For the record, I like white people. Seriously. I mean some of my best friends are white, so arguably I can’t be racist. I even told you that I was dating white men; that’s all the proof necessary.
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the inversion of the above sentiments by white Americans regarding minoritied[1] Americans, I assure you that I would no longer owe the United States government for my education. And just as for some unknown reason in your gut you probably found the aforementioned statements to be inconsequential regarding the persistent reality and practice of racism in the United States, questioning what manner of empty rhetoric have you gotten yourself into, that is precisely the same thought most minoritied in America have upon hearing such statements from whites. It is almost as if whites are mandated to learn such a script before graduating from junior high school. The script, which pacifies the speaker with the idea of being liberal and progressively humanistic, is false. Especially, when one turns around and not only rants, “The young black thugs need to die…put down like the dogs they are” while in the same breath arguing to “not have a prejudiced bone in [his] body,” all the while operating within a system that disproportionately diagnoses Blacks and Latino children with pathologies and places them into alternative schools. Who cares if one personally identifies with racism, when the dominant practices throughout society function within a structure of institutionalized racism? This is the strategic flaw and greatest hindrance to successfully achieving humanistic equity in the US: believing that racism is merely couched in individual/personalized beliefs and activities.
With the recent attacks on Africana/Black Studies by Naomi Shaffer Riley, the systematic dismantling of Ethnic Studies (specifically La Raza Studies) in Arizona, the racist justifications for the death of Trayvon Martin, and the constant misreading of social and political moments of outrage as reverse racist bantering, it is understandable why David Leonard would argue that white folks need Black Studies. They do. We all do. Just as we need Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies, Gender Studies, Indigenous Studies, La Raza Studies, Sexuality Studies, and much more. However, more importantly, white folks need Critical Whiteness Studies.
Many will argue that a traditional American curriculum already is whiteness studies; this kind of thinking precisely allows white supremacist ideology to persist. Inverting Americanness as a synonym for whiteness is an outcome of white privilege. To be clear, then, Critical Whiteness Studies “seek to confront white privilege—that is racism”. CWS marks a shift from whiteness being ubiquitously invisible, to worthy and necessary of serious examination.
Because the lives, cultures, and experiences of the dominant group is often perceived as normal, critically examining what it means to be white (or male, heterosexual, Christian, able-bodied, etc.) goes under the radar for almost everyone, but most significantly in this regard, for white folks. Conversely, when others (ethnic communities, women, transgender people, differently abled, and so forth) articulate a critical examination of the dominant group, the rationale to not pay too close of attention is couched within displaced anger and bitterness. An example lies in the rhetoric that Ethnic Studies teaches our students to be angry at American patriotism. Accusations that Ethnic Studies curriculum merely teaches students to resent white people come from a tradition of not critically engaging the construct of whiteness itself in the United States.
Each academic term, I am bound to have students that have never been asked to think about what it means to be racially white, especially if they are white. Race is predominately understood as applied to all those who are not white, leaving whiteness to just be…who knows, whatever the heck it claims to be, or not be. As this is the case, the response is often a dissonance in consciousness because white students on average articulate, “I’m just American; or I just see myself as Sam/Sarah…you know, just a regular person, not someone who is white.” As many thinkers afore me have stated, this is the very essence of white privilege in the United States—being and benefitting from whiteness without ever having to claim it. Whiteness as a racial culture in the United States, allows itself to shine a spotlight on the identities of others while neutralizing itself as the norm. CWS is the missing piece of critical race studies, which moves that spotlight so that everybody gets to be examined. The space must be available for whites to ask of themselves and grapple with: What conditions and mechanisms have been in place for me to miss being white all this time?
A colleague at another institution recently shared an all too familiar experience with me. A student entered her office distraught because another student had said something idiotically debasing in their mandatory reading group session. The distraught student was trying to explain to the group some problems with how History in the United States is generally told and taught from a white male perspective. Not surprisingly, the student’s peer responded, “Well sure, isn’t that because until recently nobody else ever did anything.”
