Black Writers on What it Means to Be White
In his introduction to Black Writers on What it Means to be White, David R. Roediger critiques traditional white historiographies and pays credence to the work of prominent Black scholars the likes of W.E.B. Du Bois and James Baldwin. Roediger shows that whites frequently write about what it means to be Black, but that Black historians, philosophers, and writers are summarily ignored. Most white scholars, according to Roediger, don't feel that Blacks have much insight into the features or characteristics of "whiteness." On the other hand, so-called liberal academics claims to know a lot about the needs, wants, histories, and passions of African-Americans. As the author sets out to prove, Blacks actually have more insight into white culture than vice-versa. Blacks have in fact been uniquely able to perceive whites culture objectively and to understand and criticize their means of oppression. This stems to the slave auction, where the Black "products" could readily assess...
Furthermore, whiteness, rather than being a biological fact, is actually a forged identity that is groundless in reality. White Americans cling to their identity out of fear, not because it is a fundamental fact. Moreover, this "white" identity is uniquely American. Because of our history with the slave trade, white supremacy has been an integral part of American consciousness.
During the course of his introduction, Roediger presents several key points. First and foremost is that Black writers, historians, and thinkers have been forced to the fringes of American society. Their voices have been silenced because they threaten the status quo of white supremacy in the States. As an example, Roediger points to Bill Moyers, who interviewed Toni Morrison without bothering to thoroughly research her writings. Blacks, according the author, have been dismissed as being able to discuss whites, whereas whites have been permitted to speak at any length about what it means…
