5 Social Justice Terms to Help Name and Deconstruct White Supremacy

Racism, the erasure of Native People, and anti-Blackness was all created to uphold White Supremacy: which encompasses the systems and institutions that benefit people considered white. White Supremacy has reigned in America for the past 400 years; dating back to the invention of the term in Anti-Miscegenation laws written by white men during the 1600’s. From James Baldwin to Rosa Clemente, prominent activities of color have noted time and again that deconstructing White Supremacy is the burden of white people - as we created it. However, one of the biggest issues with deconstructing whiteness is the idea that it hides itself in plain sight - especially to white people. Below are 5 terms related to whiteness that can help to sharpen our lens so we can see and name whiteness in efforts to break it down…

Knowing and Teaching the Difference Between Bigotry and Racism

Oumou Kanoute was eating her lunch and minding her own business. The next thing she knew Smith College police were present. An employee had called the police because Kanoute looked “out of place.” This is the latest in a string of white people calling the police on Black people for simply living their lives. Without fail, social media assured us no white person in these instances are racist. This should be obvious due to the lack of bigotry so many white people outwardly display. They do not act with overt hate and therefore cannot be racist. But racism does not require bigotry. No, all racism requires is an acceptance of society as it currently exists.