Why I teach a course called 'White Racism'

The article was published on February 1st.

There was a need for students to learn about racism long before I started teaching a course about it.

I named my course "White Racism" because I thought it was scholarly and succinct.

Others didn't see it the same way. White Americans were upset when they learned about this course.

The course was attacked by thousands of people on social media and far right news sites.

Some 150 people sent me threats.

It might be a good idea to blame the hostility to my course on the current political climate in which the president of the United States frequently makes racist statements and gets support from members of white racist hate groups. I can't remember a time when scholarly critiques of white supremacy in the US weren't met with disdain.

An identically titled course that was taught at the University of Connecticut sparked controversy when it first appeared in the 1990s.

‘White racism’ is nothing new

Whether a course is titled "White Racism" or "The Problem of Whiteness", the academic legitimacy of the course will not be affected. The term has been used by scholars for a long time.

I teach courses on race in the U.S. for a decade. The course is anchored in a body of historical and contemporary scholarship. The United States and other places around the globe were colonized by Europeans and their white descendants. They used all sorts of inhumanity against non-white people. This includes genocide, slavery, murder, rape, torture, theft, chicanery, segregation and discrimination. This is hard to say.

The trans-Atlantic slave trade, Jim Crow laws, lynchings, housing and labor market discrimination, and police brutality are some of the things most Americans know about. The extent to which these white racist practices continue to have an effect is what we differ about.

Many white Americans subscribe to the myth of a colorblind society, which is the reason for the disagreement.

The United States is a post-racial society, according to this myth. The United States is white supremacist in nature and some people buy into the myth to prevent them from seeing it.

There is a lot of social science research that shows how race still matters in American life. Race still matters in the labor market, education, and access to clean water according to the evidence. The criminal justice system, health care, retail and dining experiences are all related to race.

Many people don't believe that racism is still alive. They point to the civil rights legislation of the 1960s or the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States as proof that racism is over.

It would be easier to talk about white racism if it were done in a less offensive way. It is possible that this delicate approach is necessary for those who are afraid of the consequences of speaking unvarnished truth on racial matters. We should not whitewash professors who deal with race.

Can there be ‘black racism’?

I have found the most common complaint about my course to be that anyone can be racist. They want to know what about black racism. Latino, Asian Americans, and Native peoples are believed to be involved in other forms of racism. I think there is no such thing as black racism.

I am not alone in holding this view. Eduardo Bonilla- Silva, president of the American Sociological Association, said here at FGCU that we can all be prejudiced. There is a difference between having prejudiced views about other people and having a system that gives systemic privilege to some people.

Blacks did not benefit from a centuries-old system of racial oppression consisting of laws, policies, practices, traditions and an accompanying ideology that promoted the biological, intellectual and cultural superiority of whites. Europeans and their descendants did the same thing. This is discrimination. The scholarship that attests to this reality is introduced to students in my courses.

Students will read and discuss pieces about W.E.B. Du Bois and others. They will do work that strengthens their ability to identify and confront racist statements.

Public money for a public problem

Some people think that students in my course stand a better chance of getting a good grade if their race meshes with my own. This isn't true. I would welcome the chance to review peer-reviewed empirical evidence if a student found it counter to what they were taught in the course.

Agreeing with my views on race doesn't affect a student's grade The quality of the work a student produces is what determines whether or not they get an A in any of my courses.

I am being criticized for teaching a course called "White Racism" at a public university. My course should be taught at public colleges and universities as well.

Michael Martin supports my academic freedom to teach my "White Racism" course.

He said in a statement that reviewing the course content is more important than passing judgement. FGCU teaches students critical thinking skills by challenging them to think independently and critically about important issues of our times.

White supremacy and white racism are bad features of American society. It is in the public interest for students to learn about the origin, logic and consequences of white racial domination, as well as how to challenge and dismantle it. The public university classroom is a good place for this to happen.

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Ted is a member of the American Sociological Association.