The Work of Whiteness¹

The division of the races, created for the economic and political purposes of justifying slavery and colonialism, is a deep, entrenched, social structure which creates and promotes white privilege and is one within which we all live. No one can be free from it. This presentation is rooted in the assumption that the problem of racism today is a problem of whiteness and that it is an examination of this construct, therefore, which needs to be central to seeking a solution to this destructive dynamic. The work required of whiteness and the letting go of privilege is essential if we are to dismantle the system of racism that is so embedded within our society. I argue this is no altruistic endeavour but that, whilst clearly doing untold harm to people of colour, such a system also limits and distorts the development and individuation of white individuals and the society in which we are citizens.