whiteness – The Activist History Review

by Editorial Board February 5, 2019 0

February 2019

The Problem of White People, with Insight from St. Paul

“I’m proud to be white,” someone recently told me. He interjected the comment in a contentious political conversation. I responded by advocating “more caution” in expression. The exchange fizzled without resolution. Yet this phrase, “proud to be white,” continues to disturb. My conversation partner was no white supremacist. But his chosen phrase would have fooled many. What lies within it is a key for understanding a threatening and intractable problem of American society: what I call “the problem of white people.”

by Eric Morgenson November 30, 2018 0

November 2018

Race, Antisemitism, and American Jews

By focusing on the goal of whiteness, American Jews risked beneficial alliances with other minority groups and incorrectly convinced themselves that they were accepted by white society.

by Editorial Board September 17, 2018 0

September 2018

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Khristie—Still the Dangerous Liaison

Khristie’s sustenance of racism hurts not only themselves and the Tiffanys of the world, but also rolls the clock back and provides an incubator for white supremacy that stunts the growth of all communities—more specifically communities of color, the same supportive communities that will “stick with her” through thick and thin.

by Eric Morgenson November 17, 2017 1

Book Reviews November 2017

Review: Class, Race and Marxism

Roediger asks us as readers to consider what privilege means in an era where everyone is struggling.

by Editorial Board October 27, 2017 5

October 2017

Segregated Cville

Whatever the demographic make-up of these groups of agitators, the overarching idea that communal protests and battles over white supremacy and race are anathema to Charlottesville could not be further from the truth.

by Editorial Board October 27, 2017 1

October 2017

From Traitor to Martyr: Robert E. Lee and the Myth of White Victimhood

White Americans have appropriated and closely guard what used to be a typically southern variant of U.S. history to protect their privilege. The current political climate in the United States seems to be congenial to these kinds of defense.

by Editorial Board October 27, 2017 3

October 2017

White Supremacy and the Landscapes of Memory in Richmond, Virginia in the 1960s

It might seem that memory and heritage have lost their power to excite political action and are no longer the medium through which white supremacy is asserted. Yet Lost Cause mythology has never gone away and maintains its firm grip on the thoughts and emotions of many white Americans.

by Editorial Board October 27, 2017 4

October 2017

Mapping White Supremacy

The road to Charlottesville is a mighty traffic circle—at once our future and our past. It has a driveway into every home—an entryway into every American life. The goal of this issue is to map its ideological and physical expanse. In so doing, we hope to close some lanes or, at the very least, to make a few potholes.

by Nathan Wuertenberg March 3, 2017 5

March 2017 Spotlight On: Race

This Really Is Your America

From the announcement of his candidacy in 2015 to his victory on election night a year later, many (particularly white liberals) viewed Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency with a sense of steadily growing disbelief.

by Eric Morgenson February 3, 2017 0

February 2017 Spotlight On: Race Top Stories

The Decline of Jewish Whiteness in the Age of Trump

In the December 5, 2016 issue of The Atlantic, journalist Emma Green wondered “Are Jews White?” This is a question that seems to be quite simple – very few people in the United States in 2017 would consider Jews to be members of a minority group, at least not anymore.