What is blackness and how does it relate to a historical context? Blackness without a historical context allows the stories that these concepts carry to be forgotten because they are inherently interdisciplinary. I aim to debrief some aspects relating to race, specifically whiteness and blackness. While this is influenced from research and information from sources, I also make my own claims within.
Therefore I would like to begin by claiming white supremacy, as a concept, has been around for centuries because of colonialism and cultural imperialism. Throughout history white individuals have always been the ones to define who is white, while simultaneously having the ability to change the definition according to the economic, political, and social conditions occurring at the given time. For example, Egyptians used to be classified as Black, and then Arab, and now White because of the above mentioned qualities, which shows that Whiteness is often an ideology rather than a racial or biological characteristic.
The ideology of Whiteness was created as a form of maintenance that reflected the imperialist agenda of White and European nationalism. When one traditionally thinks of a “white supremacist” it typically is Hitler, the Aryan nation, and the KKK who all are extremists. Although often, white supremacy is actually a mainstream thought that lies at the core of the American experience, which is that whenever White interests are threatened, Whites have the right to protect themselves and often use democracy as way to do so. This shows that within this lens, democracy can be seen as an ideology to defend and uphold Whites.
Another way that White supremacy is upheld is through colorism. Historically colorism is based on extremist assumptions and color preferences are typically measure against traditional White standards. Historically lighter skinned blacks have always been more successful and typically have higher status than darker skinned blacks. This is because having a lighter skin tone allowed opportunities that darker blacks would not receive. During slavery light skinned blacks were allowed to work easier jobs and were often able to be emancipated by their White fathers. After slavery the lighted skinned blacks had advantages in education, property, and occupation opportunities because they had ties to White kinship.
These also created the one-drop-rule, were even if you did not classify as black and were not connected to the African community, one may be legally still black. An example of this is the was found in Louisiana when a woman went to register and claimed to be White, but was told she was in fact Black because of a great, great, great grandfather that she didn’t even know existed. This shows how the one-drop-rule held people back when trying to move past their black heritage, even without knowing it. It also allows the general public to assume histories of black individuals solely due to skin color and knowledge of American slavery, although not all black individuals have those ancestors.
So how do we move forward as a community? How do we educate a historical context of blackness that can be heard? What needs to happen for these conversations to be accepted and understand; where they are not seen as criticisms, but forms of human connection, communication, and collaboration? Blackness needs to be seen through interdisciplinary and broader lenses and it starts with one on one actions and conversations. So talk and listen, but most importantly learn and reflect.
