Defining Whiteness

      

I came across this article in my readings, entitled "What is Whiteness",  by NelI Irving Painter. He talks about how a  former civil rights activist and former Africana studies instructor resigned after it was revealed that she had lied about being African American, many other aspects of her biography, and about alleged hate crimes against her. The article attempts to explain that there is a big deficiency in our country’s ability to define whiteness. At least in comparison to the lengths that we have taken to describe blackness. He describes whiteness as being on a toggle switch between “bland nothingness” and “racist hatred.” Neither of which proved to be appealing to Rachel A. Dolezal, resulting in her opting out of the white race all together.

As Painter explains, white identity has been as unstable as black identity and within white American history, there has been a progression of caste systems which eventually led to a new classification of races in the 1940’s: namely white, Asian and black. In pooling, all of the white races together, they achieved a bland, uncontested identity. By the time the Irish and the Italians decided to pull away from that melting pot by declaring themselves “ethnic”, it was too late. They were defined by blackness and their history, their story, set aside.

Perhaps this is why, as discussed in Why Talk About Whiteness? We Can’t Talk About Racism Without It, some white people were described as feeling like they don’t possess culture and as experiencing a lack of belonging. In a world where white privilege has tainted the idea of white culture, it is very difficult to find pride in being in white. People are finding the need to disown their heritage and pick sides to prove to everyone watching, that they aren’t racist.

It’s almost ironic. Those doing the shaming have pigeon-holed themselves into feeling ashamed. Perhaps if they took more ownership of their own identities and worked towards celebrating all that is different and beautiful about America, we could all learn to love race instead of hiding from, or behind it.