Let's Talk About White People
I remember when I went to my first progressive political gathering at age 35. It was a conference of some sort, but the exact purpose of the event is lost in memory. There were different sessions that we could go to on environmental justice, voting rights, political economy and similar topics. There was a bulletin board in the common area, and somebody posted a sign that said, "White People's Caucus 1PM Upstairs." I was appalled. I thought some racist had invaded our space and posted a divisive message amidst all the left-wing goodness and coalition building. I looked for my mentor to tell him about it and get him to take it down. As it turns out, it wasn't a provocation at all. It was a real meeting for white people, and we were there to talk about being white in progressive spaces and what that could look like.
I have to admit that I'd never really thought that much about being white or what that meant. I think I sort of thought as an enlightened being I was supposed to feel guilty a lot about white supremacy and how America had treated people of African descent since 1619. Here's the thing. I couldn't even define what it means to be white. Want to know why? Because the way whiteness is used today it really means a group of people who are NOT certain things. It actually always meant that. We just keep letting new people into the White People Club. At one time we didn't admit the Irish. Now we do. Don't be silly. My wife's grandfather was an Italian immigrant who married a woman of English stock from central Maine, and you better believe her family thought she was in a mixed marriage. Under the old one-drop rule half of my grandchildren wouldn't be considered white. My wife certainly wouldn't.
At the same time, I was learning about and thinking about whiteness, I got hit in the head with the idea of white privilege too. Let's just say, I was not real receptive at first. I didn't grow up with a wealthy or well-connected family. Where was my privilege? Weren't there quotas out there giving people of color guaranteed promotions and jobs? That's what my older co-workers told me. Patiently and with love, my progressive friends broke it down for me. I'd been raised and conditioned to expect that whiteness was what defined normality. Normal music was the rock and roll I listened to. Hip hop (and, yes, I called it Rap) was something out of the norm. Normal was Christian holidays that I felt entitled to have off from school. Ramadan was something I had to learn the rules for when we had Muslims in the prison where I'd worked. Normal was meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the school cafeteria. Exotic was what we went and paid to eat in restaurants. It wasn't a hard sell. I got it. It wasn't that I never experienced hard times while white. I had. I just hadn't experienced them because I was white.
After 25 years of trying to live a life conscious of whiteness and white privilege, what do I do today? Well, I try to avoid all-white environments when I can. It's a form of self-integration. I listen a whole lot rather than trying to make sure my opinion is always heard. Y'all probably already know what the white guys think anyway. Like I try not to mansplain things to women, I try not to whitesplain things to POC. I've learned that the way I look at the police and the justice system is not the same way that my friends of different races look at them. I went to the funeral of the son of a co-worker who was killed in police custody. I was the only white person in the church. That was a learning experience. Mostly, I just talk to people who aren't just like me. Thankfully in the military town where I live, unlike some places in the south, most folks here have plenty of experience working and living in a multi-racial environment. That's not to say that everyone's attitudes are right where they need to be, because that is not the case.
The sad fact is that the majority of white people are Trump voters frightened at the thought of becoming minorities in their "own" country. Fifty-six percent of white people who voted in the last election, voted for Donald Trump. That's enough right there to tell me that there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to overcome white supremacy. Let's call it what it is.
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