McNair Scholars Journal

Volume 13 | Issue 1 Article 2

2009 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Marcus Bell Grand Valley State University

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Recommended Citation Bell, Marcus (2009) "Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol13/iss1/2

Copyright © 2009 by the authors. McNair Scholars Journal is reproduced electronically by ScholarWorks@GVSU. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ mcnair?utm_source=scholarworks.gvsu.edu%2Fmcnair%2Fvol13%2Fiss1%2F2&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White turned a critical eye towards the white major- means which are also approved. Cor- ity in the early 19th century with the works respondingly, an increase of the pro- Low income, predominantly black Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions of Frederick Douglas and David Walker. Just portion of Negroes in the American communities especially need stable in- as in the 1800s, scholars of the 20th century population is commonly looked upon stitutions, and for many urban commu- such as W.E.B Du Bois, James Baldwin, and as undesirable. (p. 47) nities, schools can serve this function. Abstract Introduction later in the century Thandeka, Malcolm X, This has to be taken into consideration Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison, due to Concluding his accusation of white when policy makers conceptualize Despite the prevailing national discourse In contemporary America, to be white is their marginalized status, were generally supremacy, Myrdal noted, “White prejudice choice models that transfer African that implicates race as an outdated phenom- to be considered American. The normalcy overlooked and disregarded as nothing more and discrimination keep the negro in low American students away from their enon, ongoing social science data identifies race of whiteness, the category that all others than fodder from “the African American standards in living, health, education, communities. Although it is impor- as very predictive in determining life outcomes. are compared to, is accompanied by a set of left” (Roediger, 2007, p. xvi). For example, manners and morals. This, in its turn, gives tant to increase choices for parents Over the last 40 years the emergence of “white- systematic privileges that advantages those powerful insights by Du Bois (1903), such support to white prejudice. White prejudice who do not want their kids to attend ness studies” has sought to redefine racism from of the dominant race at the disadvantage of as “The opposition to negro education was and Negro standards thus virtually ‘cause’ the city’s school, if city schools are not individual actions of bigoted persons to insti- all others (Bonilla-Silva, 2006). From educa- at first bitter, and showed itself in ashes, in- each other” (p. 193). While initially accepted viewed as viable choices for African tutional systems of privilege and disadvantage. tion to life expectancy, from criminal justice sult, and blood; for the south believed an and at first considered a classic,An American American students, it could have dire While there have been a number of studies de- to political representation, white hegemony educated negro to be a dangerous negro” Dilemma was eventually overshadowed by effects on the roles that schools play in tailing the failures of reconstruction to embrace permeates every institution in American so- (p. 29), or perhaps even more profound: “to World War II and the more militant offerings predominantly black communities. (p. an equal citizenry fully, and also a number ciety, and African Americans are typically at be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race of the civil rights movement. However, in the 147) Marcus Bell of studies detailing the eventual assimilation the opposite end of the spectrum (Brown, in the land of dollars is the very bottom of late 20th century, Myrdal’s work once again McNair Scholar of European immigrants, few studies have 2003). While white hegemony is the life hardships" (p. 12), were dismissed as unim- found its way to prominence in the new wave Whiteness allows school reform to treat a sought to connect both into one simultaneous force of America’s institutions, white su- portant complaints from an inferior being. of studies aimed at identifying institutional gunshot wound with a Band-Aid. Legisla- entity. Using historiography and historical premacy or white domination is what allows When Malcolm X (1965), a man considered discrimination, a new wave that would come tion that provides choice for relatively few of comparison methodologies, this research ex- it to go unchallenged (Leonardo, 2009). to be a “black radical,” spoke to crowds of to be known as “whiteness studies.” the students who are forced to attend con- amines primary and secondary data sources Despite the continuing levels of residen- thousands of black folk, proclaiming things demned schools does nothing to solve the in order to illustrate how racism, factionalism, tial and school segregation, the vastly un- such as “Brothers and sisters, the white man Contemporary Inequalitwies problem of the condemned school. With the and violence doomed radical reconstruction equal levels of school funding, the increasing has brainwashed us black people to fasten penalties of failure associated with NCLB, and cemented white hegemony into Ameri- achievement gap between black and white our gaze upon a blond haired, blue eyed Je- Of course, times change, and the Ameri- poorer schools that serve predominantly stu- can culture through its various institutions. students at all levels of education, the dif- sus! We’re worshiping a Jesus who doesn’t can Civil Rights movement achieved signifi- dents of color are only getting poorer. It also examines the bloody decades follow- ferences of accumulated wealth, the higher even look like us!” (p. 263), he was consid- cant progress towards racial quality. Conse- In terms of wealth accumulation, Thomas ing reconstruction and the early 20th century rates of black incarceration, the higher rates ered dangerous, and his words of truth were quently, a plethora of erudite professionals, M. Shapiro (2004) found that in 1999, 26% transformation of the category “white” from an of blacks living in poverty, and the ongoing considered to be that of a raving lunatic. including sociologists to historians to politi- of all white children grow up in asset-poor ethnicity to a race, thus creating the badge of discrimination in healthcare, medicine, and The first work on race relations that de- cal scientists, have come to the forefront in households, compared to 52% of black chil- whiteness and securing its privileges for genera- employment, racism is largely seen as a thing tailed the haunting, often violent opposition an attempt to tackle racial discrimination in dren who share the same fate. For every white tions to come. of the past, only relevant on the periphery to full black inclusion in American society, its now mostly covert, post-civil rights mani- kid growing up in an asset-poor household, George Lundskow, Ph.D. of American society. In fact, the most com- and was actually taken seriously was An festation. Studies examining white privilege there are two black kids doing the same—a Faculty Mentor mon form of racism accepted by the general American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal in and the various mechanisms of maintaining statistic that is even more disturbing when public is “reverse racism,” the notion that be- 1944. Myrdal was a Swedish sociologist who it have illuminated new ways of not only we consider the fact that African Americans ing white in America is to be disadvantaged, was funded by the Carnegie Foundation be- looking at racism today, but also new ways of only make up 13% of the population, while while being a member of a minority group cause of his intellectual ability and moral ob- looking at history in general. In its path of whites comprise upwards to 70%. Shapiro comes with its advantages. Author Tim Wise jectivity. In a sweeping indictment of Ameri- analysis, whiteness studies leaves no Ameri- also noted that the average African Ameri- (2008) writes, “Interestingly, whites often can injustice and racial inequality, Myrdal can institution uncovered. For example, in can family has only 10 cents of accumulated deny the importance of racism in determin- concluded that the “dilemma” of which he his 2009 book titled Race, Whiteness, and wealth for every one dollar the average white ing the life chances of blacks, even as they spoke was not that of black inferiority, but Education, Zeus Leonardo, speaking of the family has, a ratio that holds constant even give voice to beliefs that are themselves evi- that of white superiority: A superiority that bipartisan legislation and political acceptance when the comparison controls for educa- dence of the very racial prejudice they deny” was founded on a social, not biological basis, of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), wrote: tional attainment, size of family, and an- (p. 40). He continues: “In one of the more and was perpetuated by continuing levels of “Insofar as NCLB is guided by an ideology nual income. These findings are consistent respected opinion surveys from the 1990s, racism, both overt and ingrained in institu- of whiteness, it depends on the continua- with U.S. Census data that showed in 1991 six in ten whites said that discrimination tions. He wrote: tion of racial differences as part of a logical, the median net worth of white households was less important in determining the posi- rather than social, outcome. In other words, was $44,408, compared to $4,604 for black tion of blacks in society than the ‘fact’ that There is no doubt that the overwhelm- ostensibly giving public schools a chance to households. In 2004 the U.S. Census showed blacks ‘just don’t have the have the motiva- ing majority of white Americans desire show progress, NCLB gives whiteness the the median net worth of white households tion or willpower to pull themselves up out that there be as few Negroes as pos- right to declare students of color failures un- was $121,000, compared to $19,000 for of poverty.’” In other words, whites could ex- sible in America. If the Negroes could der a presumed to be fair system” (p. 136). black households (U.S. Bureau of the Cen- tol their belief in negative stereotypes while be eliminated from America or greatly Commenting on the roles that schools play sus 1991, 2004). The two primary reasons simultaneously denying any salience of racial decreased in numbers, this would in African American communities, and the for these gross inequities in wealth between discrimination. meet the whites' approval—provided conservative “free market, competition solu- black and white households are equity aris- Social scientists and historians of color that it could be accomplished by tion,” Jerome E. Morris noted: ing from home property values and intergen-

6 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 7 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White turned a critical eye towards the white major- means which are also approved. Cor- ity in the early 19th century with the works respondingly, an increase of the pro- Low income, predominantly black Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions of Frederick Douglas and David Walker. Just portion of Negroes in the American communities especially need stable in- as in the 1800s, scholars of the 20th century population is commonly looked upon stitutions, and for many urban commu- such as W.E.B Du Bois, James Baldwin, and as undesirable. (p. 47) nities, schools can serve this function. Abstract Introduction later in the century Thandeka, Malcolm X, This has to be taken into consideration Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison, due to Concluding his accusation of white when policy makers conceptualize Despite the prevailing national discourse In contemporary America, to be white is their marginalized status, were generally supremacy, Myrdal noted, “White prejudice choice models that transfer African that implicates race as an outdated phenom- to be considered American. The normalcy overlooked and disregarded as nothing more and discrimination keep the negro in low American students away from their enon, ongoing social science data identifies race of whiteness, the category that all others than fodder from “the African American standards in living, health, education, communities. Although it is impor- as very predictive in determining life outcomes. are compared to, is accompanied by a set of left” (Roediger, 2007, p. xvi). For example, manners and morals. This, in its turn, gives tant to increase choices for parents Over the last 40 years the emergence of “white- systematic privileges that advantages those powerful insights by Du Bois (1903), such support to white prejudice. White prejudice who do not want their kids to attend ness studies” has sought to redefine racism from of the dominant race at the disadvantage of as “The opposition to negro education was and Negro standards thus virtually ‘cause’ the city’s school, if city schools are not individual actions of bigoted persons to insti- all others (Bonilla-Silva, 2006). From educa- at first bitter, and showed itself in ashes, in- each other” (p. 193). While initially accepted viewed as viable choices for African tutional systems of privilege and disadvantage. tion to life expectancy, from criminal justice sult, and blood; for the south believed an and at first considered a classic,An American American students, it could have dire While there have been a number of studies de- to political representation, white hegemony educated negro to be a dangerous negro” Dilemma was eventually overshadowed by effects on the roles that schools play in tailing the failures of reconstruction to embrace permeates every institution in American so- (p. 29), or perhaps even more profound: “to World War II and the more militant offerings predominantly black communities. (p. an equal citizenry fully, and also a number ciety, and African Americans are typically at be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race of the civil rights movement. However, in the 147) Marcus Bell of studies detailing the eventual assimilation the opposite end of the spectrum (Brown, in the land of dollars is the very bottom of late 20th century, Myrdal’s work once again McNair Scholar of European immigrants, few studies have 2003). While white hegemony is the life hardships" (p. 12), were dismissed as unim- found its way to prominence in the new wave Whiteness allows school reform to treat a sought to connect both into one simultaneous force of America’s institutions, white su- portant complaints from an inferior being. of studies aimed at identifying institutional gunshot wound with a Band-Aid. Legisla- entity. Using historiography and historical premacy or white domination is what allows When Malcolm X (1965), a man considered discrimination, a new wave that would come tion that provides choice for relatively few of comparison methodologies, this research ex- it to go unchallenged (Leonardo, 2009). to be a “black radical,” spoke to crowds of to be known as “whiteness studies.” the students who are forced to attend con- amines primary and secondary data sources Despite the continuing levels of residen- thousands of black folk, proclaiming things demned schools does nothing to solve the in order to illustrate how racism, factionalism, tial and school segregation, the vastly un- such as “Brothers and sisters, the white man Contemporary Inequalitwies problem of the condemned school. With the and violence doomed radical reconstruction equal levels of school funding, the increasing has brainwashed us black people to fasten penalties of failure associated with NCLB, and cemented white hegemony into Ameri- achievement gap between black and white our gaze upon a blond haired, blue eyed Je- Of course, times change, and the Ameri- poorer schools that serve predominantly stu- can culture through its various institutions. students at all levels of education, the dif- sus! We’re worshiping a Jesus who doesn’t can Civil Rights movement achieved signifi- dents of color are only getting poorer. It also examines the bloody decades follow- ferences of accumulated wealth, the higher even look like us!” (p. 263), he was consid- cant progress towards racial quality. Conse- In terms of wealth accumulation, Thomas ing reconstruction and the early 20th century rates of black incarceration, the higher rates ered dangerous, and his words of truth were quently, a plethora of erudite professionals, M. Shapiro (2004) found that in 1999, 26% transformation of the category “white” from an of blacks living in poverty, and the ongoing considered to be that of a raving lunatic. including sociologists to historians to politi- of all white children grow up in asset-poor ethnicity to a race, thus creating the badge of discrimination in healthcare, medicine, and The first work on race relations that de- cal scientists, have come to the forefront in households, compared to 52% of black chil- whiteness and securing its privileges for genera- employment, racism is largely seen as a thing tailed the haunting, often violent opposition an attempt to tackle racial discrimination in dren who share the same fate. For every white tions to come. of the past, only relevant on the periphery to full black inclusion in American society, its now mostly covert, post-civil rights mani- kid growing up in an asset-poor household, George Lundskow, Ph.D. of American society. In fact, the most com- and was actually taken seriously was An festation. Studies examining white privilege there are two black kids doing the same—a Faculty Mentor mon form of racism accepted by the general American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal in and the various mechanisms of maintaining statistic that is even more disturbing when public is “reverse racism,” the notion that be- 1944. Myrdal was a Swedish sociologist who it have illuminated new ways of not only we consider the fact that African Americans ing white in America is to be disadvantaged, was funded by the Carnegie Foundation be- looking at racism today, but also new ways of only make up 13% of the population, while while being a member of a minority group cause of his intellectual ability and moral ob- looking at history in general. In its path of whites comprise upwards to 70%. Shapiro comes with its advantages. Author Tim Wise jectivity. In a sweeping indictment of Ameri- analysis, whiteness studies leaves no Ameri- also noted that the average African Ameri- (2008) writes, “Interestingly, whites often can injustice and racial inequality, Myrdal can institution uncovered. For example, in can family has only 10 cents of accumulated deny the importance of racism in determin- concluded that the “dilemma” of which he his 2009 book titled Race, Whiteness, and wealth for every one dollar the average white ing the life chances of blacks, even as they spoke was not that of black inferiority, but Education, Zeus Leonardo, speaking of the family has, a ratio that holds constant even give voice to beliefs that are themselves evi- that of white superiority: A superiority that bipartisan legislation and political acceptance when the comparison controls for educa- dence of the very racial prejudice they deny” was founded on a social, not biological basis, of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), wrote: tional attainment, size of family, and an- (p. 40). He continues: “In one of the more and was perpetuated by continuing levels of “Insofar as NCLB is guided by an ideology nual income. These findings are consistent respected opinion surveys from the 1990s, racism, both overt and ingrained in institu- of whiteness, it depends on the continua- with U.S. Census data that showed in 1991 six in ten whites said that discrimination tions. He wrote: tion of racial differences as part of a logical, the median net worth of white households was less important in determining the posi- rather than social, outcome. In other words, was $44,408, compared to $4,604 for black tion of blacks in society than the ‘fact’ that There is no doubt that the overwhelm- ostensibly giving public schools a chance to households. In 2004 the U.S. Census showed blacks ‘just don’t have the have the motiva- ing majority of white Americans desire show progress, NCLB gives whiteness the the median net worth of white households tion or willpower to pull themselves up out that there be as few Negroes as pos- right to declare students of color failures un- was $121,000, compared to $19,000 for of poverty.’” In other words, whites could ex- sible in America. If the Negroes could der a presumed to be fair system” (p. 136). black households (U.S. Bureau of the Cen- tol their belief in negative stereotypes while be eliminated from America or greatly Commenting on the roles that schools play sus 1991, 2004). The two primary reasons simultaneously denying any salience of racial decreased in numbers, this would in African American communities, and the for these gross inequities in wealth between discrimination. meet the whites' approval—provided conservative “free market, competition solu- black and white households are equity aris- Social scientists and historians of color that it could be accomplished by tion,” Jerome E. Morris noted: ing from home property values and intergen-

