The Weekend Edition of Race Inquiry Digest features the top stories from the two previous Digests published during the week. Click here for earlier Digests.
Editor’s Note: The idea or term “white people” is one of the greatest misconceptions in history.
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.
The Week’s Top Stories
Political / Social
Black mayors and leaders decry Trump’s threats to deploy National Guard in cities. By Curtis Bunn / NBC News Read more
Obama blasts Texas GOP redistricting plan as a ‘power grab.’ By Joey Garrison / USA Today Read more
Black unemployment rate jumps, stirring economic fears. By Bailey Schulz / USA Today Read more
Education
Trump Is Desperately Trying To Make Colleges White Again. By
This ‘Chilling’ Right-Wing Movement Is Taking Over Classrooms — And It’s Only The Beginning. By Molly Wadzeck / HuffPost Read more
When Is It Genocide? The Ezra Klein Show / NYT Podcast Read more or listen here
Mouin Rabbani on Israel’s “Indefinite, Genocidal Military Campaign.” By Amy Goodman / Democracy Now Read more
Disturbed About Man. By Benjamin E. Mays / Amazon Books Read more
Black spirituality is what the world needs now. By Daryl Grigsby / Black Catholic Messenger Read more
Trump Is Putting Confederate Statues Back Up. Here’s Why They Must Fall. By Natasha Lennard / The Intercept Read more
What if Dred Scott Had Been Decided Correctly? By Jamelle Bouie / NYT Read more
Black Moses’ tells a powerful story of political ambition. By Aram Goudsouzian / Wash Post Read more
Baldwin: A Love Story. By Nicholas Boggs / Amazon Books Read more
Browns’ Shedeur Sanders throws 2 TDs, leads 3 scoring drives in preseason debut. By Zac Jackson / The Athletic Read more
Frances Tiafoe opens up on life in ‘white sport’ tennis. By Ella Kipling / Daily Express Read more
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About Race Inquiry and Race Inquiry Digest. The Digest is published on Monday and Thursday. The Weekend Edition is published on Saturday. Click here for earlier Editions.
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