The concept of “white people” is a colonial (17th Century America) invention, and was designed to create a legal and social distinction between European settlers and enslaved Africans or indigenous people. In Europe, no such unified category was needed: the social divisions that mattered most were based on ethnicity, language, religion, class and region. A French farmer and a Russian nobleman didn’t see themselves as part of the same “white race”, they saw themselves as members of entirely different peoples, often with mutual suspicion. The idea that Europe is the ancestral home of a singular white race is false. History shows whiteness isn’t ancient, isn’t European, and isn’t a natural, timeless, scientific category.

In colonial America, “white” was invented to unite Europeans across class lines and give them privileges over nonwhite people. That same logic operates today: political rhetoric often appeals to “white unity” to override divisions of wealth, region, or interest, keeping racial hierarchy intact. When people discover that “white” was not an ancient European identity but a colonial invention designed to protect power and privilege, it can break the illusion that it’s a natural or inevitable part of who they are. Our multicultural, multi ethnic democracy would be strengthened if the collection of Europeans in America, who consider themselves “white,” would rediscover the rich diversity of European identities, encourage cross cultural exchange, and avoid the “us vs. them” framing that whiteness relies on.