6 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 7 erational transfers. “among the variables that might plausibly street crime neglects the far larger losses in- manufacturing jobs, and regardless of the tion to identify American citizens easily in with privilege” (p. XVI). This is the essence While technically applicable to whites influence capital sentencing—age, level of curred through corporate crime and willful exponential increase in educational attain- dichotomous white and nonwhite terms. In of white supremacy: the existence of racial and free blacks (over 90% benefited whites), education, criminal record, military record, mismanagement for personal gain, all perpe- ment by black men and women, the national a country that places privilege on white skin, privilege within a democracy, the existence the Homestead Act of 1862 made over 270 method of killing, motive for killing, rela- trated by white executives. From 2001-2009, unemployment rate has for blacks remained easily identifying who is white and who is of unearned rewards accrued through race million acres of land available for virtually tionship of defendant to the victim, strength Enron, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, WorldCom, stable at two to two and a half times higher not has a powerful effect on where one can within a meritocracy, the existence of racial nothing. Today, over 40 million whites are of evidence, and so forth—the race of the Global Crossings, AIG, Lehman Brothers, than the national unemployment rate for live, go to school, gain employment, watch a advantage in a country that alleges equal op- direct descendents of those benefiting from victim emerged as the most consistent and Bear-Stearns, and numerous smaller players whites (U.S. Bureau of the Census, Bureau of movie, or even receive medical treatment. portunity for all. the Homestead Act, and over 15 million still powerful factor” (p. 329). Coming under accounted for nearly two trillion dollars in Labor Statistics 2004). These findings illus- This is what I wish to examine. The fail- After the end of Civil War, and the offi- live on the land in question. Furthermore, criticism, Baldus subjected the data to 230 criminal and negligent losses, compared to trate the employment hegemony that whites ure of reconstruction not only meant the cial emancipation of all African slaves, white the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), non-racial variables in order to control for about 108 billion dollars in street crime loss- enjoy and are indicative of the inequalities re-enslavement of African Americans in all supremacy was implemented through four part of the National Housing Act of 1934, anything that might have influenced the re- es for the same period (FBI Crime Statistics that are present in other institutions as well. but name, but it also opened the door to Jim distinct mechanisms: social and economic lent over 120 billion dollars in government sults, and still concluded that in the state of and Analysis, www.fbi.gov). When the economy is doing well, whites will Crow indoctrination, indefensible acts of apartheid, biological determinism, cultural backed home equity to Americans. What Georgia, the odds of being condemned to The influence of whiteness invades areas of fare better than blacks. When the economy violence against blacks, and the disenfran- apathy, and racial terrorism. Social and is troubling about this is the fact that, for death were 4.3 times higher for defendents contemporary society other than education, is doing poorly, whites will fare better than chisement of blacks, all of which doomed fu- economic apartheid refers to the separate the first 30 years of its existence, the FHA, who were convicted of killing a white victim criminal justice, and wealth accumulation. It blacks. On average, it does not matter if we ture generations of blacks to a disempowered institutions of economy that were reserved through restrictive covenants and district than those who killed a black victim (Baldus, also exacerbates inequalities in healthcare, are comparing Ph.D. holders or high school existence of poverty, segregation, and poor for whites and blacks. This included em- redlining, systematically operated in an all 1979). Findings like these give footing to the employment, and political representation. drop outs, when it comes to employment, educational and occupational opportuni- ployment, schools, criminal justice, politics, white fashion, and almost completely barred pervasive feelings of helplessness and insecu- With regards to disparities in healthcare, whites will fare better than blacks. ties. Coupled with their acceptance as white, and social life. Biological determinism refers blacks from receiving any of these funds rity blacks feel in regards to police and the as Michael Brown (2003) noted, “Dispari- The apparatus that perpetuates these sys- European immigrants who previously faced to the science of racial superiority; the no- (Katznelson, 2005, p. 48). The FHA, along criminal justice system in general. They also ties that often mean life itself,” in 2003 the temic inequalities in the age of individual- discrimination now enjoyed institutional ad- tion that whites were genetically superior with the G.I. Bill and various other parts of suggest a psychological and material defense National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported ism is as complex as it is profound. First, any vantages that set in motion the rise of white to blacks and that it could be proven scien- The New Deal, is credited with creating the of whiteness: psychologically in the sense of that cancer deaths are increasing much faster analysis of the persistence of racial inequality supremacy along readily determined racial tifically. Cultural apathy refers to the north American middle class. Millions of middle security and confidence whites may have in among blacks than whites, sometimes 20 to has to discuss the re-segregating of America’s lines that encoded racism in institutional and its own vices as they pertained to race class whites owe their lives to these programs the neutrality and application of the criminal 100 times faster (p. 25). The NCI also noted neighborhoods and schools. In 1966 Thom- processes and cultural standards. While following the Compromise of 1877. These that in retrospect constitute “affirmative ac- justice system, and physically, in the literal that even though breast cancer is more preva- as Pettigrew, an African American historian, overt racism would continue, the new white vices included their own social policies and tion for whites.” increased likelihood of being put to death lent among white women, black women are noted, “Residential segregation has proved supremacy established a new racism in the behaviors that discriminated against blacks A recent study found that the “baby for having a white victim. more likely to die from the disease. Further- to be the most resistant to change of all subtleties of standardized forms, procedures, and an indifference to the racial terror that boomer” generation is in the process of in- Furthermore, Kennedy (1997) asserts that more, infant mortality, a condition that the realms—perhaps because it is so critical to alleged objective assessment, and the intrica- blacks experienced in the south. Finally, ra- heriting over seven trillion dollars in assets “Alongside racially biased police brutality, medical profession agrees could easily be re- racial change in general” (pp. 112-113). cies of individual perception. cial terrorism refers to the unprecedented from their parents and grandparents (Wise, the specter of wrongful convictions at tri- duced with better medical care for the moth- While these studies empirically demon- and largely unpunished violence aimed at 2008, p. 240). Considering the baby boomer als tainted by bigotry has long haunted the er and child, is over twice as high for blacks strate salient racial inequality, it is important Conceptualization of the Current blacks at the hands of whites in the south. generation started in the late 1940s and collective conscious of African Americans. than it is for whites (U.S. Department of to note that contemporary inequalities in Problem This violence, coupled with political, cultur- early 1950s, the assets that their parents and In addition, racially biased miscarriages of Health and Human Services, 2003). In this housing, education, employment, healthcare, al, and economic inequality, was intended to grandparents accumulated were done so in a justice have strongly influenced American sense, racial inequality not only has a pow- wealth, and politics have historical roots and The institutionalization of white suprem- relegate African Americans to second class time of American history in which racism in culture, particularly African American cul- erful impact on the quality of life one lives, can all be traced backed to a missed oppor- acy into American society was synonymous citizens, but citizens nonetheless. all of its manifestations was generally accept- ture” (p. 24). It is also hard to ignore the but on life itself. On average, whites not only tunity for full racial inclusion following the with an intertwining of otherwise contradic- Social and economic apartheid, cultural ed, and blacks faced open discrimination. positive correlation between the increase in enjoy a higher quality of life than blacks, but Civil War. tive notions. That is, white supremacy not apathy, biological determinism, and racial Looking back, sociologists and historians black incarceration and the national war on they are also more likely to live, as indicated only originated in but was strengthened by terrorism all occurred in a dialectical matrix. agree that America at the close of the 19th drugs. In Whitewashing Race: The Myth of a by lower infant mortality rate and longer life The Present through the Past the American ideals of democracy and inde- There was no chronological or linear process, century and the start of the 20th century op- Colorblind Society, Michael Brown (2003) expectancies. pendence. Democracy and discrimination one did not cause the other, and they often erated in a racial caste system, and the consti- found that “between the mid 1980’s and the With regards to employment, from less In the four decades following the war that are polar opposites, yet the existence of slav- happened in conjunction with one another. tutional rights of blacks were violated in all mid 1990’s, the number of black men sen- than high school to advanced degree, whites emancipated the slaves, newly freedmen and ery within a country that fancies itself the The amalgamation of all four, however, ef- of America’s institutions. While much of this tenced to prison for drug offenses increased earn more than blacks annually. What is more northern blacks saw the United States Gov- land of opportunity, a country that prom- fectively created a racial hierarchy within took place 50-150 years ago, the opportuni- by more than 700%, and the fastest growing telling, however, is that the white-black an- ernment act on their behalf for racial equality ises the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit the walls of a democracy and laid the ground ties provided and the wealth passed down segment of the prison population was black nual income gap increases with educational for a brief moment in history during radical of happiness, indicates who is entitled to work for white supremacy for generations to have had an impact on every subsequent gen- women, incarcerated mainly for nonviolent attainment. The gap is the smallest for whites reconstruction, only to have any social, eco- said opportunities, and who is not. As Joel come. eration, and they still impact the economic crimes” (p. 135). It would be reckless and ir- and blacks who do not possess a high school nomic, and political gains taken away from Olson (2004) notes, “Reflecting American My use of the term “white supremacy” landscape today. Coupled with the benefits responsible to deny the high prevalence of diploma, and highest for whites and blacks them in the form of race riots, black codes, society at large, the discipline has generally also warrants a little clarification. In Amer- accrued from the Homestead Act and FHA street crime perpetrated by African Ameri- who possess an advanced education degree poll taxes, lynchings, and eventually Jim treated race prior to, or outside the politi- ica, largely because of its openly racist past, discrimination, there are substantial levels of cans (indeed most critiques of whiteness to (U.S. Bureau of the Census, Educational At- Crow laws. The early 20th century saw the cal realm. This pre-political conception of white supremacy is generally accepted as wealth inequality between white and black date make this claim), but it is equally reck- tainment in the United States, 2003). In ad- assimilation of European immigrants such race tends to separate racial inequality out overt, public displays of racial discrimina- families. less, and perhaps even more irresponsible, dition to these numbers, according to the Sta- as Greeks, Irish, Jews, Poles, and Italians into from democratic ideals, which makes it dif- tion. White supremacy is equated with the In terms of crime, referencing the now to turn a blind eye to the salience of racial tistical Abstracts of the United States, a table the category of white, a designation that was ficult to recognize the ways in which race Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, and hate groups infamous Baldus study, a study examining discrimination in all facets of the criminal provided by the U.S. Census that measured previously out of reach to those considered and democracy are interconnected” (p. XII). who openly tout the legitimacy of white over 2000 murder cases between 1973 and justice system, from racial profiling to jury unemployment rates from 1980 to 2004, higher than blacks, but lower than whites. He continues, “Logically, absolute equal- superiority and the inferiority of all other 1979 that resulted in death penalty sentenc- nullification to the application of the death regardless of economic stability or instabil- This was a watershed moment in American ity and privilege conflict. When equality is races. With this conceptualization in mind, es, Randal Kennedy (1997) observed that penalty. For that matter, preoccupation with ity, regardless of the decline in low skilled history because it enabled racial discrimina- reserved for some, however, it can coexist it would be easy to interpret my use of the

8 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 9 erational transfers. “among the variables that might plausibly street crime neglects the far larger losses in- manufacturing jobs, and regardless of the tion to identify American citizens easily in with privilege” (p. XVI). This is the essence While technically applicable to whites influence capital sentencing—age, level of curred through corporate crime and willful exponential increase in educational attain- dichotomous white and nonwhite terms. In of white supremacy: the existence of racial and free blacks (over 90% benefited whites), education, criminal record, military record, mismanagement for personal gain, all perpe- ment by black men and women, the national a country that places privilege on white skin, privilege within a democracy, the existence the Homestead Act of 1862 made over 270 method of killing, motive for killing, rela- trated by white executives. From 2001-2009, unemployment rate has for blacks remained easily identifying who is white and who is of unearned rewards accrued through race million acres of land available for virtually tionship of defendant to the victim, strength Enron, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, WorldCom, stable at two to two and a half times higher not has a powerful effect on where one can within a meritocracy, the existence of racial nothing. Today, over 40 million whites are of evidence, and so forth—the race of the Global Crossings, AIG, Lehman Brothers, than the national unemployment rate for live, go to school, gain employment, watch a advantage in a country that alleges equal op- direct descendents of those benefiting from victim emerged as the most consistent and Bear-Stearns, and numerous smaller players whites (U.S. Bureau of the Census, Bureau of movie, or even receive medical treatment. portunity for all. the Homestead Act, and over 15 million still powerful factor” (p. 329). Coming under accounted for nearly two trillion dollars in Labor Statistics 2004). These findings illus- This is what I wish to examine. The fail- After the end of Civil War, and the offi- live on the land in question. Furthermore, criticism, Baldus subjected the data to 230 criminal and negligent losses, compared to trate the employment hegemony that whites ure of reconstruction not only meant the cial emancipation of all African slaves, white the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), non-racial variables in order to control for about 108 billion dollars in street crime loss- enjoy and are indicative of the inequalities re-enslavement of African Americans in all supremacy was implemented through four part of the National Housing Act of 1934, anything that might have influenced the re- es for the same period (FBI Crime Statistics that are present in other institutions as well. but name, but it also opened the door to Jim distinct mechanisms: social and economic lent over 120 billion dollars in government sults, and still concluded that in the state of and Analysis, www.fbi.gov). When the economy is doing well, whites will Crow indoctrination, indefensible acts of apartheid, biological determinism, cultural backed home equity to Americans. What Georgia, the odds of being condemned to The influence of whiteness invades areas of fare better than blacks. When the economy violence against blacks, and the disenfran- apathy, and racial terrorism. Social and is troubling about this is the fact that, for death were 4.3 times higher for defendents contemporary society other than education, is doing poorly, whites will fare better than chisement of blacks, all of which doomed fu- economic apartheid refers to the separate the first 30 years of its existence, the FHA, who were convicted of killing a white victim criminal justice, and wealth accumulation. It blacks. On average, it does not matter if we ture generations of blacks to a disempowered institutions of economy that were reserved through restrictive covenants and district than those who killed a black victim (Baldus, also exacerbates inequalities in healthcare, are comparing Ph.D. holders or high school existence of poverty, segregation, and poor for whites and blacks. This included em- redlining, systematically operated in an all 1979). Findings like these give footing to the employment, and political representation. drop outs, when it comes to employment, educational and occupational opportuni- ployment, schools, criminal justice, politics, white fashion, and almost completely barred pervasive feelings of helplessness and insecu- With regards to disparities in healthcare, whites will fare better than blacks. ties. Coupled with their acceptance as white, and social life. Biological determinism refers blacks from receiving any of these funds rity blacks feel in regards to police and the as Michael Brown (2003) noted, “Dispari- The apparatus that perpetuates these sys- European immigrants who previously faced to the science of racial superiority; the no- (Katznelson, 2005, p. 48). The FHA, along criminal justice system in general. They also ties that often mean life itself,” in 2003 the temic inequalities in the age of individual- discrimination now enjoyed institutional ad- tion that whites were genetically superior with the G.I. Bill and various other parts of suggest a psychological and material defense National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported ism is as complex as it is profound. First, any vantages that set in motion the rise of white to blacks and that it could be proven scien- The New Deal, is credited with creating the of whiteness: psychologically in the sense of that cancer deaths are increasing much faster analysis of the persistence of racial inequality supremacy along readily determined racial tifically. Cultural apathy refers to the north American middle class. Millions of middle security and confidence whites may have in among blacks than whites, sometimes 20 to has to discuss the re-segregating of America’s lines that encoded racism in institutional and its own vices as they pertained to race class whites owe their lives to these programs the neutrality and application of the criminal 100 times faster (p. 25). The NCI also noted neighborhoods and schools. In 1966 Thom- processes and cultural standards. While following the Compromise of 1877. These that in retrospect constitute “affirmative ac- justice system, and physically, in the literal that even though breast cancer is more preva- as Pettigrew, an African American historian, overt racism would continue, the new white vices included their own social policies and tion for whites.” increased likelihood of being put to death lent among white women, black women are noted, “Residential segregation has proved supremacy established a new racism in the behaviors that discriminated against blacks A recent study found that the “baby for having a white victim. more likely to die from the disease. Further- to be the most resistant to change of all subtleties of standardized forms, procedures, and an indifference to the racial terror that boomer” generation is in the process of in- Furthermore, Kennedy (1997) asserts that more, infant mortality, a condition that the realms—perhaps because it is so critical to alleged objective assessment, and the intrica- blacks experienced in the south. Finally, ra- heriting over seven trillion dollars in assets “Alongside racially biased police brutality, medical profession agrees could easily be re- racial change in general” (pp. 112-113). cies of individual perception. cial terrorism refers to the unprecedented from their parents and grandparents (Wise, the specter of wrongful convictions at tri- duced with better medical care for the moth- While these studies empirically demon- and largely unpunished violence aimed at 2008, p. 240). Considering the baby boomer als tainted by bigotry has long haunted the er and child, is over twice as high for blacks strate salient racial inequality, it is important Conceptualization of the Current blacks at the hands of whites in the south. generation started in the late 1940s and collective conscious of African Americans. than it is for whites (U.S. Department of to note that contemporary inequalities in Problem This violence, coupled with political, cultur- early 1950s, the assets that their parents and In addition, racially biased miscarriages of Health and Human Services, 2003). In this housing, education, employment, healthcare, al, and economic inequality, was intended to grandparents accumulated were done so in a justice have strongly influenced American sense, racial inequality not only has a pow- wealth, and politics have historical roots and The institutionalization of white suprem- relegate African Americans to second class time of American history in which racism in culture, particularly African American cul- erful impact on the quality of life one lives, can all be traced backed to a missed oppor- acy into American society was synonymous citizens, but citizens nonetheless. all of its manifestations was generally accept- ture” (p. 24). It is also hard to ignore the but on life itself. On average, whites not only tunity for full racial inclusion following the with an intertwining of otherwise contradic- Social and economic apartheid, cultural ed, and blacks faced open discrimination. positive correlation between the increase in enjoy a higher quality of life than blacks, but Civil War. tive notions. That is, white supremacy not apathy, biological determinism, and racial Looking back, sociologists and historians black incarceration and the national war on they are also more likely to live, as indicated only originated in but was strengthened by terrorism all occurred in a dialectical matrix. agree that America at the close of the 19th drugs. In Whitewashing Race: The Myth of a by lower infant mortality rate and longer life The Present through the Past the American ideals of democracy and inde- There was no chronological or linear process, century and the start of the 20th century op- Colorblind Society, Michael Brown (2003) expectancies. pendence. Democracy and discrimination one did not cause the other, and they often erated in a racial caste system, and the consti- found that “between the mid 1980’s and the With regards to employment, from less In the four decades following the war that are polar opposites, yet the existence of slav- happened in conjunction with one another. tutional rights of blacks were violated in all mid 1990’s, the number of black men sen- than high school to advanced degree, whites emancipated the slaves, newly freedmen and ery within a country that fancies itself the The amalgamation of all four, however, ef- of America’s institutions. While much of this tenced to prison for drug offenses increased earn more than blacks annually. What is more northern blacks saw the United States Gov- land of opportunity, a country that prom- fectively created a racial hierarchy within took place 50-150 years ago, the opportuni- by more than 700%, and the fastest growing telling, however, is that the white-black an- ernment act on their behalf for racial equality ises the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit the walls of a democracy and laid the ground ties provided and the wealth passed down segment of the prison population was black nual income gap increases with educational for a brief moment in history during radical of happiness, indicates who is entitled to work for white supremacy for generations to have had an impact on every subsequent gen- women, incarcerated mainly for nonviolent attainment. The gap is the smallest for whites reconstruction, only to have any social, eco- said opportunities, and who is not. As Joel come. eration, and they still impact the economic crimes” (p. 135). It would be reckless and ir- and blacks who do not possess a high school nomic, and political gains taken away from Olson (2004) notes, “Reflecting American My use of the term “white supremacy” landscape today. Coupled with the benefits responsible to deny the high prevalence of diploma, and highest for whites and blacks them in the form of race riots, black codes, society at large, the discipline has generally also warrants a little clarification. In Amer- accrued from the Homestead Act and FHA street crime perpetrated by African Ameri- who possess an advanced education degree poll taxes, lynchings, and eventually Jim treated race prior to, or outside the politi- ica, largely because of its openly racist past, discrimination, there are substantial levels of cans (indeed most critiques of whiteness to (U.S. Bureau of the Census, Educational At- Crow laws. The early 20th century saw the cal realm. This pre-political conception of white supremacy is generally accepted as wealth inequality between white and black date make this claim), but it is equally reck- tainment in the United States, 2003). In ad- assimilation of European immigrants such race tends to separate racial inequality out overt, public displays of racial discrimina- families. less, and perhaps even more irresponsible, dition to these numbers, according to the Sta- as Greeks, Irish, Jews, Poles, and Italians into from democratic ideals, which makes it dif- tion. White supremacy is equated with the In terms of crime, referencing the now to turn a blind eye to the salience of racial tistical Abstracts of the United States, a table the category of white, a designation that was ficult to recognize the ways in which race Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, and hate groups infamous Baldus study, a study examining discrimination in all facets of the criminal provided by the U.S. Census that measured previously out of reach to those considered and democracy are interconnected” (p. XII). who openly tout the legitimacy of white over 2000 murder cases between 1973 and justice system, from racial profiling to jury unemployment rates from 1980 to 2004, higher than blacks, but lower than whites. He continues, “Logically, absolute equal- superiority and the inferiority of all other 1979 that resulted in death penalty sentenc- nullification to the application of the death regardless of economic stability or instabil- This was a watershed moment in American ity and privilege conflict. When equality is races. With this conceptualization in mind, es, Randal Kennedy (1997) observed that penalty. For that matter, preoccupation with ity, regardless of the decline in low skilled history because it enabled racial discrimina- reserved for some, however, it can coexist it would be easy to interpret my use of the

