Colleges Should Teach the Role of Whiteness

By Olivia Cooley

At some point, we have all probably heard a white person lament that there is no such thing as “White History Month.” At Portland Community College (PCC), there is (almost) such a thing — but it might not be what you expect.

Portland Community College is now recognizing April as “Whiteness History Month.” The subtle difference between “white” and “whiteness” is important: it signals a critical examination of whiteness as a concept rather than a celebration of white people’s historical accomplishments. PCC describes the program as a “multidisciplinary, district-wide, educational project examining race and racism through an exploration of the construction of whiteness, its origins and heritage.” This obviously is not the “White History Month” some people have been calling for — but that is a good thing.

Despite the backlash the program has generated, which ranges from accusations of “whiteness-shaming” to violent threats against faculty and students, Whiteness History Month represents an important step toward addressing racial inequalities on college campuses and in society as a whole.

Specifically pointing to whiteness as the concept behind the oppressive regime of systemic racism is crucial in developing an understanding of white privilege and accountability. It also challenges the very notion of race as we know it by introducing the idea that the definition of “whiteness” has varied throughout history and that the category arose only out of a desire to subjugate those who did not meet its criteria.

Here at Fordham, adjunct Professor of sociology and anthropology Andrew Thompson is offering a course entitled “Race, Racism and Whiteness” during the Spring 2016 semester. The course examines “the particular historical, cultural and epistemological dimensions of white experience,” relying upon works from the field of “critical whiteness studies.” Critical whiteness studies, a discipline within the broader field of critical race theory, attempts to understand the implications of the construct of whiteness with respect to racial injustice and inequality.

As hate crimes and other racially-motivated incidents continue to occur on Fordham’s campus and on college campuses around the country, and as student activists continue to respond to these incidents by demanding more effective responses from faculty, it might be useful to ask: should Whiteness History Month be enacted everywhere? Or, as some students here at Fordham have suggested, would it be useful to include a course such as Professor Thompson’s that explores systems of oppression and our role in dismantling them in the core curriculum?

While one single approach might not work best for every school, it is clear that every college and university should make an effort to do what colleges and universities are supposed to do: educate their students. Education should not just include fields like math and science, writing and literature.

Students should be challenged to expand their worldview and become responsible citizens working against the racial injustice that continues to be perpetuated in our society.

If we continue to approach issues of race without focusing on the role of whiteness, we are missing a huge piece of the puzzle.

Treating whiteness as the default or the norm is a symptom of a racist culture, marking people of color as “other” and centralizing the interests of white people. We must acknowledge that whiteness is not an inherent characteristic, nor a neutral description of one’s racial background, but rather a socially-constructed category used to bring about degradation and subjugation of people of color. As the Cascade Diversity Council at PCC states, whiteness is an “ideology based on beliefs, values, behaviors, habits and attitudes which result in the unequal distribution of power and privilege based on skin color.”

Raising awareness about the construct of whiteness and its grave implications is not “white-shaming,” but rather a very important step in bringing about racial equality.

When people complain that there is no such thing as White History Month, it is safe to say they are speaking from a place of relative ignorance about the history of race and racism in the United States. The best way to combat this ignorance is to do exactly what Portland Community College is doing: educate.

Olivia Cooley, FCRH’16, is a women’s studies and Spanish double major from Meridan, Connecticut.