Race is a heavily politicized topic that can't be forgotten about - throughout history, categories shifted and boundaries blurred, so what does it mean to be 'white'?

First of all, definitions: race is a socially constructed category that defines physical differences between people (for example, hair texture or skin colour). This is vital to keep in mind as since race is constructed, its oppressive consequences can also be destructed with systemic change and active anti-racism.

The concept of whiteness mainly began during the enlightenment in Europe once Darwin's theory of evolution was popularised. While making revolutionary statements about the position of humanity and its history, it simultaneously placed human beings in a hierarchal order stating that:

"the civilised races of man [white western Europeans] will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage [indigenous cultures, Africans, Asians] races throughout the world".

This pseudoscientific racism served as an ineffective justification for colonialism and slavery in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Whiteness was, in the coloniser's eyes, the pinnacle of superiority and wealth. Other races were seen as barbaric, vulnerable and exotic - stereotypes that still exist today through orientalism (exotifying the 'Middle East' - more accurately termed Western Asia).

The belief in a natural hierarchy of races is now called 'social Darwinism formed a part of apartheid ideology in South Africa as well as Nazi theories of racial purity. Verwoerd, known as the 'architect of apartheid' often defended his policy by stating that Africans would be "defeated at every stage" if there were to be an uprising, practically quoting Darwin's theory of race. 

Yet not all Europeans always counted as white; in the US, Italians in the late 1800s/early 1900s were often persecuted for little reason but American hostility towards Catholicism, socialism and anarchism (the latter often occurring as a reaction to the poor living conditions and political discrimination). Boundaries once changed as anti-black racism became most widespread and institutional. 

Why Does It Matter?

Race determines how individuals are treated, especially by authority figures (like the police). In the UK, Met police are four times more likely to use force on Black Britons. Additionally, Black people are more than twice as likely as white people to die in the hands of police. These alarming statistics reveal how race  can drastically alter one's life circumstances and welfare.

Racial identity also determines access to resources, public finding and affirmative action/representation initiatives. In the US and UK, the census does not have a specific box for West Asians ('Middle Easterners') and Northern Africans. This erasure of a persecuted group leads to underrepresentation and a general ignorance of the circumstances for many West Asians and Northern Africans. Despite being labelled as white in the US cennsus, Arab Americans and Arab Britons face disproportionate rates of attacks, police brutality and discrimination in employment. Without the acknowledgement of these members of the community, deeply needed funding and welfare is overlooked.

 

So, what is whiteness? 

A constructed classification of people based on the physical traits, what makes whiteness distinct is it's constant redrawing of boundaries and association with general systemic privilege, especially for the upper class.

Regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation, we must come together and help create a world that treats everybody with mutual care, respect and compassion.

 

A better future is possible. 

 

 

- Yasmeen Shaker, Esher Sixth Form College