8 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 9 term “white supremacy” as outdated, or from prominent political figures throughout The Confederate Army had been defeated, are contradictory to one another, so for them colonels and cavalry captains found oppor- something that Eric Foner described as a “se- an indictment of America as a nation that American history. This review incorporates and the shackles and chains that had held the both to exist in the same country at the same tunities for service as members of the legis- vere blow to the free black community of the openly discriminates against blacks in a hos- all types of sources: journal articles, census slave in bondage for so long were finally to be time, subordinated groups had to be seen as latures, as sheriffs, local judges, and the like. south, and to former slave artisans” (p. 93). tile manner reminiscent of the antebellum data, primary historical documents, and removed. The whips and lashes that had for less than human. Prejudice allowed whites to Whatever their views regarding reconstruc- Apprenticeship laws also surfaced, which slave state or the Jim Crow south. My con- secondary studies. I will conclude my analy- centuries penetrated the skin and spilled the see African slaves as the product of an inferi- tion, the former confederates could look for- arguably caused the biggest uproar amongst ceptualization, however, for the purposes of sis by bridging connections between past blood of servants were finally to be put away. or race, therefore not afforded the rights and ward to an important role in the formulation newly freed slaves because they most resem- this project, treats white supremacy as the and present, illustrating various ways which With the Union persevering, newly freed protections guaranteed by the United States and execution of postwar policies” (p. 45). It bled slavery. Apprenticeship laws required systemic advantages conferred to whites on historical inequalities and racial oppression slaves and northern blacks alike saw a genu- Constitution. America was never meant to was simple; the rebuilding and restoration of blacks under the age of 18 to work for plant- the basis of their skin color. These privileges benefits whites today in the realm of educa- ine opportunity for America finally to live be a nation for anyone other than whites, the south after the Civil War was going to be ers without pay. “These laws allowed judges come in many forms and impact many insti- tion, employment, housing, and wealth ac- up to its ideals and truly become the land of therefore democracy and the subordina- in the hands of those who fought under the to bind to white employers black orphans and tutions. They are often times subtle in their cumulation. These bridges, in conjunction equality and opportunity, where blacks and tion of the slave was not contradictory, but Confederate banner. These men were seen as those whose parents were deemed unable to practice, but their consequences are no less with contemporary forms of white racial whites could lift their heads as brothers and rather the natural order of things. Joel Ol- the best chance of preserving the southern support them. The former owner usually had destructive than the racial oppression faced privilege, combine to maintain a constant sisters of a dignified and unified land. Sadly, son (2004) writes, “Notwithstanding some way of life, especially as it pertained to the preference, and consent of the owner was not by African Americans throughout America’s and even strengthening presence of white it was not to be. soul searching by a few genteel slave hold- Negro; they did not disappoint. required” (Foner, 1984, p. 94). As one could ugly racial history. It is precisely because of supremacy in the American landscape. ing intellectuals like Jefferson and Madison A number of southern states, including imagine, after the abolition of slavery, there its subtlety that contemporary white racial The components of legitimizing white Social and Economic Apartheid in the late eighteenth and early 19th centu- Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, were a lot of what the powers could consider privilege is largely considered a thing of supremacy—social and economic apartheid, ries, there is little evidence of an American Texas, and Georgia, within a year of the end “orphans.” Many children were torn apart the past, and America is now in a so-called biological determinism, cultural apathy, and Initially, the promise of reconstruc- dilemma…. The democratic, egalitarian, and to the Civil War, enacted their own vari- from their families during slavery, and after post-racial era. Overt and public racial dis- racial terrorism—all happened within the tion and the possibility of racial equality libertarian ideals were reconciled with slav- ous versions of policies, official and unoffi- the war ended, this fact was used to declare crimination of America’s past created white context of radical reconstruction and the seemed not only attainable, but inevitable. ery and genocide by restricting the definition cial, that have come to be known as “black African American minors as orphans and privilege, and the general indifference to its 40-50 years following the end of radical re- The Freedmen’s Bureau was created in 1865 of humanity to whites” (p. xvi). Examples of codes.” “They recognized the right of Negros essentially keep them as slaves. Even when salient manifestation allows white privilege construction in 1877. This context is marked and was established to help the newly freed this sentiment are expressed in statements to hold property, to sue and be sued (as long families were reunited, whites could for any to continue today. by four watershed moments: The creation of slaves, previous freedmen, and even poor made by elected officials such as Governor as both parties were black), and to have legal number of reasons declare the parents unfit, To be clear, white supremacy is the in- the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865, the Com- whites. Through the various policies of the B.F. Perry of South Carolina, who stated, marriages and offspring” (Franklin, 1961, p. thus rendering their children orphans and stitutional practices that advantage whites promise of 1877, the 1896 United States Su- Freedman’s Bureau, blacks were able to “the government of my state is a white man’s 48). Freedman could handle no firearms or confining them to forced, unpaid servitude. at the disadvantage of other races. White preme Court decision in Plessey v. Ferguson, build schools, participate in politics, and government and intended for white men other weapons, and they were not allowed These “codes” or laws, as they were seen by supremacy is privilege within a democracy. and the 1923 United States Supreme Court get elected to office. The benefits and rights only,” and Governor R. M. Patton of Ala- to possess or drink alcohol. Any Negros who the white majority of the south, were not a White supremacy is the legacy of accumu- Decision in The United States v. Bhagat conferred to blacks were relatively small, but bama, who proclaimed, “In the future, as had intermarried with whites were guilty of a fel- return to slavery per se, but a way to main- lated wealth and the ability to be considered Singh Thind. While other moments during given the previous status of slaves, blacks had been the case in the past, the state affairs of ony, punishable by a fine, long prison term, tain the southern way of life by ensuring the the norm to which all other colors are com- this time period, including the passing of the at least some reason to believe that things Alabama must be guided and controlled by or long assignment to servitude. In some cit- newly freed slaves devotion to their country. pared. White supremacy allows whites to be 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the were changing for the better. The south had the superior intelligence of the white man” ies, blacks were not allowed to come within As one reporter at the time observed, “we taken as individuals, and not be a representa- Constitution, southern elections, Supreme other plans, however. (Franklin, 1961, p. 51). An ex-Confederate the limits of particular cities without ex- acknowledge the overthrow of the special tive of their race. Court decisions, passed legislations, race ri- First, with the election of ex-Confederate officer elected to the Louisiana legislature pressed permission from an elected official. servitude of man to man, but seek to estab- ots, and northern resistance, were very influ- soldiers and former slave holders, policies agreed. In reference to newly freed slaves and Blacks were allowed to sign contracts as la- lish the general servitude of man to com- Methods ential in the institutionalization of white su- signed into law upheld the institution of education, he cautioned, “I am not in favor borers for whites who owned land; however, monwealth” (Foner, 1984, p. 94). The south premacy, the four aforementioned moments slavery in all but name. A series of laws re- of positively imposing upon any legislature if the contract was deemed to be broken or saw a massive increase in the punishment of To illustrate how white supremacy came warrant additional explanation because of ferred to as “black codes” kept the freedmen the unqualified and imperative duty of edu- unfulfilled by the Negro (which was mostly petty crimes, crimes that almost exclusively to be, I analyze a 60 year period from the end their lasting legacy in solidifying racial privi- disenfranchised, subjected them to violence cating any but the superior race of man—the determined by the subjectivity of the white applied to blacks. For example, laws in Geor- of the Civil War in 1865 to the early 20th lege. with little to no protection under the law, white race” (p. 46). land owner), then a fine was to be paid, and/ gia and Mississippi made the theft of a horse century case of United States v. Bhagat Singh and punished them for rudimentary infrac- The ideology of white supremacy and or prison or servitude was enforced. Many or mule a capital crime. South Carolina re- Thind, which essentially led to the assimila- Reconstruction tions or “vagrancy laws,” by which the only black subordination did not begin with slav- communities required the Negro to be off quired blacks working in agriculture to pres- tion of all European immigrants. The over- way the penalty could be mitigated was by ery, and abolishment of slavery as an institu- the street by a specified hour, while others ent written authorization from their “mas- all method is historical-comparative with While the Emancipation Proclamation paying a hefty fine (which the vast majority tion did little to change this. Throughout had laws against the Negro using insulting ters” before selling produce. Laws emerged statistical augmentation, all from secondary (occurring in two parts) was issued in late of ex-slaves could not afford) or becoming the south following the war, ex-Confederate gestures or exercising the function of min- that prohibited blacks from hunting, fishing, sources. I intend to reconstruct the econom- 1962 and early 1963, perhaps a more sym- indentured servants for a specified amount officers and even soldiers were being elected ister of the Gospel without a license. Some and free grazing of livestock. As one Florid- ic and cultural origins and development of bolic day for the hundreds of thousands of of time (Foner, 1984). These “codes” were in mass numbers. As one historian put it, “In states required blacks to possess papers at all ian legislature put it, “opposing the rights white supremacy in the United States and “technically” freed slaves was April 9, 1965. designed to preserve the southern way of life; the south, some connection with the rebel times that demonstrated or proved that they of blacks to hunt and fish was necessary be- its impact on the present. My literature re- On this day, the much heralded General to maintain a physical and a status distance service seemed to be the best endorsement were “lawfully employed,” while other states cause hunting and fishing allowed blacks to view includes studies conducted on family Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate between the nearly four million newly freed in the eyes of the people” (Franklin, 1961, prevented slaves from renting land in urban subsist while avoiding plantation labor” (p. wealth, whiteness, meritocracy, education, Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant slaves who resided in the south, a system of p. 44). Seen as dedicating themselves to an areas purposely in order to limit their eco- 95). North Carolina made the intent to steal residential segregation, and employment, General Ulysses S. Grant, marking the of- social and economic apartheid was put into honorable cause throughout the war, south- nomic opportunities (Foner, 1984). Blacks a capital crime, and “intent” was decided by as well as historical studies of salient time ficial end of the bloodiest war ever to take practice. ern populations not only sought to reward who desired to pursue a profession other white sheriffs, white judges, and even white periods: the pre-and post Civil War period place on American soil. It was one thing To understand how an institution as vi- ex-members of the Confederate army, but than farmer or servant (which mirrored the citizens. Some states even made it illegal to and the first 25 years of the 20th century. for the slaves to be told that they were now cious and inherently unequal as slavery could also elect those who were more inclined to responsibilities of plantation slavery) were own a dog; while some states allowed blacks I also will be looking at primary historical free by President Lincoln, but it was another exist in a land that espoused equality, one preserve “home rule,” a euphemism for black required to pay an annual tax of 10 to 100 to own dogs, they assessed taxes in order documents such as the U.S. Constitution, thing altogether to see the fight to preserve must understand the origins of prejudice. subjugation. In reference to these Confed- dollars depending on the state. Whites were to do so. “Most of the laws employed such Supreme Court legislation, and quotations the institution of slavery come to an end. Ideally, democracy and racial subordination erate politicians, Franklin noted, “Militia not subjected to these kinds of taxes. This is terms as ‘master’ and ‘servant’ and clearly

