As racial stereotypes are beliefs about contingent matters of fact, it is puzzling how they could be proper objects of moral condemnation, resentment, and blame. Beliefs are not actions. They cannot be formed at will. And their assessment is usually taken to be a matter of their truth or falsity, not their moral permissibility or wrongfulness. This lecture attempts to specify where the moral problems with racial stereotypes lie. It does so, in part, by arguing that there is an underappreciated political ethics that should guide belief formation and intergroup relations in societies that have been deeply shaped by racial injustice.

The Spring 2024 Norton Lecture will be delivered by Tommie Shelby, Caldwell Titcomb Professor of Philosophy and of African and African American Studies from Harvard University. This event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the lobby.​ This lecture is sponsored by the David Norton Memorial Fund honoring the late UD Philosophy Professor.​

This Lecture will be held in Gore Hall, Room 104 on Friday, March 1st, at 3:30​ p.m. to 5:30 p.m.​