I am starting this group to advance discussion on race, racism and white supremacy. Although whiteness studies is a child of Critical Race Theory, and has been studied theoretically for decades I can’t seem to find any groups here on HASTAC discussing this topic. Maybe this is because I am new and haven’t quite figured HASTAC out. While I do so I am hoping to connect to other scholars exploring these topics at institutional, inter and intra personally.

I teach diversity and antiracism courses at the university level, which is what brought me to HASTAC. I am planning to connect my courses to this social network, so that students’ work is public and relevant.

This group is called Critical Whiteness in reference to the field of Critical Race Theory that focuses specifically on White identity. As a White person, it is important that I contribute to dismantling racism and white supremacy, and also that I speak for myself and try to discontinue othering and silencing voices that aren’t my own. I am here to examine white identity, but also to listen deeply. As a white person I too have been conditioned by my privilege and continue to discover blind spots in my own thinking, consciously and unconsciously.

So, to get discussion going. I broadly wonder what you think about the following questions:

What is whiteness? What does it mean to be raised as a White person in a white supremacist society? How is this positionality conditioned in relation to itself and to others? How do White people feel about being positioned as oppressors? Do White people feel a loss of culture, or that they “have no culture,” as part of the dominant group? How is White identity both oppressor and oppressed? What responsibility do White people have in confronting racism? What is White identity dis/connected from/to? What do White people need to know and do to contribute to racial justice?