10 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 11 term “white supremacy” as outdated, or from prominent political figures throughout The Confederate Army had been defeated, are contradictory to one another, so for them colonels and cavalry captains found oppor- something that Eric Foner described as a “se- an indictment of America as a nation that American history. This review incorporates and the shackles and chains that had held the both to exist in the same country at the same tunities for service as members of the legis- vere blow to the free black community of the openly discriminates against blacks in a hos- all types of sources: journal articles, census slave in bondage for so long were finally to be time, subordinated groups had to be seen as latures, as sheriffs, local judges, and the like. south, and to former slave artisans” (p. 93). tile manner reminiscent of the antebellum data, primary historical documents, and removed. The whips and lashes that had for less than human. Prejudice allowed whites to Whatever their views regarding reconstruc- Apprenticeship laws also surfaced, which slave state or the Jim Crow south. My con- secondary studies. I will conclude my analy- centuries penetrated the skin and spilled the see African slaves as the product of an inferi- tion, the former confederates could look for- arguably caused the biggest uproar amongst ceptualization, however, for the purposes of sis by bridging connections between past blood of servants were finally to be put away. or race, therefore not afforded the rights and ward to an important role in the formulation newly freed slaves because they most resem- this project, treats white supremacy as the and present, illustrating various ways which With the Union persevering, newly freed protections guaranteed by the United States and execution of postwar policies” (p. 45). It bled slavery. Apprenticeship laws required systemic advantages conferred to whites on historical inequalities and racial oppression slaves and northern blacks alike saw a genu- Constitution. America was never meant to was simple; the rebuilding and restoration of blacks under the age of 18 to work for plant- the basis of their skin color. These privileges benefits whites today in the realm of educa- ine opportunity for America finally to live be a nation for anyone other than whites, the south after the Civil War was going to be ers without pay. “These laws allowed judges come in many forms and impact many insti- tion, employment, housing, and wealth ac- up to its ideals and truly become the land of therefore democracy and the subordina- in the hands of those who fought under the to bind to white employers black orphans and tutions. They are often times subtle in their cumulation. These bridges, in conjunction equality and opportunity, where blacks and tion of the slave was not contradictory, but Confederate banner. These men were seen as those whose parents were deemed unable to practice, but their consequences are no less with contemporary forms of white racial whites could lift their heads as brothers and rather the natural order of things. Joel Ol- the best chance of preserving the southern support them. The former owner usually had destructive than the racial oppression faced privilege, combine to maintain a constant sisters of a dignified and unified land. Sadly, son (2004) writes, “Notwithstanding some way of life, especially as it pertained to the preference, and consent of the owner was not by African Americans throughout America’s and even strengthening presence of white it was not to be. soul searching by a few genteel slave hold- Negro; they did not disappoint. required” (Foner, 1984, p. 94). As one could ugly racial history. It is precisely because of supremacy in the American landscape. ing intellectuals like Jefferson and Madison A number of southern states, including imagine, after the abolition of slavery, there its subtlety that contemporary white racial The components of legitimizing white Social and Economic Apartheid in the late eighteenth and early 19th centu- Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, were a lot of what the powers could consider privilege is largely considered a thing of supremacy—social and economic apartheid, ries, there is little evidence of an American Texas, and Georgia, within a year of the end “orphans.” Many children were torn apart the past, and America is now in a so-called biological determinism, cultural apathy, and Initially, the promise of reconstruc- dilemma…. The democratic, egalitarian, and to the Civil War, enacted their own vari- from their families during slavery, and after post-racial era. Overt and public racial dis- racial terrorism—all happened within the tion and the possibility of racial equality libertarian ideals were reconciled with slav- ous versions of policies, official and unoffi- the war ended, this fact was used to declare crimination of America’s past created white context of radical reconstruction and the seemed not only attainable, but inevitable. ery and genocide by restricting the definition cial, that have come to be known as “black African American minors as orphans and privilege, and the general indifference to its 40-50 years following the end of radical re- The Freedmen’s Bureau was created in 1865 of humanity to whites” (p. xvi). Examples of codes.” “They recognized the right of Negros essentially keep them as slaves. Even when salient manifestation allows white privilege construction in 1877. This context is marked and was established to help the newly freed this sentiment are expressed in statements to hold property, to sue and be sued (as long families were reunited, whites could for any to continue today. by four watershed moments: The creation of slaves, previous freedmen, and even poor made by elected officials such as Governor as both parties were black), and to have legal number of reasons declare the parents unfit, To be clear, white supremacy is the in- the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865, the Com- whites. Through the various policies of the B.F. Perry of South Carolina, who stated, marriages and offspring” (Franklin, 1961, p. thus rendering their children orphans and stitutional practices that advantage whites promise of 1877, the 1896 United States Su- Freedman’s Bureau, blacks were able to “the government of my state is a white man’s 48). Freedman could handle no firearms or confining them to forced, unpaid servitude. at the disadvantage of other races. White preme Court decision in Plessey v. Ferguson, build schools, participate in politics, and government and intended for white men other weapons, and they were not allowed These “codes” or laws, as they were seen by supremacy is privilege within a democracy. and the 1923 United States Supreme Court get elected to office. The benefits and rights only,” and Governor R. M. Patton of Ala- to possess or drink alcohol. Any Negros who the white majority of the south, were not a White supremacy is the legacy of accumu- Decision in The United States v. Bhagat conferred to blacks were relatively small, but bama, who proclaimed, “In the future, as had intermarried with whites were guilty of a fel- return to slavery per se, but a way to main- lated wealth and the ability to be considered Singh Thind. While other moments during given the previous status of slaves, blacks had been the case in the past, the state affairs of ony, punishable by a fine, long prison term, tain the southern way of life by ensuring the the norm to which all other colors are com- this time period, including the passing of the at least some reason to believe that things Alabama must be guided and controlled by or long assignment to servitude. In some cit- newly freed slaves devotion to their country. pared. White supremacy allows whites to be 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the were changing for the better. The south had the superior intelligence of the white man” ies, blacks were not allowed to come within As one reporter at the time observed, “we taken as individuals, and not be a representa- Constitution, southern elections, Supreme other plans, however. (Franklin, 1961, p. 51). An ex-Confederate the limits of particular cities without ex- acknowledge the overthrow of the special tive of their race. Court decisions, passed legislations, race ri- First, with the election of ex-Confederate officer elected to the Louisiana legislature pressed permission from an elected official. servitude of man to man, but seek to estab- ots, and northern resistance, were very influ- soldiers and former slave holders, policies agreed. In reference to newly freed slaves and Blacks were allowed to sign contracts as la- lish the general servitude of man to com- Methods ential in the institutionalization of white su- signed into law upheld the institution of education, he cautioned, “I am not in favor borers for whites who owned land; however, monwealth” (Foner, 1984, p. 94). The south premacy, the four aforementioned moments slavery in all but name. A series of laws re- of positively imposing upon any legislature if the contract was deemed to be broken or saw a massive increase in the punishment of To illustrate how white supremacy came warrant additional explanation because of ferred to as “black codes” kept the freedmen the unqualified and imperative duty of edu- unfulfilled by the Negro (which was mostly petty crimes, crimes that almost exclusively to be, I analyze a 60 year period from the end their lasting legacy in solidifying racial privi- disenfranchised, subjected them to violence cating any but the superior race of man—the determined by the subjectivity of the white applied to blacks. For example, laws in Geor- of the Civil War in 1865 to the early 20th lege. with little to no protection under the law, white race” (p. 46). land owner), then a fine was to be paid, and/ gia and Mississippi made the theft of a horse century case of United States v. Bhagat Singh and punished them for rudimentary infrac- The ideology of white supremacy and or prison or servitude was enforced. Many or mule a capital crime. South Carolina re- Thind, which essentially led to the assimila- Reconstruction tions or “vagrancy laws,” by which the only black subordination did not begin with slav- communities required the Negro to be off quired blacks working in agriculture to pres- tion of all European immigrants. The over- way the penalty could be mitigated was by ery, and abolishment of slavery as an institu- the street by a specified hour, while others ent written authorization from their “mas- all method is historical-comparative with While the Emancipation Proclamation paying a hefty fine (which the vast majority tion did little to change this. Throughout had laws against the Negro using insulting ters” before selling produce. Laws emerged statistical augmentation, all from secondary (occurring in two parts) was issued in late of ex-slaves could not afford) or becoming the south following the war, ex-Confederate gestures or exercising the function of min- that prohibited blacks from hunting, fishing, sources. I intend to reconstruct the econom- 1962 and early 1963, perhaps a more sym- indentured servants for a specified amount officers and even soldiers were being elected ister of the Gospel without a license. Some and free grazing of livestock. As one Florid- ic and cultural origins and development of bolic day for the hundreds of thousands of of time (Foner, 1984). These “codes” were in mass numbers. As one historian put it, “In states required blacks to possess papers at all ian legislature put it, “opposing the rights white supremacy in the United States and “technically” freed slaves was April 9, 1965. designed to preserve the southern way of life; the south, some connection with the rebel times that demonstrated or proved that they of blacks to hunt and fish was necessary be- its impact on the present. My literature re- On this day, the much heralded General to maintain a physical and a status distance service seemed to be the best endorsement were “lawfully employed,” while other states cause hunting and fishing allowed blacks to view includes studies conducted on family Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate between the nearly four million newly freed in the eyes of the people” (Franklin, 1961, prevented slaves from renting land in urban subsist while avoiding plantation labor” (p. wealth, whiteness, meritocracy, education, Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant slaves who resided in the south, a system of p. 44). Seen as dedicating themselves to an areas purposely in order to limit their eco- 95). North Carolina made the intent to steal residential segregation, and employment, General Ulysses S. Grant, marking the of- social and economic apartheid was put into honorable cause throughout the war, south- nomic opportunities (Foner, 1984). Blacks a capital crime, and “intent” was decided by as well as historical studies of salient time ficial end of the bloodiest war ever to take practice. ern populations not only sought to reward who desired to pursue a profession other white sheriffs, white judges, and even white periods: the pre-and post Civil War period place on American soil. It was one thing To understand how an institution as vi- ex-members of the Confederate army, but than farmer or servant (which mirrored the citizens. Some states even made it illegal to and the first 25 years of the 20th century. for the slaves to be told that they were now cious and inherently unequal as slavery could also elect those who were more inclined to responsibilities of plantation slavery) were own a dog; while some states allowed blacks I also will be looking at primary historical free by President Lincoln, but it was another exist in a land that espoused equality, one preserve “home rule,” a euphemism for black required to pay an annual tax of 10 to 100 to own dogs, they assessed taxes in order documents such as the U.S. Constitution, thing altogether to see the fight to preserve must understand the origins of prejudice. subjugation. In reference to these Confed- dollars depending on the state. Whites were to do so. “Most of the laws employed such Supreme Court legislation, and quotations the institution of slavery come to an end. Ideally, democracy and racial subordination erate politicians, Franklin noted, “Militia not subjected to these kinds of taxes. This is terms as ‘master’ and ‘servant’ and clearly

10 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 11 implied a distinction that consigned the the doctrine of negro equality in all things, the new era…. Blacks found countless ways Klux Klan rose to prominence, and the racial in a strictly partisan eight to seven vote, so ed racism as a matter of individual choice or Negro to a hopelessly inferior status” (Frank- but simply before the law” (Benedict, 1991, of pursuing aspirations for autonomy and terrorism of blacks increased exponentially, angered Democrats that many of them open- prejudice, that particular individuals perpe- lin, 1961, p. 49). John W. Burgess (1906) p. 55). Michael Benedict asserts, “Few Re- equality, and seizing the opportunity to press leaving southern blacks in a state of constant ly threatened revolution, while others in the trated discrimination or aggression against summed it up best when he observed that publicans during the war or reconstruction for further change” (Foner, 1984, p. 124). fear for their lives. House of Representatives began a filibuster other individuals with the justification of “Almost every act, word or gesture of the Ne- believed blacks to be the equal of whites. Re- Perhaps the institution most affected by While radical reconstruction was by no to prevent Hayes’ inauguration.” racial superiority. The feelings underlying gro, not consonant with good taste and good publicans had insisted only that freedmen be the newly found aspiration and confidence means successful in leveling the playing field Hayes sought a compromise. In order to these actions, whether biological and/or manners as well as good morals, was made a secured equality in basic civil and (after some championed by freedmen was politics. Not between whites and newly freed slaves, it did prevent the impending filibuster and be rec- cultural superiority, and the slurs that re- crime or misdemeanor, for which he could hesitation) political rights, not that they be only did blacks turn out to vote in incredible make many strides. As Theresa Richardson ognized as President of the United States, sult from such attitudes, whether the more be first fined, and consigned to a condition conceded what was called at the time social numbers, but they also sought to be elected (2000) writes: Hayes withdrew the military from southern overtly malicious “nigger,” and “coon,” or the of almost slavery for an indefinite time, if he equality.” Most radical Republicans shared to office themselves. “One plantation man- states, thus officially ending reconstruction. coded “Urban,” and “ghetto,” the notion of could not pay the bill” (p. 46). the similar sentiment that because blacks did ager summed up the situation: You never saw The 13th Amendment assured the Hayes also sought to establish a southern superiority and inferiority still remains. In The south quickly established a racial indeed belong to an inferior race, it was all a people more excited on the subject of poli- right of all African American to free- constituency that was not dependent on the terms of economics and politics, racism was pecking order. By electing ex-Confederate the more reason they should be protected by tics than are the Negros of the south. They dom from involuntary servitude. The Negro vote, and the only effective way to viewed as an institution, both as slavery and soldiers and officers to office, southern states equal laws (Anderson & Moss Jr., 1991). are perfectly wild” (Foner, 1984, p. 125). 14th Amendment assured the right sway the majority of southern whites was to later as enforced apartheid in the form of de were able to ensure separate institutions of With this in mind, the proposals and ac- Blacks voted in overwhelming numbers, ex- to citizenship; and the 15th Amend- give them patronage to protect their “home jure segregation. work for blacks and whites, separate laws tual policies that were enacted during radi- ercising their newly gained suffrage, and as a ment provided self-determination rule.” With slavery abolished and mandated that were applicable to blacks and whites, cal reconstruction were designed to promote result many black politicians were voted into with right to vote. The dogma of race segregation legally invalidated by the Su- and separate modes of punishment for laws equal protection in the eyes of the Constitu- office. Former slaves and previously freed once unleashed, however, was not to Discussion preme Court, the purely overt understand- that were broken. Socially, there was little tion, not to espouse the equal status of the blacks still living in the south finally felt as be reined in easily. The purpose of re- ing of racism leads people to believe that rac- interaction between blacks and whites, and white and black race. The inferior status of though they had political representation. construction between 1865 and 1877, This study addresses an apparent paradox. ism is no longer relevant because it no longer many types of physical or spatial interaction former African slaves was not challenged, not Even though the radical Republicans were in the years of radical republicans, If racism is still prevalent in contemporary exists. What mainstream America and even were illegal for blacks and could land them even by the radicals. So by contrast, white su- legislatively fighting on behalf of blacks, they was to dis-empower the planter class America, and America as a nation believes scholars of race and ethnicity often fail to re- in jail, or into a condition resembling slav- periority or white supremacy was espoused only were willing to fight for so much, and aristocracy of the south. Slavery was that racism is unjust, then where is the na- alize is that segregation was not challenged ery. The expedience to which this racial hi- by the very people who would be charged they could never understand the physical abolished, schools were set up, former tional outcry? Why is there no movement to for the sole purpose of integration; it was an erarchy was established troubled the north. with reconstruction and the assimilation of and psychological existence in legalized ra- slaves acquired land, and the right to secure the equal distribution of opportunity attempt to undermine the contextual struc- The Civil War was still fresh in the minds of nearly four million newly freed slaves. Even cial servitude. vote was briefly acquired along with and fairness in the realms of education, em- ture that made legal segregation possible many northerners, so the southern attempt though the radicals were the best chance that the experience of holding an elected ployment, housing, politics, and healthcare? and morally acceptable: white supremacy. to maintain a form a racial slavery led to a former slaves had at receiving any sense of Racial Terrorism position. The aristocracy was tempo- Why is it that politicians do not stress the In contrast to overt racism, the concept and backlash from the north, and southerners equality, it was never their intention to deny rarily displaced and the plantation need to eradicate racial privilege, and why is practice of white supremacy, however, legiti- elected to Congress were not recognized white superiority. White was superior, black Some important forms of racial domina- economy destroyed. (p. 316) there not an abundance of congressional leg- mate a perception of white superiority and when the 39th Congress convened in De- was inferior, and thus white supremacy as an tion occurred overtly. “At least two motifs islation being proposed to secure a fair and non-white, especially black, inferiority as an cember 1865. Republicans, the progressive ideology saturated any recommendations, would run through any biography of the The key word here is “temporarily.” The just playing field for all Americans? essential truth—a truth that is self-evident party of the time, outnumbered the Demo- proposals, laws, policies, or Supreme Court United States: an enduring democratic heri- presidential election in 1876 ended with a Furthermore, are young people really more and requires no rational proof. It is both crats 3 to 1, and with little to no resistance decisions. tage and a legacy of social domination along lot of ambiguity and controversy. The Dem- tolerant when it comes to matters pertaining an assumption and a feeling that can be en- from President Johnson, the Republican From the end of 1865 to the beginning of ethno-racial lines” (Hiers, 2007, p. 2). The ocratic candidate, Samuel J. Tildan, won the to race? Is reverse racism the only type of dis- coded into individual perception, cultural members of Congress took over the respon- 1877, southern blacks saw their lives begin to social domination mentioned by Wes Hiers popular vote and accumulated 184 Electoral crimination that really matters today? The values, and institutional function. Failing sibilities of reconstruction. This time period change. Schools were built for colored chil- was the result of various policies, institutions, College votes (at the time 185 votes were answers to all of these questions are complex to understand, or refusing to recognize this has come to be known as radical reconstruc- dren, and although these schools were often laws, and coercion that regarded African needed to win the Electoral College). Three and contradictory depending upon whom distinction—that white supremacy can exist tion. dilapidated and overcrowded, it was signifi- slaves as sub-human. The most visceral and southern states that were under Republican is asked. No realistic party will dispute the without significant malicious racism and can cant that the United States government was visual aspect of these practices was the unbri- control during radical reconstruction, Flor- concrete and malicious nature of racial op- nevertheless contribute to inequality and op- Radical Reconstruction making an effort to educate Negro children. dled and largely unpunished violence aimed ida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, all had pression in the past, nor will they dispute the pression—confounds our collective ability In the south, blacks were able to own land at people of African descent at the hands of their results disputed by both candidates. negative impact that past racial discrimina- to understand properly the persistence of ra- The term “radical reconstruction” was for the first time, and they were even able to whites. Public whippings, beatings, rapes, The campaign managers for Rutherford B. tion had on disadvantaging people of color cial inequality and subsequently to develop coined by the faction of Republicans who rent it out, provided the people they rented race riots, and most of all lynchings were the Hayes claimed victory in all three of these following social change and reform. What is solutions. wanted equal rights and protection under to were also black. Southern blacks were able different forms of violence used to ensure states, which led to a stalemate between the not so acknowledged are the advantages this the law for all previous freedmen and newly to work for wages for the first time, and even black subjugation. “Thousands of lynchings two candidates, as well as their supporters. very same oppression conferred to whites Dual Legacies freed slaves. The notion of blacks being equal though their wages were far less than those of in the decades before World War I gave men- “The ensuing deadlock proved irresolvable and its significance not only to contempo- to whites in the eyes of the law was indeed whites, they saw opportunity to create a life acing force to everyday reminders of white by traditional means and in one of the wis- rary inequality, but also to the way in which The continuing salience of the narrow a radical ideology to have at the time, but it in their own image, to do things as they saw supremacy” (Sharfstein, 2003, p. 1486). est pieces of statecraft ever evolved by an mainstream America interprets racism. No conception of racism that limits understand- should be noted that even those who sub- fit. Although white resistance was fierce and The initial racial backlash against blacks fol- American Congress, an extraordinary elec- realistic observer can dispute the contem- ing to overt and malicious attitudes and scribed to this “radical” ideology never main- often times violent, the presence of Union lowing the end of the Civil War was at least toral commission was created, composed of porary racial disparities between whites and practices results from what I call the dual tained that blacks were equal to whites, but troops helped to curtail the rise of southern partially blunted by the passing of civil rights members of the Senate, House of Represen- people of color in areas like educational at- legacies of racial oppression. The first legacy rather in order for America to live up to its violence and ensure the promise of radi- legislation and the presence of Union troops. tatives, and Supreme Court” (Peskin, 1973, tainment, employment, income, healthcare, is institutional advantage. This refers to in- promise, blacks should have equal rights un- cal reconstruction. Blacks understood this, With election of Rutherford B. Hayes to the p. 63). Hayes was declared the winner of the and national crime rates; what is not so clear stitutions of family, education, government, der the law. One of the leading campaigners and they took action. “Like emancipation, White House in 1876 and the Compromise election, and immediately the cacophony of is the cause of all these inequalities. and business that function to serve the inter- for black suffrage, Thaddeus Stevens, once radical reconstruction inspired blacks with of 1877, all Union troops were removed from outrage was direct and demanding. “The de- Conceptually, we have typically under- ests of some dominant group in order to per- openly announced, “I have never held to a millennial sense of living at the dawn of southern states, hate groups such as the Ku cision of the commission in favor of Hayes, stood racism too narrowly. Some views treat- petuate their dominance and simultaneous

