I have not heard of whiteness studies until reading this post. I think it should be taught starting in first grade. As you point out, the way slavery, Jim Crow, and racism are taught now is that they “happened” to Black people. This history should be taught from the lens of what white people did to Black people; from enslavement to Jim Crow to redlining to voter suppression to the criminal justice system. The white church needs to clean its house too. Their gospel of “color blindness” needs to be consigned to the dumpster. Anthea Butler’s “White Evangelical Racism” should be required reading in every seminary.
I had not heard of whiteness studies until graduate school. Concepts such as "white privilege" are part of what it elucidates. And I agree. White people need to be taught they are racialized beings in our society, too.
Thank you, Dr. Tisby, for informing about whiteness studies. Hopefully, such studies will continue; I'm interested in learning more about accredited grad programs helping us own our oppression past & present with the impacts on the future as well as come alongside those we're oppressing to be part of countering racism with justice.
Thank you so much for sharing this article. I have long found framing of the issues around racism skewed.
When I look at photos of the white mobs at lynchings or screaming white parents during school desegregation, I keep wondering why no one is focusing the lens on the white crowd. Who are these people, who are their families, how does the evil they participate in affect their home life, what traits and habits of hate, anger and murder get passed down to their generations.
The quote from Frederick Douglass makes clear the irony of oppression "No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck"
These are insights I have been curious about but have not been able to find studies on. Thanks so much for recommending whiteness studies, I hope I can find answers to my questions there
Thank you so much for reading! I also ponder the lives of the white perpetrators and onlookers. Did anyone in their families talk about the oppression in which they participated? Did anyone interrupt the cycle? What positions in the workplace, government, and society did they hold that could see them extending their prejudice or working for progress?
My thoughts exactly. In addition to what you stated, I don't think they fully appreciate or acknowledge ripple effect of historical evil and how it is impacting their lives today. Those of us who grew up outside the Western way of thinking, are acutely aware that the good or evil of our fore fathers can have a direct or indirect impact on our lives. Part of our conversion experience is bringing our ancestral baggage to the foot of the cross so that we and future generations are set free. Many white people have been robbed of the opportunity to be really 'set free' because they cannot imagine that what their grand parents and great grand parents did has any bearing on their lives. Just my personal observations and I humbly admit that I could be wrong.
I would agree that the American white family definitely has work today in understanding how their ancestors impact them today. I think of how even in American pop culture, we constantly hear the message of kids starting their own lives at 18 and parents celebrating their empty nest. Kids coming home to do laundry and eat is represented as "freeloading" And in so many other cultures, family life is more communal and prolonged. Which makes it easier to hear the stories and carry on the traditions that help us understand where we came from.
I think you are on to something very important. I will now be pondering what I know of my parents grandparents and considering how that has impacted the attitudes I've imparted to my kids.
Thanks for another great article. Its interested how the vast majority of racial reconciliation efforts are headed up by people of color (victims) and not whites (perpetrators). It seems like the ones that committed the offense would be the primary seekers of reconciliation. I believe that says something about empathy.
Interesting indeed. On one hand, the victims often know the harm most intimately and are best positioned to say how to stop it. On the other hand, the responsibility should rest mainly with the perpetrators for enacting those solutions.
Thank you for sharing this. The "exercise" you suggested in your book, How to Fight Racism, in examining our own personal racial history was life changing. As a white woman in a book club group of white people, it was eye-opening. It was painful for many of us, but certainly made us aware of our personal and national history of whiteness.
negative effects of slavery generationally on white descendants of enslavers and black descendants of the enslaved is Unchained. www.lifefocus.tv/unchained
It also has testimonies of white and black participants in the Trauma Healing Institute program.
