutions, the section on fighting identity capitalism could have been strengthened with examples from schools actively working to bridge the gap between superficial and substantive change. For institutions of education to live up to Leong’s vision of getting better at recognizing and rejecting identity capitalism (190), they need to learn both from mistakes and from positive deviance examples that provide a blueprint for how to navigate the fake diversity promised by identity capitalism.

Given its sociocultural emphasis, the themes in Identity Capitalists resonate with a wide-reaching audience. Educators will be particularly interested in this topic because it implicates those with a mission-driven orientation in shaping a socially conscious citizenry and creating a more just future. History aficionados will appreciate the extensive social commentary on how identity capitalism examples from the present provide a throughline to past behavior, particularly in societal shaping areas of politics and law. Activists frustrated with progress will appreciate her clear examples that demonstrate how identity capitalism serves to avoid difficult conversations about race and identity.

In the last part of the book, Leong interrogates how, as an Asian woman, she has benefited from being an identity capitalist and how she has participated as an identity entrepreneur. Her examples are painful and embarrassing—which is the whole point. She wants us all to step into discomfort and reflect on how we can improve as individuals and identify identity capitalism within our own lives. She makes a clear and compelling case for why we should be attuned to identity capitalism: because there will always be people on the inside who will look to exploit and benefit from people on the outside. Our testimonies may not come in the format of book chapters or a flashy documentary, but we have agency to decide how we take the lessons from this book to create systems that are fair and just for everyone.

• Copyright © by the President and Fellows of Harvard College