Discrimination Against White?

by Larry Buford

Photo (AI generated)

If black, white, and brown are colors according to the box of Crayola Crayons we were introduced to as toddlers, then why are we now discriminating against white? According to some journalistic circles, when it comes to identifying race, “Black” and “Brown” have been upgraded to proper nouns, while “white” remains an adjective. Why is “white” not included as a proper noun in the discussion of race?

According to the Associated Press (AP) and standard media perspective, Black American people—and I’ll use this example pattern as reasoning for all people of color (POC)—have a unique transnational history, shared culture and a common experience of racial discrimination mostly rooted in the African diaspora, thus disconnecting them, by slavery, from specific ethnic roots. White American people, on the other hand, connect themselves with the diverse European, Middle Eastern, and North African cultures enabling them to retain their ethnic identities. Unfortunately, in America, until someone opens their mouth and speaks, wears a certain garment, or displays some other ethnic giveaway, it’s all about skin color. Skin color dammit!

To their credit, the AP and other journalistic institutions avoid capitalizing “white” to diffuse and delegitimize the upper-case usage by white supremacist groups. However, doing so still sets them apart as if they are the standard and not part of the race conversation—allowing them to detach themselves from accountability.

In talking with a friend of mine who is a world-traveler, she said, “We’re all mixed with something; there is no pure race, whether you’re in Louisiana, Portugal, or Jamaica.”

Before the so-called “discovery” of America, European White folks were fighting against other European White folks, just like African Black folks were fighting against other African Black folks. When it came to America, yes there were still differences, particularly between religious groups, but none as atrocious as the Black and White issue. No matter where you came from, if you were “White” you were right, and if you were “Black” you were jacked and in lack!

So, in our effort to deflate white supremacy, have we unwittingly set them apart by using lower-case for “white” and upper-case for “Black” and all other POC?

For the record: Those of you “White” folks who say you are not responsible for what your forefathers did; a lot of you and your families are still benefiting systemically from what they did: Stolen or destroyed land; stolen copyrights and patents; raping Black women; separating families during slave auctions; stripping Black men of their dignity, and the list goes on. Now you sit back with ease asking, “Why do Blacks act up the way they do?” But guess what, why are your children now acting up the way they do? It’s Karma; what goes around comes around.

In the Bible, 1st Timothy 1:4 the Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to command people in Ephesus to stop paying attention to “myths and endless genealogies”. There’s a lesson in this: Hitler failed! There is no superior race! We’ll all have to someday answer individually to Almighty God.