Critical White Theory, that’s a great turn of the tables that reveals racism through a different prism; we have being trying to force America to view slavery through the prism of our victimization and they say “get over it”👍🏾
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead helped me as a white male do a little of what you are talking about...I won't say I liked, but I will say I benefited...from the way he took me inside the minds of motives of the white characters in the Novel. I refer to this briefly in the following article:
I have not heard of whiteness studies, but what an important framing. I'm so tired of people excusing the "casual" racism of the past by saying "it was a different time." They don't want to look any further or consider that we white people need to do more to address OUR problem of racism that ignore or excuse it. We cannot change what we will not even see.
I agree; I was blind but now I see. My blindspots are tbd per "The Johari Window Model." I'm grateful for self-examination & folks helping me see my blindspots. In "Jesus & John Wayne" (J&JW), Dr. Kristin Kobes DuMez wrote,
"Many evangelicals, too, found it hard to accept that the sin of racism ran deep through the nation's history. To concede this seemed unpatriotic. Having embraced the idea of a 'Christian nation,' it was hard to accept a critique of the nation as fundamental as that advanced by the civil rights movement. chapter 2, "'JW' will save your ass."
This really resonates with my upbringing in wCN & I note spirals:
1- ideology of U.S. as a Christian nation (wCN)
2- makes truth-telling & critique unpatriotic (& Dr. Diana Butler Bass wrote about "demand of gratitude" in "The Cottage"
3-With wCN (U.S. is God-chosen & God-ordained,) the sins are compartmentalized to the past... so long ago. (I note the sins aren't often included in fam narratives--twisted to the Lost Cause (or Yankee pride (aka hypocrisy)), etc. (like the religious leaders in the day of Jesus of Nazareth))
Once again Dr. Jemar you continue to bring revelations of truth pertaining to the depth of the brokenness of this nation. Yes the dismantling of this foolishness requires All of us to lean into what it will take to heal us all. Thank you for continuing to courageously speak truth in love. May all who hear act with justice and reject the cowardice of “slavery just happened to black people” but rather embracing the full narrative of what has been done to black people by THE EVIL SPIRIT OF WHITENESS.
This was the first mention of whiteness studies I have ever encountered. I know as my own awareness of my privilege as increased, it has made me more curious about the systems I was born into and the impact they continue to have. It makes me wonder if the correct approach to whiteness studies would help lessen the knee jerk reaction of "it wasn't me, it was white people back then" and make us more receptive and have eyes more wide open to how racism continues today.
With truth-telling, I appreciated a pastor's honoring Sonya Massey & calling out our modern-day lynchings: Rev Dr Howard John-Wesley (welcome back folks from Youth's Civil Rights Pilgrimage, remembering Sonya Massey & calling out too many Black killings) https://youtu.be/tJTivfR0uUQ?feature=shared&t=2603 (minute 44)
I have not heard of whiteness studies until reading this post. I think it should be taught starting in first grade. As you point out, the way slavery, Jim Crow, and racism are taught now is that they “happened” to Black people. This history should be taught from the lens of what white people did to Black people; from enslavement to Jim Crow to redlining to voter suppression to the criminal justice system. The white church needs to clean its house too. Their gospel of “color blindness” needs to be consigned to the dumpster. Anthea Butler’s “White Evangelical Racism” should be required reading in every seminary.
I had not heard of whiteness studies until graduate school. Concepts such as "white privilege" are part of what it elucidates. And I agree. White people need to be taught they are racialized beings in our society, too.
Thank you, Dr. Tisby, for informing about whiteness studies. Hopefully, such studies will continue; I'm interested in learning more about accredited grad programs helping us own our oppression past & present with the impacts on the future as well as come alongside those we're oppressing to be part of countering racism with justice.
Thank you so much for sharing this article. I have long found framing of the issues around racism skewed.
When I look at photos of the white mobs at lynchings or screaming white parents during school desegregation, I keep wondering why no one is focusing the lens on the white crowd. Who are these people, who are their families, how does the evil they participate in affect their home life, what traits and habits of hate, anger and murder get passed down to their generations.