12 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 13 implied a distinction that consigned the the doctrine of negro equality in all things, the new era…. Blacks found countless ways Klux Klan rose to prominence, and the racial in a strictly partisan eight to seven vote, so ed racism as a matter of individual choice or Negro to a hopelessly inferior status” (Frank- but simply before the law” (Benedict, 1991, of pursuing aspirations for autonomy and terrorism of blacks increased exponentially, angered Democrats that many of them open- prejudice, that particular individuals perpe- lin, 1961, p. 49). John W. Burgess (1906) p. 55). Michael Benedict asserts, “Few Re- equality, and seizing the opportunity to press leaving southern blacks in a state of constant ly threatened revolution, while others in the trated discrimination or aggression against summed it up best when he observed that publicans during the war or reconstruction for further change” (Foner, 1984, p. 124). fear for their lives. House of Representatives began a filibuster other individuals with the justification of “Almost every act, word or gesture of the Ne- believed blacks to be the equal of whites. Re- Perhaps the institution most affected by While radical reconstruction was by no to prevent Hayes’ inauguration.” racial superiority. The feelings underlying gro, not consonant with good taste and good publicans had insisted only that freedmen be the newly found aspiration and confidence means successful in leveling the playing field Hayes sought a compromise. In order to these actions, whether biological and/or manners as well as good morals, was made a secured equality in basic civil and (after some championed by freedmen was politics. Not between whites and newly freed slaves, it did prevent the impending filibuster and be rec- cultural superiority, and the slurs that re- crime or misdemeanor, for which he could hesitation) political rights, not that they be only did blacks turn out to vote in incredible make many strides. As Theresa Richardson ognized as President of the United States, sult from such attitudes, whether the more be first fined, and consigned to a condition conceded what was called at the time social numbers, but they also sought to be elected (2000) writes: Hayes withdrew the military from southern overtly malicious “nigger,” and “coon,” or the of almost slavery for an indefinite time, if he equality.” Most radical Republicans shared to office themselves. “One plantation man- states, thus officially ending reconstruction. coded “Urban,” and “ghetto,” the notion of could not pay the bill” (p. 46). the similar sentiment that because blacks did ager summed up the situation: You never saw The 13th Amendment assured the Hayes also sought to establish a southern superiority and inferiority still remains. In The south quickly established a racial indeed belong to an inferior race, it was all a people more excited on the subject of poli- right of all African American to free- constituency that was not dependent on the terms of economics and politics, racism was pecking order. By electing ex-Confederate the more reason they should be protected by tics than are the Negros of the south. They dom from involuntary servitude. The Negro vote, and the only effective way to viewed as an institution, both as slavery and soldiers and officers to office, southern states equal laws (Anderson & Moss Jr., 1991). are perfectly wild” (Foner, 1984, p. 125). 14th Amendment assured the right sway the majority of southern whites was to later as enforced apartheid in the form of de were able to ensure separate institutions of With this in mind, the proposals and ac- Blacks voted in overwhelming numbers, ex- to citizenship; and the 15th Amend- give them patronage to protect their “home jure segregation. work for blacks and whites, separate laws tual policies that were enacted during radi- ercising their newly gained suffrage, and as a ment provided self-determination rule.” With slavery abolished and mandated that were applicable to blacks and whites, cal reconstruction were designed to promote result many black politicians were voted into with right to vote. The dogma of race segregation legally invalidated by the Su- and separate modes of punishment for laws equal protection in the eyes of the Constitu- office. Former slaves and previously freed once unleashed, however, was not to Discussion preme Court, the purely overt understand- that were broken. Socially, there was little tion, not to espouse the equal status of the blacks still living in the south finally felt as be reined in easily. The purpose of re- ing of racism leads people to believe that rac- interaction between blacks and whites, and white and black race. The inferior status of though they had political representation. construction between 1865 and 1877, This study addresses an apparent paradox. ism is no longer relevant because it no longer many types of physical or spatial interaction former African slaves was not challenged, not Even though the radical Republicans were in the years of radical republicans, If racism is still prevalent in contemporary exists. What mainstream America and even were illegal for blacks and could land them even by the radicals. So by contrast, white su- legislatively fighting on behalf of blacks, they was to dis-empower the planter class America, and America as a nation believes scholars of race and ethnicity often fail to re- in jail, or into a condition resembling slav- periority or white supremacy was espoused only were willing to fight for so much, and aristocracy of the south. Slavery was that racism is unjust, then where is the na- alize is that segregation was not challenged ery. The expedience to which this racial hi- by the very people who would be charged they could never understand the physical abolished, schools were set up, former tional outcry? Why is there no movement to for the sole purpose of integration; it was an erarchy was established troubled the north. with reconstruction and the assimilation of and psychological existence in legalized ra- slaves acquired land, and the right to secure the equal distribution of opportunity attempt to undermine the contextual struc- The Civil War was still fresh in the minds of nearly four million newly freed slaves. Even cial servitude. vote was briefly acquired along with and fairness in the realms of education, em- ture that made legal segregation possible many northerners, so the southern attempt though the radicals were the best chance that the experience of holding an elected ployment, housing, politics, and healthcare? and morally acceptable: white supremacy. to maintain a form a racial slavery led to a former slaves had at receiving any sense of Racial Terrorism position. The aristocracy was tempo- Why is it that politicians do not stress the In contrast to overt racism, the concept and backlash from the north, and southerners equality, it was never their intention to deny rarily displaced and the plantation need to eradicate racial privilege, and why is practice of white supremacy, however, legiti- elected to Congress were not recognized white superiority. White was superior, black Some important forms of racial domina- economy destroyed. (p. 316) there not an abundance of congressional leg- mate a perception of white superiority and when the 39th Congress convened in De- was inferior, and thus white supremacy as an tion occurred overtly. “At least two motifs islation being proposed to secure a fair and non-white, especially black, inferiority as an cember 1865. Republicans, the progressive ideology saturated any recommendations, would run through any biography of the The key word here is “temporarily.” The just playing field for all Americans? essential truth—a truth that is self-evident party of the time, outnumbered the Demo- proposals, laws, policies, or Supreme Court United States: an enduring democratic heri- presidential election in 1876 ended with a Furthermore, are young people really more and requires no rational proof. It is both crats 3 to 1, and with little to no resistance decisions. tage and a legacy of social domination along lot of ambiguity and controversy. The Dem- tolerant when it comes to matters pertaining an assumption and a feeling that can be en- from President Johnson, the Republican From the end of 1865 to the beginning of ethno-racial lines” (Hiers, 2007, p. 2). The ocratic candidate, Samuel J. Tildan, won the to race? Is reverse racism the only type of dis- coded into individual perception, cultural members of Congress took over the respon- 1877, southern blacks saw their lives begin to social domination mentioned by Wes Hiers popular vote and accumulated 184 Electoral crimination that really matters today? The values, and institutional function. Failing sibilities of reconstruction. This time period change. Schools were built for colored chil- was the result of various policies, institutions, College votes (at the time 185 votes were answers to all of these questions are complex to understand, or refusing to recognize this has come to be known as radical reconstruc- dren, and although these schools were often laws, and coercion that regarded African needed to win the Electoral College). Three and contradictory depending upon whom distinction—that white supremacy can exist tion. dilapidated and overcrowded, it was signifi- slaves as sub-human. The most visceral and southern states that were under Republican is asked. No realistic party will dispute the without significant malicious racism and can cant that the United States government was visual aspect of these practices was the unbri- control during radical reconstruction, Flor- concrete and malicious nature of racial op- nevertheless contribute to inequality and op- Radical Reconstruction making an effort to educate Negro children. dled and largely unpunished violence aimed ida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, all had pression in the past, nor will they dispute the pression—confounds our collective ability In the south, blacks were able to own land at people of African descent at the hands of their results disputed by both candidates. negative impact that past racial discrimina- to understand properly the persistence of ra- The term “radical reconstruction” was for the first time, and they were even able to whites. Public whippings, beatings, rapes, The campaign managers for Rutherford B. tion had on disadvantaging people of color cial inequality and subsequently to develop coined by the faction of Republicans who rent it out, provided the people they rented race riots, and most of all lynchings were the Hayes claimed victory in all three of these following social change and reform. What is solutions. wanted equal rights and protection under to were also black. Southern blacks were able different forms of violence used to ensure states, which led to a stalemate between the not so acknowledged are the advantages this the law for all previous freedmen and newly to work for wages for the first time, and even black subjugation. “Thousands of lynchings two candidates, as well as their supporters. very same oppression conferred to whites Dual Legacies freed slaves. The notion of blacks being equal though their wages were far less than those of in the decades before World War I gave men- “The ensuing deadlock proved irresolvable and its significance not only to contempo- to whites in the eyes of the law was indeed whites, they saw opportunity to create a life acing force to everyday reminders of white by traditional means and in one of the wis- rary inequality, but also to the way in which The continuing salience of the narrow a radical ideology to have at the time, but it in their own image, to do things as they saw supremacy” (Sharfstein, 2003, p. 1486). est pieces of statecraft ever evolved by an mainstream America interprets racism. No conception of racism that limits understand- should be noted that even those who sub- fit. Although white resistance was fierce and The initial racial backlash against blacks fol- American Congress, an extraordinary elec- realistic observer can dispute the contem- ing to overt and malicious attitudes and scribed to this “radical” ideology never main- often times violent, the presence of Union lowing the end of the Civil War was at least toral commission was created, composed of porary racial disparities between whites and practices results from what I call the dual tained that blacks were equal to whites, but troops helped to curtail the rise of southern partially blunted by the passing of civil rights members of the Senate, House of Represen- people of color in areas like educational at- legacies of racial oppression. The first legacy rather in order for America to live up to its violence and ensure the promise of radi- legislation and the presence of Union troops. tatives, and Supreme Court” (Peskin, 1973, tainment, employment, income, healthcare, is institutional advantage. This refers to in- promise, blacks should have equal rights un- cal reconstruction. Blacks understood this, With election of Rutherford B. Hayes to the p. 63). Hayes was declared the winner of the and national crime rates; what is not so clear stitutions of family, education, government, der the law. One of the leading campaigners and they took action. “Like emancipation, White House in 1876 and the Compromise election, and immediately the cacophony of is the cause of all these inequalities. and business that function to serve the inter- for black suffrage, Thaddeus Stevens, once radical reconstruction inspired blacks with of 1877, all Union troops were removed from outrage was direct and demanding. “The de- Conceptually, we have typically under- ests of some dominant group in order to per- openly announced, “I have never held to a millennial sense of living at the dawn of southern states, hate groups such as the Ku cision of the commission in favor of Hayes, stood racism too narrowly. Some views treat- petuate their dominance and simultaneous