Now scores of you reading this are flabbergasted by such a comment; but for those of us in these trenches daily, ain’t nothing surprising about this statement—regardless of the racial/ethnic space that either of the students may occupy. Because this is such a common perspective from students across space and place in the US, this is why Critical Whiteness Studies is needed. One response to this kind of thinking is definitely to teach the histories, contributions and perspectives of non-white people of the United States. This is what many Ethnic Studies curricula accomplish. However, it must additionally be coupled with critically examining what the privilege of whiteness has been doing to circumvent the “doings” of others. How one came to sincerely believe that within the grand scheme of human existence, a limited group of people was the only ones engaged in activity necessitates serious intellectual consideration.
Without Critical Whiteness Studies, we will continue living in a society that blindly privileges particular ways of organizing institutional practices and structures, not realizing that these ways are rooted in the histories and cultural beliefs of specific people. It will leave me binging on chocolate, writing blogs and wishing I could tolerate the taste of alcohol every time some student vehemently argues, “But it really was the way he was dressed that caused him to look suspicious.”
[1] The use of minoritied as a verb is conscious. It speaks to the dubious processes of race enforced upon human beings in the United States where so-called scientific and objective means to record the presence of citizens throughout the nation is in actuality an active coding of hierarchies, power, and access to privileges inscribed upon human bodies of specific groups.
thedrstiletto 
I do not care to place words in your mouth, but I do want to understand your meaning … as I touched lightly on the subject of the erasing and whitewashing of African History(by white historians, beginning circa the 18th cent.), you told me that CWS did not really concern it’self with such matters . It sounds to me like the CWS student is continuing the white privileged existence that is already available … Correct me if I’m wrong, but it appears that you are allowing “whiteness” to be viewed in a vacume .
Posted by Dave Myers | June 6, 2012, 3:53 pmNo, Dave that’s not what is being privileged. When I suggest that the starting point you suggest would be beyond the context of CWS, that is to say that the idea of white people and whiteness did not even exist in those moments of human civilization. For African countries (and it would even be difficult to discuss “African” at this moment), the concept of race–as we currently articulate it–was not even a factor. Thus, we’d be engaging in a totally different ideological platform, which is warranted, but I want to be clear is much different.
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | June 8, 2012, 4:27 amAnd in an anachronistic sense, the conversation has “changed” , but to maintain a whole body of information (CWS) for privileged / willingly ignorant white students to better understand them-selves, and to then, at their leisure , realize how to ‘treat’ Black people …. with-out the understanding of Black African history, and the ability to connect those dots… It’s a one-legged effort , essentially.
Posted by Dave Myers | June 8, 2012, 8:56 amDr. Stiletto, I have left a couple of comments above, and have not gotten even one reply from you … and perhaps I am confused … Is this a white’s only blog?
Posted by Dave Myers | June 4, 2012, 12:38 pmGood afternoon Dave. No this is definitely not a “whites only” blog. I found your comment to be well crafted and to speak for itself concerning your discovery and intellectual engagement. I greatly appreciate you reading and posting. There is definitely much for us to continue discovering/reading/and engaging.
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | June 4, 2012, 2:45 pmI happen to be a white (European-American), male, Christian, straight, and can say firsthand two things 1. Public indoctrination does not educate from an actual white perspective, but rather a very liberal one. 2. European heritage, cultures, faiths, are being lost as are American traditions unique to our original diversity and as of the 2010 U.S. Census whites are now the minority in America.
Many P.L.E.’s and other communities are looking at South Africa as the future outcome result as the U.S. has had a 30% drop in the white population over their life time. On a worldwide scale whites are hardly a drop in the bucket of population at only 2%, People tend to create a world separate from knowledge because they fear reality.
Posted by Atlee Yarrow | June 2, 2012, 5:26 amI find the subject of this post very intriguing as a black man living in the US. In the process of CWS , should we begin with Black African civilization, ala Diop, Van Sertima, Dr. Ben etal., as well as phenotype?? I suggest this in order for individuals to realistically be abe to connect the dots.
Posted by Dave Myers | June 1, 2012, 10:37 pmWhile I think studying Black African civilizations is definitely important and I greatly appreciate Diop and Sertima’s work, they would operate outside of a CWS framework. But you are correct that they remain important because they offer a history and a contextualization before the “invention of whiteness,” which is quite often not understood by many, regardless of their race. We do not teach that “race” is a modern phenomenon and that people were not always black, brown, red, yellow, white, etc.