The quote from Frederick Douglass makes clear the irony of oppression "No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck"
These are insights I have been curious about but have not been able to find studies on. Thanks so much for recommending whiteness studies, I hope I can find answers to my questions there
Thank you so much for reading! I also ponder the lives of the white perpetrators and onlookers. Did anyone in their families talk about the oppression in which they participated? Did anyone interrupt the cycle? What positions in the workplace, government, and society did they hold that could see them extending their prejudice or working for progress?
My thoughts exactly. In addition to what you stated, I don't think they fully appreciate or acknowledge ripple effect of historical evil and how it is impacting their lives today. Those of us who grew up outside the Western way of thinking, are acutely aware that the good or evil of our fore fathers can have a direct or indirect impact on our lives. Part of our conversion experience is bringing our ancestral baggage to the foot of the cross so that we and future generations are set free. Many white people have been robbed of the opportunity to be really 'set free' because they cannot imagine that what their grand parents and great grand parents did has any bearing on their lives. Just my personal observations and I humbly admit that I could be wrong.
I would agree that the American white family definitely has work today in understanding how their ancestors impact them today. I think of how even in American pop culture, we constantly hear the message of kids starting their own lives at 18 and parents celebrating their empty nest. Kids coming home to do laundry and eat is represented as "freeloading" And in so many other cultures, family life is more communal and prolonged. Which makes it easier to hear the stories and carry on the traditions that help us understand where we came from.
I think you are on to something very important. I will now be pondering what I know of my parents grandparents and considering how that has impacted the attitudes I've imparted to my kids.
Yay for racial-justice-parenting! It wasn't part of my upbringing; I had friends' families from whom I learned. I write of my journey (re fam too) within my racial autobio, recommended by Dr. Jemar Tisby in HTFR. I look forward to Dr. Tisby's forthcoming books for families & groups. (I note picture books; I just saw this one in my library: "Freedom Summer," Deborah Wiles (Author), Jerome Lagarrigue (Illustrator), https://bookshop.org/p/books/freedom-summer-deborah-wiles/285775?ean=9780689878299 And I just noticed this resource shared by TelosGroup.org https://honesthistory.co/products/issue-twenty-three-a-home-to-many?mc_cid=d6c3effdf7&mc_eid=1985930bde
Thanks for another great article. Its interested how the vast majority of racial reconciliation efforts are headed up by people of color (victims) and not whites (perpetrators). It seems like the ones that committed the offense would be the primary seekers of reconciliation. I believe that says something about empathy.
Interesting indeed. On one hand, the victims often know the harm most intimately and are best positioned to say how to stop it. On the other hand, the responsibility should rest mainly with the perpetrators for enacting those solutions.
Thank you for sharing this. The "exercise" you suggested in your book, How to Fight Racism, in examining our own personal racial history was life changing. As a white woman in a book club group of white people, it was eye-opening. It was painful for many of us, but certainly made us aware of our personal and national history of whiteness.
So glad you read HTFR. We often think of history as "out there" but often the most fruitful place to start is with own our histories.
A documentary that traces the
negative effects of slavery generationally on white descendants of enslavers and black descendants of the enslaved is Unchained. www.lifefocus.tv/unchained
It also has testimonies of white and black participants in the Trauma Healing Institute program.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Critical White Theory, that’s a great turn of the tables that reveals racism through a different prism; we have being trying to force America to view slavery through the prism of our victimization and they say “get over it”👍🏾
Right. History is not something to "get over" it is something to process and incorporate to make the present more just than the past.
I participated in a program that explores racial trauma and its effects on both white and black people. I highly recommend it. https://www.questmovement.org/#:~:text=These%20groups%20explore%20generational%20trauma,between%20White%20and%20Black%20Americans.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead helped me as a white male do a little of what you are talking about...I won't say I liked, but I will say I benefited...from the way he took me inside the minds of motives of the white characters in the Novel. I refer to this briefly in the following article:
https://jonathanbrownson.substack.com/p/running?r=gdp9j
I have not heard of whiteness studies, but what an important framing. I'm so tired of people excusing the "casual" racism of the past by saying "it was a different time." They don't want to look any further or consider that we white people need to do more to address OUR problem of racism that ignore or excuse it. We cannot change what we will not even see.