12 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 13 inequality. This includes multiple forms of for whites only, with the lower, menial jobs Similar realities exist in education. Educa- white supremacy in the American educa- rights before the law. Racism was a black fined to the periphery of modern day soci- dominance, such as gender and class, as well reserved for people of color. As the number tional attainment dramatically rose through- tional system, and students of color will dis- body hanging from a tree while whites com- ety. Racism, once a pathology that caused a as race. These and other forms also tend to of jobs grew, people of color were suddenly out the 20th century, and for over 60 years parately continue to inherent disadvantage memorated the occasion with food and broad coalition of whites and blacks to band intersect. The focus of this paper, however, is deemed qualified for jobs that were previ- racial segregation was legally enforced. The in the land of equal opportunity. drinks. Racism was men dressed in hooded together, is now seen as an excuse for laziness race. ously considered too sophisticated for them; remaining forty years of the 20th century While America pretends to be past its ra- sheets brandishing shotguns and burning and lack of personal responsibility. Blacks The second of the dual legacies, and per- jobs that were now vacated by whites who have been marred by de facto segregation, cial apex, survey data indicate that a sizeable down black schools and churches. Racism who speak against racism today are “looking haps the more damaging of the two, is the moved up the employment ladder. When unequal school funding, unequal distribu- percentage of whites still believe in negative was schools, movie theatres, neighborhoods, for handouts,” and whites who speak against outdated interpretation of racism. Scholars, the number of jobs fell, credentialing, or col- tion of resources, and disparate levels of racial stereotypes about blacks. Tim Wise drinking fountains, jails, beaches, and hospi- racism are doing nothing but “encouraging politicians, law makers, police officers, con- lege degree requirements set in, and higher quality instruction. Preceding the landmark (2008) writes, “In one of the more respect- tals that all held the moniker “Whites Only.” indolence” or “haven’t seen the way blacks servatives, liberals, blacks, whites, indeed, educational attainment became essential for Brown v. The Board of Education Supreme ed opinion surveys from the 1990’s, six in Many believe that civil rights legislation live.” It is true that America has come a long the greater part of mainstream America, all quality employment. These forces combined Court ruling in 1954 that invalidated the ten whites said that discrimination was less washed away these aggressive and repulsive way in living up to its ideals of equality and tend to understand racism as a historical to create a “last hired-first fired” reality for separate but equal doctrine, schools in the important in determining the position of symbols in the decades since the civil rights inclusion. It is also true that younger genera- manifestation, started and completed in the people of color; a reality that can still be felt south were forcibly segregated by race under blacks in society than the ‘fact’ that blacks struggles of the 1960s. tions are more tolerant than ever in terms past, that is no longer relevant. In this misun- in contemporary America. the ruse that as long as the school systems ‘just don’t have the have the motivation or This narrow interpretation, combined of openness to people of different races. derstanding, racism is a thing of the past. Soldiers returning home from World War were equal in the education they provided willpower to pull themselves up out of pov- with actual progress in reducing racial dis- However, due to the narrow interpretation II were able to take advantage of the G.I. Bill to children, it was perfectly democratic to erty’” (p. 40). How many of the white re- crimination and a burgeoning black middle of what constitutes racism, even those who Institutional Advantage and other forms of veterans assistance, allow- separate them by race. In reality schools were spondents who openly admit to at least some class, can be directly attributed to the almost championed racial equity during the civil ing them to go college almost for free. The anything but equal, as children of color were negative stereotypes are in a position to hire, universally accepted notion among whites, rights movement and even the most progres- The legacy of white supremacy perme- Federal Housing Administration provided forced to attend schools that were lacking in fire, or lend money to people of color? How including white progressives, that racial dis- sive of younger generations will still be apt to ates all facets of American society. Racial hundreds of millions of dollars in home eq- every conceivable category that was condu- can institutions be considered race-neutral crimination is simply not a major problem conclude that racism has for the most part discrimination of the past cannot be sepa- uity, and in concurrence with the GI. Bill, it cive to a quality education. At the same time, when there is a strong likelihood that people in contemporary America. Taking it one been eradicated. Again, this can be evidenced rated from racial inequality today, because is credited with creating the American mid- the north was marred with de facto segre- operating within those institutions may hold step further, because racism is considered to by the growing backlash against affirmative institutions that allow racial oppression to dle class. For the first 25-30 years of their ex- gation, the type of segregation that is very a personal bias against others based on skin be so inconsequential, progressive policies action programs and the increasing rhetoric exist cannot be separated from the people istence, these programs essentially operated prevalent today. Although not as direct or color? Furthermore, with the persistence of aimed at leveling the playing field, programs of reverse discrimination. who practice discrimination. People look at in an all white fashion, virtually excluding as obvious as Jim Crow segregation, “volun- negative racial stereotypes, the changes that like affirmative action, are experiencing se- Confusing everyday racism or overt acts various institutions as being objective and all people of color. Urban renewal projects, tary,” or “natural” segregation is almost just are needed at the institutional level will be vere backlash and have been overturned in a of bigotry, which can be perpetrated by any neutral, therefore past racial inequality was district redlining, and restrictive covenants as destructive as legal apartheid. For the bet- considered reverse discrimination or welfare number of states. “Reverse discrimination,” member of any race, with white supremacy a result of the actions of people living at the barred people of color from living in afflu- ter part of the century, Jim Crow provided handouts to undeserving poor. The histori- that is, racism that advantages minorities at or inherent institutional advantage, which time. In this regard, America in the eyes of ent, suburban neighborhoods, which in turn white students with opportunities that were cal legacy of racial oppression essentially cre- the disadvantage of whites, is largely consid- racially speaking, can only be enjoyed by many people today is past its racial hierarchy barred them from attending better funded simply not available to black students. These ated the socioeconomic position of African ered to be the only real illustration of racial whites, is what allows fallacious notions of because its contemporary citizenry openly schools with better trained faculty. For the opportunities, bolstered by racial discrimi- Americans as a whole, and the ongoing discrimination today. whites being disadvantaged in America to extols the ideology of equality and inclusion. first three decade following the end of World nation in federal initiatives such as the G.I. struggles of African Americans in the areas To be clear, slavery, lynching, the KKK, persist. This confusion also undermines on- This paradigm allows for the institution that War II, the American middle class was not Bill, extended to college and provided many of educational attainment, unemployment, and American Apartheid were indeed ex- going attempts to remedy the racial hierarchy provided the contextual framework for racial only created, but also flourished under the options for upward social mobility. This so- crime rates, poverty, isolation, and general amples of racism; however, the society that that currently exists in society. The progress oppression essentially to go un-scrutinized welfare state. Alongside the FHA preceding cial mobility comes in handy today when it deprivation are used to justify having racial allows these atrocities to take place is just that America has made on achieving racial and evade its own culpability in the very the Second World War, federal initiatives comes to positioning young children for bet- stereotypes. Surely problems within the black as racist, and it bears equal responsibility equality must be acknowledged and even racial oppression being characterized as no following the war, such as veterans’ assistance ter educational opportunity. Parents can rely community cannot be fully attributed to past when addressing issues pertaining to race. celebrated, but it cannot be mistaken for a longer relevant. programs and the G.I. Bill, provided literally on family wealth, wealth that was accumu- and present racial discrimination. Personal It is not enough to look at black men be- completed objective. The proposed “neutrality” of America millions of Americans, the vast majority of lated in the era of open racial hostilities, to choices and decisions made by blacks them- ing lynched or the KKK burning crosses on at the institutional level was the breeding them white, with the opportunity to go to buy houses in better, more expensive neigh- selves have to bear the brunt of the bleak re- people’s front lawns; we also have to look at The Continuing Salience of White ground for genocide, slavery, imperialism, college, start businesses, relocate to better borhoods, thus affording their children the ality many blacks find themselves in. With the justice, or lack thereof, that was afforded Supremacy terrorism, and legal apartheid for almost 400 neighborhoods, and elevate their socioeco- chance to attend better schools. Some par- that being said, the contexts in which these to these victims through the nonexistent ar- years. As these practices took place, time did nomic status. Ira Katznelson (2005) writes, ents even can use family wealth to send their personal choices are made are a consequence rest and prosecution of their assailants. It is A latent consequence of understanding not stand still, and neither did policy, legis- “No other New Deal initiative had as great kids to expensive private schools; schools of institutional forces that advantage whites not enough to look at slavery and the Jim racism as overt actions by individual actors is lation, opportunity, precedent, and wealth an impact on changing the country as the they otherwise would not have been able to in the land of equal opportunity. With the Crow south; scrutiny also must be given to the perplexity of intentionality. The necessi- accumulation. Fortunes were made, wealth Selective Service Readjustment Act…. Even afford (Johnson, 2006, p. 157). These prac- acceptance of the United States as an actual the presence of a racial caste system within ty of psychological bigotry as a precursor for was accumulated, legends were born, and today, this legislation, which quickly came to tices do not mention race and are essentially meritocracy, systemic inequality and white the borders of a country that champions any action or policy to be considered racist traditions were established all in a time when be called the G.I. Bill of Rights, qualifies as uninfluenced by any government policy to hegemony will not be vilified for the role equality, opportunity, and freedom. Until blinds people to the reality of subconscious the great American spirit of competition the most wide-ranging set of social benefits date. Therefore they are not considered racist they play in the urban pathologies that are the conceptualization of racism is made to stereotypes that lead well meaning people to was restricted to whites only. America grew ever offered by the federal government in a or contradictory in any way to the American condemned so much and attributed to per- include structural and systemic inequalities, act in ways that discriminate against blacks, to become the most powerful nation on single, comprehensive initiative” (p. 113). promise of meritocracy, even though advan- sonal responsibility. rather than simply overt individual actions, and seemingly race neutral practices that earth, and its ideological scaffold was white Comprehensive, wide-ranging social ben- tage and disadvantage are routinely inherited any analysis of the impact of contemporary advantage whites at the expense of blacks, supremacy. American industry skyrocketed, efits that were provided by the government, along racial lines. When taken together with Racism as a Thing of the Past racial inequality will be highly ambiguous at poor people, and other people of color. its economy flourished, and it did so under and without specific barriers mandated by the unequal allocution of schools funds, re- best. This is a phenomenon which Barbara Tre- the veil of inherent white superiority. Em- race, were in practice able to operate in a pre- sources, and quality instruction, advantages To be sure, racism was slavery, and after- Today, because of the absence of racial pagnier (2006) refers to as “silent racism” ployment opportunities were color coded, dominantly all white fashion for the first 30 made possible by past racial discrimination ward, racism was enforced subjugation that enslavement and formal apartheid, racism (p.1). She writes that “Silent racism—the with the higher paying jobs being reserved years of their existence. only serve to strengthen the influence of left African Americans with no guaranteed is looked upon as a relic of history and con- racist thoughts, images, and assumptions in

14 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 15 inequality. This includes multiple forms of for whites only, with the lower, menial jobs Similar realities exist in education. Educa- white supremacy in the American educa- rights before the law. Racism was a black fined to the periphery of modern day soci- dominance, such as gender and class, as well reserved for people of color. As the number tional attainment dramatically rose through- tional system, and students of color will dis- body hanging from a tree while whites com- ety. Racism, once a pathology that caused a as race. These and other forms also tend to of jobs grew, people of color were suddenly out the 20th century, and for over 60 years parately continue to inherent disadvantage memorated the occasion with food and broad coalition of whites and blacks to band intersect. The focus of this paper, however, is deemed qualified for jobs that were previ- racial segregation was legally enforced. The in the land of equal opportunity. drinks. Racism was men dressed in hooded together, is now seen as an excuse for laziness race. ously considered too sophisticated for them; remaining forty years of the 20th century While America pretends to be past its ra- sheets brandishing shotguns and burning and lack of personal responsibility. Blacks The second of the dual legacies, and per- jobs that were now vacated by whites who have been marred by de facto segregation, cial apex, survey data indicate that a sizeable down black schools and churches. Racism who speak against racism today are “looking haps the more damaging of the two, is the moved up the employment ladder. When unequal school funding, unequal distribu- percentage of whites still believe in negative was schools, movie theatres, neighborhoods, for handouts,” and whites who speak against outdated interpretation of racism. Scholars, the number of jobs fell, credentialing, or col- tion of resources, and disparate levels of racial stereotypes about blacks. Tim Wise drinking fountains, jails, beaches, and hospi- racism are doing nothing but “encouraging politicians, law makers, police officers, con- lege degree requirements set in, and higher quality instruction. Preceding the landmark (2008) writes, “In one of the more respect- tals that all held the moniker “Whites Only.” indolence” or “haven’t seen the way blacks servatives, liberals, blacks, whites, indeed, educational attainment became essential for Brown v. The Board of Education Supreme ed opinion surveys from the 1990’s, six in Many believe that civil rights legislation live.” It is true that America has come a long the greater part of mainstream America, all quality employment. These forces combined Court ruling in 1954 that invalidated the ten whites said that discrimination was less washed away these aggressive and repulsive way in living up to its ideals of equality and tend to understand racism as a historical to create a “last hired-first fired” reality for separate but equal doctrine, schools in the important in determining the position of symbols in the decades since the civil rights inclusion. It is also true that younger genera- manifestation, started and completed in the people of color; a reality that can still be felt south were forcibly segregated by race under blacks in society than the ‘fact’ that blacks struggles of the 1960s. tions are more tolerant than ever in terms past, that is no longer relevant. In this misun- in contemporary America. the ruse that as long as the school systems ‘just don’t have the have the motivation or This narrow interpretation, combined of openness to people of different races. derstanding, racism is a thing of the past. Soldiers returning home from World War were equal in the education they provided willpower to pull themselves up out of pov- with actual progress in reducing racial dis- However, due to the narrow interpretation II were able to take advantage of the G.I. Bill to children, it was perfectly democratic to erty’” (p. 40). How many of the white re- crimination and a burgeoning black middle of what constitutes racism, even those who Institutional Advantage and other forms of veterans assistance, allow- separate them by race. In reality schools were spondents who openly admit to at least some class, can be directly attributed to the almost championed racial equity during the civil ing them to go college almost for free. The anything but equal, as children of color were negative stereotypes are in a position to hire, universally accepted notion among whites, rights movement and even the most progres- The legacy of white supremacy perme- Federal Housing Administration provided forced to attend schools that were lacking in fire, or lend money to people of color? How including white progressives, that racial dis- sive of younger generations will still be apt to ates all facets of American society. Racial hundreds of millions of dollars in home eq- every conceivable category that was condu- can institutions be considered race-neutral crimination is simply not a major problem conclude that racism has for the most part discrimination of the past cannot be sepa- uity, and in concurrence with the GI. Bill, it cive to a quality education. At the same time, when there is a strong likelihood that people in contemporary America. Taking it one been eradicated. Again, this can be evidenced rated from racial inequality today, because is credited with creating the American mid- the north was marred with de facto segre- operating within those institutions may hold step further, because racism is considered to by the growing backlash against affirmative institutions that allow racial oppression to dle class. For the first 25-30 years of their ex- gation, the type of segregation that is very a personal bias against others based on skin be so inconsequential, progressive policies action programs and the increasing rhetoric exist cannot be separated from the people istence, these programs essentially operated prevalent today. Although not as direct or color? Furthermore, with the persistence of aimed at leveling the playing field, programs of reverse discrimination. who practice discrimination. People look at in an all white fashion, virtually excluding as obvious as Jim Crow segregation, “volun- negative racial stereotypes, the changes that like affirmative action, are experiencing se- Confusing everyday racism or overt acts various institutions as being objective and all people of color. Urban renewal projects, tary,” or “natural” segregation is almost just are needed at the institutional level will be vere backlash and have been overturned in a of bigotry, which can be perpetrated by any neutral, therefore past racial inequality was district redlining, and restrictive covenants as destructive as legal apartheid. For the bet- considered reverse discrimination or welfare number of states. “Reverse discrimination,” member of any race, with white supremacy a result of the actions of people living at the barred people of color from living in afflu- ter part of the century, Jim Crow provided handouts to undeserving poor. The histori- that is, racism that advantages minorities at or inherent institutional advantage, which time. In this regard, America in the eyes of ent, suburban neighborhoods, which in turn white students with opportunities that were cal legacy of racial oppression essentially cre- the disadvantage of whites, is largely consid- racially speaking, can only be enjoyed by many people today is past its racial hierarchy barred them from attending better funded simply not available to black students. These ated the socioeconomic position of African ered to be the only real illustration of racial whites, is what allows fallacious notions of because its contemporary citizenry openly schools with better trained faculty. For the opportunities, bolstered by racial discrimi- Americans as a whole, and the ongoing discrimination today. whites being disadvantaged in America to extols the ideology of equality and inclusion. first three decade following the end of World nation in federal initiatives such as the G.I. struggles of African Americans in the areas To be clear, slavery, lynching, the KKK, persist. This confusion also undermines on- This paradigm allows for the institution that War II, the American middle class was not Bill, extended to college and provided many of educational attainment, unemployment, and American Apartheid were indeed ex- going attempts to remedy the racial hierarchy provided the contextual framework for racial only created, but also flourished under the options for upward social mobility. This so- crime rates, poverty, isolation, and general amples of racism; however, the society that that currently exists in society. The progress oppression essentially to go un-scrutinized welfare state. Alongside the FHA preceding cial mobility comes in handy today when it deprivation are used to justify having racial allows these atrocities to take place is just that America has made on achieving racial and evade its own culpability in the very the Second World War, federal initiatives comes to positioning young children for bet- stereotypes. Surely problems within the black as racist, and it bears equal responsibility equality must be acknowledged and even racial oppression being characterized as no following the war, such as veterans’ assistance ter educational opportunity. Parents can rely community cannot be fully attributed to past when addressing issues pertaining to race. celebrated, but it cannot be mistaken for a longer relevant. programs and the G.I. Bill, provided literally on family wealth, wealth that was accumu- and present racial discrimination. Personal It is not enough to look at black men be- completed objective. The proposed “neutrality” of America millions of Americans, the vast majority of lated in the era of open racial hostilities, to choices and decisions made by blacks them- ing lynched or the KKK burning crosses on at the institutional level was the breeding them white, with the opportunity to go to buy houses in better, more expensive neigh- selves have to bear the brunt of the bleak re- people’s front lawns; we also have to look at The Continuing Salience of White ground for genocide, slavery, imperialism, college, start businesses, relocate to better borhoods, thus affording their children the ality many blacks find themselves in. With the justice, or lack thereof, that was afforded Supremacy terrorism, and legal apartheid for almost 400 neighborhoods, and elevate their socioeco- chance to attend better schools. Some par- that being said, the contexts in which these to these victims through the nonexistent ar- years. As these practices took place, time did nomic status. Ira Katznelson (2005) writes, ents even can use family wealth to send their personal choices are made are a consequence rest and prosecution of their assailants. It is A latent consequence of understanding not stand still, and neither did policy, legis- “No other New Deal initiative had as great kids to expensive private schools; schools of institutional forces that advantage whites not enough to look at slavery and the Jim racism as overt actions by individual actors is lation, opportunity, precedent, and wealth an impact on changing the country as the they otherwise would not have been able to in the land of equal opportunity. With the Crow south; scrutiny also must be given to the perplexity of intentionality. The necessi- accumulation. Fortunes were made, wealth Selective Service Readjustment Act…. Even afford (Johnson, 2006, p. 157). These prac- acceptance of the United States as an actual the presence of a racial caste system within ty of psychological bigotry as a precursor for was accumulated, legends were born, and today, this legislation, which quickly came to tices do not mention race and are essentially meritocracy, systemic inequality and white the borders of a country that champions any action or policy to be considered racist traditions were established all in a time when be called the G.I. Bill of Rights, qualifies as uninfluenced by any government policy to hegemony will not be vilified for the role equality, opportunity, and freedom. Until blinds people to the reality of subconscious the great American spirit of competition the most wide-ranging set of social benefits date. Therefore they are not considered racist they play in the urban pathologies that are the conceptualization of racism is made to stereotypes that lead well meaning people to was restricted to whites only. America grew ever offered by the federal government in a or contradictory in any way to the American condemned so much and attributed to per- include structural and systemic inequalities, act in ways that discriminate against blacks, to become the most powerful nation on single, comprehensive initiative” (p. 113). promise of meritocracy, even though advan- sonal responsibility. rather than simply overt individual actions, and seemingly race neutral practices that earth, and its ideological scaffold was white Comprehensive, wide-ranging social ben- tage and disadvantage are routinely inherited any analysis of the impact of contemporary advantage whites at the expense of blacks, supremacy. American industry skyrocketed, efits that were provided by the government, along racial lines. When taken together with Racism as a Thing of the Past racial inequality will be highly ambiguous at poor people, and other people of color. its economy flourished, and it did so under and without specific barriers mandated by the unequal allocution of schools funds, re- best. This is a phenomenon which Barbara Tre- the veil of inherent white superiority. Em- race, were in practice able to operate in a pre- sources, and quality instruction, advantages To be sure, racism was slavery, and after- Today, because of the absence of racial pagnier (2006) refers to as “silent racism” ployment opportunities were color coded, dominantly all white fashion for the first 30 made possible by past racial discrimination ward, racism was enforced subjugation that enslavement and formal apartheid, racism (p.1). She writes that “Silent racism—the with the higher paying jobs being reserved years of their existence. only serve to strengthen the influence of left African Americans with no guaranteed is looked upon as a relic of history and con- racist thoughts, images, and assumptions in

