THE HEART OF WHITENESS

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Introduction

The heart of whiteness is a very controversial book that looked at from the side of white supremacy. However, when looked at from the black lives matter movement, it gives a sense of hope, and it assures a person that white supremacy is the problem, that being white is the problem and not being black. It is one of the books that are instrumental in bringing racial issues to a standstill and making people question everything they do. The book makes a person think of racism, and it makes most people who through social constructions think they are right to get many questions as they think those they might be the problem and not the people being mistreated. This, to some extent and supported by other scholars, is true (McGregor, 2002). Therefore this paper discusses this great work of art produced by Robert Jensen.

As he states that the dreams of the end of white supremacy will only remain dreams, “… unless we speak, and act harshly. We need that love-not just love but a truly harsh and dreadful love.” (Jensen, 2005 page. 9)

Summary

This book looks into the historical background of the people of the United States of America. It looks deeply into how different individuals and situations have harnessed racial discrimination at different times in history until the current time when many people are suffering in society due to racial discrimination. It is a book that can make a person think twice of their identity and how that identity is linked to race, with a major focus on the United States of America.

Jansen describes the United States of America as a white supremacist country, and this is brought out so clearly and firmly through his experiences and hard facts presented in his book. (Jensen, 2005). Through his book, we see how these structures that have been set-up by white supremacists can be brought down and the opportunities made available even to the black population. In this book, Jansen tries to bring to the mind of white supremacists that even if they try to stop the blacks from their localities, they are doing so at their own risk because the society at any other point has to be balanced and therefore, it will always be balanced if people take the right decisions to uphold equality among all types of people instead of breeding anger, jealousy, and hate.

How Jansen discusses white supremacy is meant to create emotion and question the foundations’ people have set for themselves and how effective they are. Through reading this book, the reader is assured of having emotional impulses talking of how injustice has been tolerated for so long and therefore, this makes one wish for action to be taken so that justice can be given back to those who deserve it, to those to whom it has been deprived for so long till ages back in time.

In the book, Jansen looks into racism issues, which range from redlining to all other issues related to racism, and how these constructions based on a white supremacist country affect the black people in that country. This white supremacy occurs when a white person has more and better privileges than their black counterparts. He quotes, “white privilege like any social phenomenon is complex, in a white supremacist economy; however, al white people have some privileges in some settings.”

This is a clear sign that racism intertwined with white supremacy is always very bad and can destroy many people’s lives. This is because there is always a constant conflict and repulsion from one group of the population as they try to fight for their rights. In contrast, another group tries to undermine these rights and privileges, thus making life very difficult for the less privileged people. In this case, the people less privileged are the blacks in the United States of America.

Analysis and evaluation

The solutions to these problems experienced between white people and blacks are contextual. However, Jansen gives an idea of how solutions can be found through discourse. This happens between these two groups, which are rivals, and he encourages the blacks to adopt new uncomfortable ideas and strategies in the fight for their rights.

This book also focuses on the privileges the black people lose because they are not white and cannot get them. It talks of this as a system of privileges created by the white supremacists who enjoy the rights and not being able to share them with another common person, especially the blacks or generally a person who is not white.

This book’s analysis can be termed as an introspection into the reality of the situation in the United States of America through this book. This is because the book’s contents to the real world are very relatable as most white people continue looking down upon people who are not of their color. White supremacy continues to rise, and it is one of the things which is making the country go through many problems of late.

President Donald Trump’s refusal to denounce white supremacy during the presidential debate relates closely to this. It informs us of how white supremacy is used to suppress blacks and make their lives miserable as other people. In this case, the whites continue to have lives that flourish daily. This can be termed institutionalized racism, whereby a certain group decides to be against people of a certain color. In this case, President Donald Trump represents the white supremacists and others under the same category of a white supremacist as he says, “process of racial signification goes on at all levels; from the intra-physic to the supranational.” This is a very clear sign that racial discrimination happens not only in certain social settings but also beyond what a person can think of.

Reading this novel opened up my mind about white supremacy and racism, but it reminded me vividly of the murder of George Floyd, the protests which took place after a white police officer killed him. Another area which stroke me as I read through was the issue of why a white person may not always like to interact with a black person, and this not only tells me of how much racial a person is but also their nature of selectively avoiding human importance despite the type of black human being next to them.

Conclusion

Therefore this can be regarded as one of the evil forces we have in the society of late because even though there have been efforts to end it, it remains to be a challenge for most white supremacists to accept the black people and welcome them as people who belong to a common home place- mother earth.

References

Jensen, R. (2005). The heart of whiteness: Confronting race, racism, and white privilege. City Lights Books.

McGregor, R. (2002). ‘Breed out the Colour’or the Importance of Being White. Australian Historical Studies, 33(120), 286-302.

Rollock, N. (2018). The Heart of Whiteness: Racial gesture politics, equity, and higher education. In Dismantling Race in Higher Education (pp. 313-330). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Leggett, B. (2013). Heart of Whiteness. Contemporary Literature, 54(2), 403-410.

Pyne, S. J. (1986). Heart of whiteness: the exploration of Antarctica. Environmental Review: ER, 10(4), 231-246.