I agree; I was blind but now I see. My blindspots are tbd per "The Johari Window Model." I'm grateful for self-examination & folks helping me see my blindspots. In "Jesus & John Wayne" (J&JW), Dr. Kristin Kobes DuMez wrote,
"Many evangelicals, too, found it hard to accept that the sin of racism ran deep through the nation's history. To concede this seemed unpatriotic. Having embraced the idea of a 'Christian nation,' it was hard to accept a critique of the nation as fundamental as that advanced by the civil rights movement. chapter 2, "'JW' will save your ass."
This really resonates with my upbringing in wCN & I note spirals:
1- ideology of U.S. as a Christian nation (wCN)
2- makes truth-telling & critique unpatriotic (& Dr. Diana Butler Bass wrote about "demand of gratitude" in "The Cottage"
3-With wCN (U.S. is God-chosen & God-ordained,) the sins are compartmentalized to the past... so long ago. (I note the sins aren't often included in fam narratives--twisted to the Lost Cause (or Yankee pride (aka hypocrisy)), etc. (like the religious leaders in the day of Jesus of Nazareth))
My prayer: Mark 9:24, https://biblehub.com/mark/9-24.htm
Once again Dr. Jemar you continue to bring revelations of truth pertaining to the depth of the brokenness of this nation. Yes the dismantling of this foolishness requires All of us to lean into what it will take to heal us all. Thank you for continuing to courageously speak truth in love. May all who hear act with justice and reject the cowardice of “slavery just happened to black people” but rather embracing the full narrative of what has been done to black people by THE EVIL SPIRIT OF WHITENESS.
This was the first mention of whiteness studies I have ever encountered. I know as my own awareness of my privilege as increased, it has made me more curious about the systems I was born into and the impact they continue to have. It makes me wonder if the correct approach to whiteness studies would help lessen the knee jerk reaction of "it wasn't me, it was white people back then" and make us more receptive and have eyes more wide open to how racism continues today.
With a quick search, I found these related studies:
Antiracism, Graduate Certificate, UNC, Charlotte, https://catalog.ucsc.edu/current/general-catalog/academic-units/humanities-division/critical-race-and-ethnic-studies/critical-race-and-ethnic-studies-ba/#degree-req-2
Bravely Confronting Racism in Higher Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, https://www.gse.harvard.edu/professional-education/program/bravely-confronting-racism-higher-education
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, B.A. UC Santa Cruz, https://catalog.ucsc.edu/current/general-catalog/academic-units/humanities-division/critical-race-and-ethnic-studies/critical-race-and-ethnic-studies-ba/#degree-req-2
Emancipatory Education, Graduate Minor, University of Arizona, https://coe.arizona.edu/programs/emancipatory-education
*Nolan L Cabrera, Associate Professor, Social / Cultural / Critical Theory - GIDP, https://coe.arizona.edu/person/nolan-l-cabrera
"Race and Ethnic Studies courses," Scripps College, https://www.scrippscollege.edu/registrar/race-and-ethnic-studies-requirements
I note this gripping article shared by TelosGroup.org "ReStory US" https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/sonya-massey-william-donnegan-lynched-rcna163511?mc_cid=d6c3effdf7&mc_eid=1985930bde I confess my family history--though I don't. know a lot--my grandparent, of Anabaptist tradition as a northern-Yankee with English as their 2nd language, saw a lynching. It was the same family member who was shocked that I'd date a Black man & warned me to never marry a Black man. I confess my & my ancestors sins of racism & its harms.
With truth-telling, I appreciated a pastor's honoring Sonya Massey & calling out our modern-day lynchings: Rev Dr Howard John-Wesley (welcome back folks from Youth's Civil Rights Pilgrimage, remembering Sonya Massey & calling out too many Black killings) https://youtu.be/tJTivfR0uUQ?feature=shared&t=2603 (minute 44)
True remorse guilt sorrow shame repentance lament whatever you want to call it should bring conviction and action