14 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 15 the minds of white people, including those ers are not only looking for employment that it across generations. underprivileged completely disregards the After hundreds of years of racial bond- blacks were biologically inferior to whites, that by most accounts are ‘not racist’—is provides more autonomy and better resourc- Today there is a term used to describe relative nature of the word under” (p. 64). age and oppression, following the Civil War, but it was precisely because of this inherent dangerous precisely because it is perceived es, but they also are looking for job security. people who are at the bottom of the socio- This statement is as profound as it is suc- America had the opportunity to live up to inferiority why they needed to be afforded as harmless.” She continues, “The silent rac- This is not to say that all suburban schools are economic spectrum. The term is “underprivi- cinct. People of all walks of life, conserva- its ideals. Equal opportunity, freedom, and equal protection under the law. In either ism in people’s thoughts, images, and as- all white or all good, nor is it to say that all leged.” This can be applied to poor people, tive, liberal, poor, wealthy, white, black, etc., justice for all were for the first time in Ameri- case, blacks were considered inferior, and sumptions shapes their perspective of reality. urban schools are all color and all bad; what minorities, women, or any group of people acknowledge the existence of people who can history something that was plausible in white supremacy continued to be the domi- And a perspective that is shaped by racist it does say is that there is a strong correlation who are now, and have historically been ex- are underprivileged, yet it is rarely if ever practice, rather than just rhetoric. Slavery was nant ideology, even after emancipation, and thoughts, images, and assumptions—no mat- among race, class, and quality of educational ploited or discriminated against. Paraphras- mentioned just who the underprivileged lawfully abolished, and the vicious war being even during radical reconstruction. ter how subtle they are—will produce behav- opportunity. Current practices by individu- ing Tim Wise (2004), the passive voice of are “under” in comparison to. That is, there waged that would ultimately determine the The end of radical reconstruction saw all ior that reflects racist thoughts, images, and als and current policies by institutions com- the term underprivileged implies that no one is no mention or analysis of anyone being fate of millions of southern slaves and count- of the progress that was made on behalf of assumptions.” A brief overview of how de bine to create a disparate effect on white did anything. “It’s as if one day someone said over-privileged. Without any regard for ide- less freedmen living in America had seemingly blacks in America virtually wiped out. The facto segregation is perpetuated in our new children and children of color. However, due ‘here is privilege and I’ll be damned, there ologies, theories, and paradigms, it is inargu- ended on the side of equality. White suprem- rights bestowed upon newly freed slaves in “colorblind,” so called “post-racial” America to the lack of obvious prejudicial intent, the you are under it’” (p. 36). This addresses able that if something is considered “under,” acy, however, was too strong to overcome. the south were relatively small in compari- illustrates this point. At the individual level, absence of legally enforced separation, and the overall structure of American society as then by definition there has to be an “over.” Immediately following the official surrender son to full inclusion in a free society; never- well meaning white parents who want better no overt mention of race, these practices are it pertains to race. Speaking socially, cultur- Whether the topic is race, class, gender, of the Confederate army, hoards of ex-Con- theless, they were important to the former educational opportunities for their children not considered racist, even though they over- ally, politically, and economically, America or sexuality, if one segment or portion of a federate officers, commanders, and supporters slaves who saw them as a form of liberation. migrate to “better” neighborhoods with whelmingly advantage whites and disadvan- was initially shaped and flourished under particular demographic is underprivileged, were voted into office throughout the south. These relatively small gains were also big “better” schools. Although “better” can be tages minorities. This example illustrates the the banner of white supremacy. As a result, then one part must be over-privileged. In the They were elected into powerful positions of enough in that they frightened the whites to composed of many attributes, perhaps the covert nature of white supremacy and how America has established generally accepted specific category of race, minorities, typically far reaching authority, such as mayor or gov- the point that they considered them a threat. most powerful indicator of a “better” neigh- limited understandings of what constitutes “race neutral” policies that inherently ad- blacks and Hispanics, are considered to be ernor, and they also were elected into more in- Many blacks who were elected to office were borhood is a white neighborhood (Johnson, racism hinder the possibility of remedying vantage whites but are not considered rac- under-privileged in the areas of educational timate, but no less powerful positions, such as immediately thrown out of office, and black 2006). There is no doubt that many parents new forms of racial inequality. ist because these policies do not specifically opportunities, accumulated wealth, job op- sheriff or prosecutor. For former slaves living citizens were ceremoniously disenfran- are indeed racially conscious when choosing mention race. Exacerbating the almost non- portunities, housing, political representa- in the south, life in the post slavery era was ee- chised. White supremacist hate groups such which neighborhoods to live in and which Conclusion existent national outcry about institutional tion, and quality healthcare coverage. Their rily similar to life under institutional bondage. as the Ku Klux Klan sprang up all across schools to send their kids to. Other parents racism is the covert way in which it operates existence as members of an underprivileged Emancipation brought freedom in name only, the south, and violence against blacks, even though, parents who by all conceivable mea- Racial oppression is not a static phenom- and the contemporary interpretation of what class is almost universally accepted, even and for the first several years following the in the north, increased by considerable sures would consider themselves anti-racist, enon. Racism today is not the racism of the actually constitutes racism. This interpreta- when the reasons for their membership are end of the Civil War, blacks living in the south margins. Black churches and schools were simply want what is best for their children. antebellum south. Racism of the 1890s was tion can be directly attributed to the overt ferociously disputed. Conversely, since there were slaves in everything but name. White burned down, and mass lynchings exploded Combined with the inability of many black not the same racism of the 1990s. At one history of racial discrimination in America, is little mention of the over-privileged, pos- supremacy, already established by the very ex- with the brutal murders of hundreds, per- parents to afford to live in more affluent point in history, racism was the enslavement and it is an interpretation that is faulty on sible reasons that bolster their life chances via istence of racial slavery, continued to pervade haps thousands of blacks that took place in neighborhoods, thus hindering their ability of the majority of all blacks living in America. the basis that it was never complete to begin the non-merit based availability of resources American society at the individual and insti- broad daylight without any chance to pose a to send their children to better schools, resi- While at a different point in American histo- with. Assessing racism solely focused on indi- and opportunities not only go unexamined, tutional level. White supremacy was not slav- defense for the crime they had been accused dential and school segregation are steadily in- ry blacks were free from servitude, they were viduals, not institutions, it failed to account but they are also taken as earned by the indi- ery, but it allowed slavery to exist. Therefore, of committing. The level of unequal treat- creasing, and in many geographical locations officially and unofficially separated from for people who made decisions based on fac- viduals who benefit from them. This not to the eradication of the American slave state did ment experienced by blacks at the hands of are near or have exceeded Jim Crow levels. whites through its various institutions. Al- tors not relating to race. say that all members of the over-privileged not mean the eradication of white supremacy; whites was a more violent rendition of the At the institutional level, residential and though the manifestations were different, the In our culture today, I argue that any ac- class do not work hard or do not take advan- it only meant that it had to change forms. treatment they experienced immediately school segregation is just as destructive as aura of white supremacy was the cornerstone tions that are made without cognitive animos- tage of the opportunities available to them; Radical reconstruction was considered a following the end of the Civil War with the they were when America stood against it as of both slavery and apartheid, and America ity towards blacks or other people of color are it simply states that they are presented with coup for progressives who fought and died for black codes. Only this time, there were no undemocratic and unconstitutional. With gave solace to a racial hierarchy that for cen- not considered racist, no matter the impact it unearned opportunities that are not readily racial equality. Blacks in the south, as well as radical Republicans who would speak on schools being funded primarily by property turies was considered a natural right. In place has on promoting racial inequality. We are available to members who are considered to the north, saw their rights increase exponen- behalf of the newly re-disenfranchised. This taxes, schools located in more affluent neigh- of the aforementioned biological determin- biased to focus primarily on intent, and in be underprivileged. In the area of race, the tially. They were allowed to attend school, to was largely due to the perception that re- borhoods receive considerably more funding ism, cultural superiority and work ethic are particular, individual intent, and less on so- over-privileged class refers to whites. The in- vote, to own land, to be elected to office, and construction had progressed too slowly and and resources than schools located in poorer now given credit for the gulf of racial dis- cial forces and outcome. This reduces racism tersection of different forms of privilege, such actually to earn a wage. Although the gains been somewhat of a failure. neighborhoods. The schools with better re- parities between blacks and whites. Whether to willful expression of racist sentiments, re- as class, age, religion, and so on, all combine were significant, considering any form of free- At the dawn of the 20th century, science sources tend to be located in suburban school discussing the “natural birth right” of whites garded as particular to racist individuals who to create a segment of the population that is dom is better than no freedom at all, they were and intellectuals joined the side of white su- districts. The suburban school districts are lo- historically, or the perception of “superior are dismissed as ignorant or fringe members inherently advantaged by American democ- relatively small in comparison to the rights premacy. In the form of eugenics, notables cated in suburban neighborhoods, and these values and work ethic” among whites today, of an otherwise progressive society. Such in- racy. However, in each subsection, whites are and opportunities enjoyed by whites (even such as Francis Galton, Karl Pearson (who neighborhoods tend to be predominantly or with the exception of emancipation and the ept understandings of racism place a formi- advantaged over blacks. In America, a poor poor whites), and the rights guaranteed to introduced linear regression and correla- sometimes all white. Additionally, with the eradication of de jure segregation (de facto dable hurdle in the quest for racial equality in white woman will surely be predisposed for them by the Constitution. Even many of the tion to the social sciences), Margaret Sanger, federal mandate of annual school progress segregation is still prevalent and even increas- America today. In order to perfect our “more worse life chances than middle or upper class most ardent supporters of racial equality, the George Bernard Shaw, and Konrad Lorenz as outlined in the national school initiative ing), America has not been held responsible perfect union,” any research aimed at analyz- white women, yet in all likelihood that same radical Republicans, did not consider blacks supported the notion of biological racial No Child Left Behind, schools are being for the role it played in establishing white ing racial inequality or even racial disparities poor white woman will be predisposed for to be equal to whites in an existential sense. hierarchy, with “negroids” at the bottom. shut down, and teachers are losing their jobs. supremacy and promoting racial inequality. must start with history. Racial discrimination better life chances than a poor black woman. On the one hand, there were people who out- Proponents hoped to use science to breed What this means for schools with limited The transformative quality of white suprem- is not some archaic, insignificant blemish on In a country that continually espouses race right considered blacks to be biologically in- a superior population. The rise of eugenics resources that are more at risk of being shut acy hides its salience and almost completely America’s resume of equal opportunity, and neutrality and equal opportunity, inherent ferior to whites, and who thought American and the assertion of biological determinism down is that better trained and higher quality exonerates America for the role it plays in it should not be treated as such. advantages of any kind render these asser- society should reflect as much. On the other rendered moot any notions of social equal- teachers are not willing to teach there. Teach- permitting it to take place and perpetuating Tim Wise (2004) also writes, “the term tions obsolete. hand, there were people who also thought ity. Separate standards of living, individu-