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | June 5, 2012, 2:10 pmMy understandings gleened from reading afrocentic authers would have never been gained by continuing with a eurocentric education… the understanding of how modern man evolved and migrated away from the Rift Valley, and how and “why” modern man’s phenotype changed as he habituated to different climates… White people have wanted to take Egypt and the Pyramids away from Black people… Diop had to develope the Dosage Test to take ‘that’ back.
Posted by Dave Myers | June 5, 2012, 2:32 pmJust as the “whiteness” construct has been fabricated, developed, refurbished , and constantly and continuously restored, rejuvinated and regenerated here in America, conversely , black woman-hood , black man-hood … the worth of black skin and the “history” of black civilization have all been “white-washed”.
Posted by Dave Myers | June 6, 2012, 8:02 amAgreed. There has been much that has been left out of Histories regardless of the nation or group of people, particularly when we disregard what is not formally considered “historical record”. In general, Western societies understand the recording of history from the dominator’s perspective.
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | June 6, 2012, 8:38 amWould you mind clarifying this section for me?
“Conversely, when others (ethnic communities, women, transgender people, differently abled, and so forth) articulate a critical examination of the dominant group, the rationale to not pay too close of attention is couched within displaced anger and bitterness.”
Are you saying that “others” displace anger and bitterness or the dominant group does? This point feels really important to me so I want to make sure I fully understand!
Also, as a white person who has been working to be aware of all my innate privileges, have conversations about race in america, and who recognizes the conditioned prejudices I still currently have, I think CWS should be a per-requisite in all educational institutions. I’ve heard so many times white people referring to themselves in a raceless way and, as you eloquently state, this is the core of white privilege. If white people do not recognize and examine this, how can they possible absorb the depth of existing racism in our country today?
Posted by LK | May 31, 2012, 2:53 pmHi there!
Yes, I will clarify. I’m saying that the dominant group, more often than not, sees critique of itself by “others” as simply bitterness or anger. For example, when I point out instances of racism, I am often characterized as merely an “angry black woman” who can’t get over racism. However, the reality is many whites displace having to sincerely address racism by dismissing the critiques raised by the minoritized group.
Regarding your second point, I completely agree. CWS should be taught often and early on; it should also be taught universally. Just like I argue “we all need Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, Sexuality Studies”; I think all people in the United States need Whiteness Studies. It’s just given the current climate of the US, CWS is tantamount for whites, for the very reasons you’ve stated.
Thanks for reading and please come back to share more conversation!!!
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | May 31, 2012, 5:14 pmOh yes. That makes sense. I have definitely been witness to that kind of dismissal of experience and opinion. It is patronizing and an outlook debilitating to the progression of conversation. It reminds me of the “we have a black president so racism is over” argument. Let’s shut down any constructive thought and recognition of privilege and inequality, shall we? On a side note…so what if you are angry? Does that mean your experience and outlook is any less valid? They’d be angry too if their children were twice as more likely to die in infancy that the dominant group because of limited access to health care, right?! I guess it’s more acceptable to be an angry white woman, though.
I’ve subscribed to your blog and look forward to more posts.
Posted by nicotineandmint | June 1, 2012, 12:15 pmAbsolutely! And you are valid to question “so what if you are angry?” as if anger is an emotion not reserved for particular people. But, as I noted in another readers comments, my larger concern is how anger is used and what comes afterwards? Is there genuine progressive action that follows, because that is where the work is.
Thanks for subscribing; I look forward to future conversations 🙂
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | June 2, 2012, 12:03 pmMy personal quest, in coming to an understanding of my blackness, after being raised in middle-class white america by my white mother(and the white man that she married when she was six months pregnant with me, by my black father) has gone thusly,(you can also google,”The Dave Myers Story” for text and video)… I did not know to begin my real search for identity until I had taken care of my primary objective of locating by biological father (at 27 years of age); I then thought that it was logical(after fully realizing that I had been raised by a racist mother and probably a passive-aggressively bigoted adoptive father) that I educate myself to understand how our racial problems between blacks and whites specifically, have developed. One book led to another until I began studying African Civilizations. This was a realm that I had never known, and as a fairly well read black man, albiet raised the way that I was, I was shocked at the enormous body of knowlege that has been with-held/been made not easily available. This is part of the stuff of cultural pride building for Black Americans, something that has never really been offered by White america…
Posted by Dave Myers | June 2, 2012, 2:32 pmFantastic post and I agree! Nell Painter’s recent book on whiteness would be a great starting point fopr a curriculum.
