Collective on Anti-Racism
9. Whiteness
Whiteness - what is it?
COAR centres the lived experiences of People of Colour, but it would be amiss to not delve into the concept of Whiteness and its interplay with the BIPOC experience in Western society. First of all, read on to discover more about what Whiteness even is. Then, it might be worth considering the ways in which Whiteness is (or is not, we will leave that conclusion to you) racialised and the repercussions that has on those who are White, not White, and the Western society at large. Still, questions still remain: Is Whiteness a race? Who gets to count as White? Who decides who gets to count? An interesting concept with even more interesting discussion.
Articles:
“Whiteness is an invented concept that has been used as a tool of oppression” by Meghan Tinsley
“The invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea” by Robert P Baird
“The U.S. census sees Middle Eastern and North African people as white. Many don’t” by Hansi Lo Wang
“When the Irish Weren’t White” by Michael Harriot
‘The Definition of Whiteness in American Society’ by Nicki Lisa Cole (PhD), 2019
Book:
White by Richard Dyer
Written by a white person, but this sentence alone in the first chapter had me thinking about the way we don’t racialise whiteness and the ramifications of that - “As long as race is something only applied to non-white peoples, as long as white people are not racially seen and named, they/we function as a human norm. Other people are raced, we are just people”. -
Song:
'This Song Is Uncomfortable': Macklemore And Jamila Woods On 'White Privilege'
It is not really comfortable to listen to it, making you down, feeling so sad about the white supremacy and how it changed our minds. - Grace Song, 2023
Video:
The Baptism of Whiteness: A Kardashian Commentary – Part II
If people wanted to watch Part I, here it is: When the Blaze Gaze Expires: A Kardashian Commentary
Academic Articles:
‘Defining Whiteness: Perspectives on Privilege’ by Anna Lindner, 2018
“Virtual Roundtable on “Get Out”: Going in Negros” by Glenda Carpio
Read this after watching Get Out!
“The Souls of White Folk” by W.E.B. Du Bois
“On Being White… and Other Lies” by James Baldwin
Film:
Get Out
An absolutely brilliant horror film about racism that also racialises and unpacks whiteness in ways we rarely see.