16 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 17 the minds of white people, including those ers are not only looking for employment that it across generations. underprivileged completely disregards the After hundreds of years of racial bond- blacks were biologically inferior to whites, that by most accounts are ‘not racist’—is provides more autonomy and better resourc- Today there is a term used to describe relative nature of the word under” (p. 64). age and oppression, following the Civil War, but it was precisely because of this inherent dangerous precisely because it is perceived es, but they also are looking for job security. people who are at the bottom of the socio- This statement is as profound as it is suc- America had the opportunity to live up to inferiority why they needed to be afforded as harmless.” She continues, “The silent rac- This is not to say that all suburban schools are economic spectrum. The term is “underprivi- cinct. People of all walks of life, conserva- its ideals. Equal opportunity, freedom, and equal protection under the law. In either ism in people’s thoughts, images, and as- all white or all good, nor is it to say that all leged.” This can be applied to poor people, tive, liberal, poor, wealthy, white, black, etc., justice for all were for the first time in Ameri- case, blacks were considered inferior, and sumptions shapes their perspective of reality. urban schools are all color and all bad; what minorities, women, or any group of people acknowledge the existence of people who can history something that was plausible in white supremacy continued to be the domi- And a perspective that is shaped by racist it does say is that there is a strong correlation who are now, and have historically been ex- are underprivileged, yet it is rarely if ever practice, rather than just rhetoric. Slavery was nant ideology, even after emancipation, and thoughts, images, and assumptions—no mat- among race, class, and quality of educational ploited or discriminated against. Paraphras- mentioned just who the underprivileged lawfully abolished, and the vicious war being even during radical reconstruction. ter how subtle they are—will produce behav- opportunity. Current practices by individu- ing Tim Wise (2004), the passive voice of are “under” in comparison to. That is, there waged that would ultimately determine the The end of radical reconstruction saw all ior that reflects racist thoughts, images, and als and current policies by institutions com- the term underprivileged implies that no one is no mention or analysis of anyone being fate of millions of southern slaves and count- of the progress that was made on behalf of assumptions.” A brief overview of how de bine to create a disparate effect on white did anything. “It’s as if one day someone said over-privileged. Without any regard for ide- less freedmen living in America had seemingly blacks in America virtually wiped out. The facto segregation is perpetuated in our new children and children of color. However, due ‘here is privilege and I’ll be damned, there ologies, theories, and paradigms, it is inargu- ended on the side of equality. White suprem- rights bestowed upon newly freed slaves in “colorblind,” so called “post-racial” America to the lack of obvious prejudicial intent, the you are under it’” (p. 36). This addresses able that if something is considered “under,” acy, however, was too strong to overcome. the south were relatively small in compari- illustrates this point. At the individual level, absence of legally enforced separation, and the overall structure of American society as then by definition there has to be an “over.” Immediately following the official surrender son to full inclusion in a free society; never- well meaning white parents who want better no overt mention of race, these practices are it pertains to race. Speaking socially, cultur- Whether the topic is race, class, gender, of the Confederate army, hoards of ex-Con- theless, they were important to the former educational opportunities for their children not considered racist, even though they over- ally, politically, and economically, America or sexuality, if one segment or portion of a federate officers, commanders, and supporters slaves who saw them as a form of liberation. migrate to “better” neighborhoods with whelmingly advantage whites and disadvan- was initially shaped and flourished under particular demographic is underprivileged, were voted into office throughout the south. These relatively small gains were also big “better” schools. Although “better” can be tages minorities. This example illustrates the the banner of white supremacy. As a result, then one part must be over-privileged. In the They were elected into powerful positions of enough in that they frightened the whites to composed of many attributes, perhaps the covert nature of white supremacy and how America has established generally accepted specific category of race, minorities, typically far reaching authority, such as mayor or gov- the point that they considered them a threat. most powerful indicator of a “better” neigh- limited understandings of what constitutes “race neutral” policies that inherently ad- blacks and Hispanics, are considered to be ernor, and they also were elected into more in- Many blacks who were elected to office were borhood is a white neighborhood (Johnson, racism hinder the possibility of remedying vantage whites but are not considered rac- under-privileged in the areas of educational timate, but no less powerful positions, such as immediately thrown out of office, and black 2006). There is no doubt that many parents new forms of racial inequality. ist because these policies do not specifically opportunities, accumulated wealth, job op- sheriff or prosecutor. For former slaves living citizens were ceremoniously disenfran- are indeed racially conscious when choosing mention race. Exacerbating the almost non- portunities, housing, political representa- in the south, life in the post slavery era was ee- chised. White supremacist hate groups such which neighborhoods to live in and which Conclusion existent national outcry about institutional tion, and quality healthcare coverage. Their rily similar to life under institutional bondage. as the Ku Klux Klan sprang up all across schools to send their kids to. Other parents racism is the covert way in which it operates existence as members of an underprivileged Emancipation brought freedom in name only, the south, and violence against blacks, even though, parents who by all conceivable mea- Racial oppression is not a static phenom- and the contemporary interpretation of what class is almost universally accepted, even and for the first several years following the in the north, increased by considerable sures would consider themselves anti-racist, enon. Racism today is not the racism of the actually constitutes racism. This interpreta- when the reasons for their membership are end of the Civil War, blacks living in the south margins. Black churches and schools were simply want what is best for their children. antebellum south. Racism of the 1890s was tion can be directly attributed to the overt ferociously disputed. Conversely, since there were slaves in everything but name. White burned down, and mass lynchings exploded Combined with the inability of many black not the same racism of the 1990s. At one history of racial discrimination in America, is little mention of the over-privileged, pos- supremacy, already established by the very ex- with the brutal murders of hundreds, per- parents to afford to live in more affluent point in history, racism was the enslavement and it is an interpretation that is faulty on sible reasons that bolster their life chances via istence of racial slavery, continued to pervade haps thousands of blacks that took place in neighborhoods, thus hindering their ability of the majority of all blacks living in America. the basis that it was never complete to begin the non-merit based availability of resources American society at the individual and insti- broad daylight without any chance to pose a to send their children to better schools, resi- While at a different point in American histo- with. Assessing racism solely focused on indi- and opportunities not only go unexamined, tutional level. White supremacy was not slav- defense for the crime they had been accused dential and school segregation are steadily in- ry blacks were free from servitude, they were viduals, not institutions, it failed to account but they are also taken as earned by the indi- ery, but it allowed slavery to exist. Therefore, of committing. The level of unequal treat- creasing, and in many geographical locations officially and unofficially separated from for people who made decisions based on fac- viduals who benefit from them. This not to the eradication of the American slave state did ment experienced by blacks at the hands of are near or have exceeded Jim Crow levels. whites through its various institutions. Al- tors not relating to race. say that all members of the over-privileged not mean the eradication of white supremacy; whites was a more violent rendition of the At the institutional level, residential and though the manifestations were different, the In our culture today, I argue that any ac- class do not work hard or do not take advan- it only meant that it had to change forms. treatment they experienced immediately school segregation is just as destructive as aura of white supremacy was the cornerstone tions that are made without cognitive animos- tage of the opportunities available to them; Radical reconstruction was considered a following the end of the Civil War with the they were when America stood against it as of both slavery and apartheid, and America ity towards blacks or other people of color are it simply states that they are presented with coup for progressives who fought and died for black codes. Only this time, there were no undemocratic and unconstitutional. With gave solace to a racial hierarchy that for cen- not considered racist, no matter the impact it unearned opportunities that are not readily racial equality. Blacks in the south, as well as radical Republicans who would speak on schools being funded primarily by property turies was considered a natural right. In place has on promoting racial inequality. We are available to members who are considered to the north, saw their rights increase exponen- behalf of the newly re-disenfranchised. This taxes, schools located in more affluent neigh- of the aforementioned biological determin- biased to focus primarily on intent, and in be underprivileged. In the area of race, the tially. They were allowed to attend school, to was largely due to the perception that re- borhoods receive considerably more funding ism, cultural superiority and work ethic are particular, individual intent, and less on so- over-privileged class refers to whites. The in- vote, to own land, to be elected to office, and construction had progressed too slowly and and resources than schools located in poorer now given credit for the gulf of racial dis- cial forces and outcome. This reduces racism tersection of different forms of privilege, such actually to earn a wage. Although the gains been somewhat of a failure. neighborhoods. The schools with better re- parities between blacks and whites. Whether to willful expression of racist sentiments, re- as class, age, religion, and so on, all combine were significant, considering any form of free- At the dawn of the 20th century, science sources tend to be located in suburban school discussing the “natural birth right” of whites garded as particular to racist individuals who to create a segment of the population that is dom is better than no freedom at all, they were and intellectuals joined the side of white su- districts. The suburban school districts are lo- historically, or the perception of “superior are dismissed as ignorant or fringe members inherently advantaged by American democ- relatively small in comparison to the rights premacy. In the form of eugenics, notables cated in suburban neighborhoods, and these values and work ethic” among whites today, of an otherwise progressive society. Such in- racy. However, in each subsection, whites are and opportunities enjoyed by whites (even such as Francis Galton, Karl Pearson (who neighborhoods tend to be predominantly or with the exception of emancipation and the ept understandings of racism place a formi- advantaged over blacks. In America, a poor poor whites), and the rights guaranteed to introduced linear regression and correla- sometimes all white. Additionally, with the eradication of de jure segregation (de facto dable hurdle in the quest for racial equality in white woman will surely be predisposed for them by the Constitution. Even many of the tion to the social sciences), Margaret Sanger, federal mandate of annual school progress segregation is still prevalent and even increas- America today. In order to perfect our “more worse life chances than middle or upper class most ardent supporters of racial equality, the George Bernard Shaw, and Konrad Lorenz as outlined in the national school initiative ing), America has not been held responsible perfect union,” any research aimed at analyz- white women, yet in all likelihood that same radical Republicans, did not consider blacks supported the notion of biological racial No Child Left Behind, schools are being for the role it played in establishing white ing racial inequality or even racial disparities poor white woman will be predisposed for to be equal to whites in an existential sense. hierarchy, with “negroids” at the bottom. shut down, and teachers are losing their jobs. supremacy and promoting racial inequality. must start with history. Racial discrimination better life chances than a poor black woman. On the one hand, there were people who out- Proponents hoped to use science to breed What this means for schools with limited The transformative quality of white suprem- is not some archaic, insignificant blemish on In a country that continually espouses race right considered blacks to be biologically in- a superior population. The rise of eugenics resources that are more at risk of being shut acy hides its salience and almost completely America’s resume of equal opportunity, and neutrality and equal opportunity, inherent ferior to whites, and who thought American and the assertion of biological determinism down is that better trained and higher quality exonerates America for the role it plays in it should not be treated as such. advantages of any kind render these asser- society should reflect as much. On the other rendered moot any notions of social equal- teachers are not willing to teach there. Teach- permitting it to take place and perpetuating Tim Wise (2004) also writes, “the term tions obsolete. hand, there were people who also thought ity. Separate standards of living, individu-

16 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 17 ally and institutionally, while already in ex- References istence, became indoctrinated into law at the close of the 19th century with “Separate but Attaway, W. (1941). Blood in the Forge. New York: The New York Review of Books. Equal Doctrine” set forth in Plessey v Fergu- son. Blackmon, D, A. (2008). Slavery by another Name: The re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. New York: The The first two decades of the 20th century Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group. saw the assimilation of southern and eastern European immigrants, people who had pre- Brown, M, K. (2003). White-Washing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society. London England: The University of California Press. viously been considered less than white, into the dominant culture. This created a united Denton, N, A. (1993). American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. racial category of “white” and secured privi- leges by virtue of their “whiteness.” With the Doane, A, W. (2003). White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism. New York: Routledge New York. ambiguity of who was to be considered white put to rest, white supremacy corresponded Haley, A. (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X As told to Alex Haley. New York: Randomhouse Publishing Group. with the prosperity and growth of America as a country, a correspondence that indelibly Johnson, H,B. (2006). The American Dream and the Power of Wealth: Choosing Schools and Inheriting Inequality in the Land of Opportunity. infused white supremacy socially, politically, New York: Routledge. and economically into American culture and institutions. By the time America (forcibly) Katznelson, I. (2005). When Affirmative Action was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth Century America. New York: owned up to the obvious hypocrisy of a ra- W.W. Norton & Company. cial caste within a democracy, generations of whites had benefited from the overt white Kennedy, R. (1997). Race, Crime, and the Law. New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House Inc. superiority that was ingrained in American institutions, while generations of people of Leonardo, Z. (2005). Critical Pedagogy and Race. Australia: Blackwell Publishing. color had been denied all that was promised to them by a Constitution that promised Leonardo, Z. (2009). Race, Whiteness, and Education. New York: Routledge. “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happi- ness.” Even still, a truly inclusive democracy Olson, J. (2004). The Abolition of White Democracy. Minnesota: The Minneapolis Press. has not been realized. While overt racial discrimination has Roediger, D, R. (2005). Working Toward Whiteness: How America’s Immigrants became White: The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the been marginalized, the covert destructive- Suburbs. New York: Basic Books. ness of white supremacy still pervades so- ciety in every conceivable way. The people, Shapiro, T, M. (2004). The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How wealth Perpetuates Inequality. New York: Oxford University Press. albeit slowly, are becoming more tolerant, or at least confining their racist beliefs to private Rothenberg, P. (2008). White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism. New York: Worth Publishers. quarters, but the institutions that have always been infected with the disease of white su- Thandeka. (2006).Learning to be White: Money, Race, and God in America. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. premacy still suffer from this malady. White supremacy was born with the founding of Trepagnier, B. (2006). Silent Racism: How Well Meaning White People Perpetuate the Racial Divide. Colorado: Paradigm Publishers. this country—it grew with the prosperity of this country—and if left unchecked, will Wilson, W, J. (1978). The declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. continue to undermine all that is just within this country, and its citizens, both white and Wise, T. (2008). Speaking Treason Fluently: Anti-Racist Reflections From An Angry White Male. New York: Soft Skull Publishing. black alike, will suffer the consequences.

18 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 19 ally and institutionally, while already in ex- References istence, became indoctrinated into law at the close of the 19th century with “Separate but Attaway, W. (1941). Blood in the Forge. New York: The New York Review of Books. Equal Doctrine” set forth in Plessey v Fergu- son. Blackmon, D, A. (2008). Slavery by another Name: The re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. New York: The The first two decades of the 20th century Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group. saw the assimilation of southern and eastern European immigrants, people who had pre- Brown, M, K. (2003). White-Washing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society. London England: The University of California Press. viously been considered less than white, into the dominant culture. This created a united Denton, N, A. (1993). American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. racial category of “white” and secured privi- leges by virtue of their “whiteness.” With the Doane, A, W. (2003). White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism. New York: Routledge New York. ambiguity of who was to be considered white put to rest, white supremacy corresponded Haley, A. (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X As told to Alex Haley. New York: Randomhouse Publishing Group. with the prosperity and growth of America as a country, a correspondence that indelibly Johnson, H,B. (2006). The American Dream and the Power of Wealth: Choosing Schools and Inheriting Inequality in the Land of Opportunity. infused white supremacy socially, politically, New York: Routledge. and economically into American culture and institutions. By the time America (forcibly) Katznelson, I. (2005). When Affirmative Action was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth Century America. New York: owned up to the obvious hypocrisy of a ra- W.W. Norton & Company. cial caste within a democracy, generations of whites had benefited from the overt white Kennedy, R. (1997). Race, Crime, and the Law. New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House Inc. superiority that was ingrained in American institutions, while generations of people of Leonardo, Z. (2005). Critical Pedagogy and Race. Australia: Blackwell Publishing. color had been denied all that was promised to them by a Constitution that promised Leonardo, Z. (2009). Race, Whiteness, and Education. New York: Routledge. “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happi- ness.” Even still, a truly inclusive democracy Olson, J. (2004). The Abolition of White Democracy. Minnesota: The Minneapolis Press. has not been realized. While overt racial discrimination has Roediger, D, R. (2005). Working Toward Whiteness: How America’s Immigrants became White: The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the been marginalized, the covert destructive- Suburbs. New York: Basic Books. ness of white supremacy still pervades so- ciety in every conceivable way. The people, Shapiro, T, M. (2004). The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How wealth Perpetuates Inequality. New York: Oxford University Press. albeit slowly, are becoming more tolerant, or at least confining their racist beliefs to private Rothenberg, P. (2008). White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism. New York: Worth Publishers. quarters, but the institutions that have always been infected with the disease of white su- Thandeka. (2006).Learning to be White: Money, Race, and God in America. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. premacy still suffer from this malady. White supremacy was born with the founding of Trepagnier, B. (2006). Silent Racism: How Well Meaning White People Perpetuate the Racial Divide. Colorado: Paradigm Publishers. this country—it grew with the prosperity of this country—and if left unchecked, will Wilson, W, J. (1978). The declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. continue to undermine all that is just within this country, and its citizens, both white and Wise, T. (2008). Speaking Treason Fluently: Anti-Racist Reflections From An Angry White Male. New York: Soft Skull Publishing. black alike, will suffer the consequences.

18 Reflections of Whiteness: The Origins, Progression, and Maintenance of White Supremacy as a Cultural, Political, and Economic Force in American Institutions. GVSU McNair Scholars Journal VOLUME 13, 2009 19