Posted by Thaddeus Blanchette | May 31, 2012, 12:17 pmThanks Thaddeus!
Just in case others are wondering, the book is The History of White People by Nell Painter.
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | June 1, 2012, 11:54 ama few criticisms.
1) Your disproportionism argument can be applied on a different axis: male/female. Disproportionately more males are disciplined, diagnosed with ADHD, sent to alternative schools or even juvenile prison. This evidence could be used to suggest that society is systematically oppressive towards males. Are you prepared to do that?
2) Growing up a poor white male, I perceived my whiteness (and my maleness) quite strongly. Both of these aspects of my identity I have been trained by society to feel guilt or shame about.
3) I have no problem with pointing out systematic injustices within society. I encourage it. But calling out a single race or gender as the collective source of most injustice does two bad things… it oversimplifies reality and blinds us towards the many injustices that don’t fit the Academic narrative that we’re all familiar with
Posted by Micah | May 31, 2012, 11:46 amHi Micah,
1) You are correct about “Disproportionately more males are disciplined, diagnosed with ADHD, sent to alternative schools or even juvenile prison.” However, when intersectionality (a term critical for human equity activism) is addressed the disproportionality is paramount for black and latino males. See http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/colorado-disciplinary-practices just as a starting point for research. So yes, I am prepared to do that as I’m research and teach about oppression holistically and intersectionally.
2) While I hear your languish about growing up a poor white male and without knowing you, understand that it is justified; the idea of “feeling guilty” is problematic and non-useful for 2 primary reasons. A) No one can make a person “feel guilty” unless that person internalizes a sense of culpability. Now if you are feeling culpable for some things regarding the way race is structured and enacted in the US, that is probably justified as well and we can talk about and deal with that. However, B) Feeling guilty is useless for anti-oppression work. It’s not my intent or goal to get people to “feel” a particular way. How do we move beyond how we feel to actively combatting the structures of oppression that are enforced on people daily. Tim Wise, a very well-known anti-racism activist, addresses this issue of guilt brilliantly in his book “White Like Me”; it’s an excellent start for any person wanting to address white privilege. Still, what is most important is not the assigning of blame, the dismantling and resolving the issue. Allegorically, who cares who started air pollution? The reality is we breathe the toxic crap every day and pass on more toxins to our children. Thus, it is all of our responsibility to clean the mess if we value having clean air.
3) In no way does this blog identify “a single race or gender as the collective source of most injustice”. Point out the sentence or phrase that says that. What it does do is argue how white people can participate in the dismantling of racial power structures and privilege. As previously stated, all of us who value human equity, must be committed to anti-racist work. However, more often than not, (no one is arguing an absolute; I get that Micah sees himself as white) whites live a lifetime of not actively participating in the dismantling of racism because they don’t see themselves as racialized and thereby not a part of the larger organizational dynamic of race.
Thanks for reading and the comments. This blog is definitely for dialoguing.
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | May 31, 2012, 5:02 pmHere is another one that you hear often, “Slavery is something that happened a long time ago, why don’t you all just forget about it?”, however, thus same sentiment is never adressed when the Jewish Holocaust is being discussed……
Posted by Francine Smith | May 30, 2012, 7:31 pmI agree with the first part of the statement, but I did just hear that same sentiment a couple of days ago when I was discussing my partner’s experience as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. It was more in the terms of “don’t you just need to move on?”. I really appreciate the article. It gives me a lot to think about.
Posted by Jody Anderson | May 31, 2012, 2:00 pmVery interesting, insightful and intellectually stimulating
Posted by Clarence W. Davis | May 30, 2012, 3:49 pmthe real question is…..have you had one over for dinner?
Posted by Tony | May 30, 2012, 3:13 pmI’ve even cooked in the house of a white guy, for him and his Mexican American wife 🙂
Posted by Dr. Stiletto | May 30, 2012, 3:26 pm