Racial Formation Essay The definition of the word “race” is one that has been pondered, debated, scientifically proven and disproved for centuries. It is a word that everyone knows but no one can define. In the publication, “Racial Formation”, the authors, Michael Omi and Howard Winant attempt to define and explain the term “race”. They analyze its competing theories, historical background, and the lack of a “common sense” (59) definition, and end up stating the grounds for the claim that the issue of race is “messy” (75) and complex. Omi and Winant’s theory of racial formation is based on the concept of racial projects which are the “active invocation of the notion of race to