privilege in a way that makes their identity salient to themselves and others. Whites who organize in order to keep non-whites out of the neighborhoods they live in are consciously exercising their racial privilege rather than living their lives in an entirely colorblind fashion. Finally, some whites actually try to abandon their white identity, claiming to have an entirely different racial background. The widespread adoption of DNA testing has increased the number of whites who, in the light of new information, think of themselves as belonging to other racial groups. Other whites are sharply aware of their white privilege and attempt to change its meaning. In all the cases discussed in Chapter 3, white racial identity is salient, not hidden.
Chapter 4 presents some of the ways in which whiteness influences attitudes on a range of topics. It also discusses the influence of culture on experiences with and the diffusion of whiteness. Patterned beliefs and practices not only are a result of white identity; they also shape it. Several different theories of white racial attitudes engage with the ways in which whiteness symbolizes a sense of cultural superiority, as well as with the role played by the degree of possessiveness expressed by whites in the face of perceived political and economic threats. White attitudes are not limited to whites’ thinking about race, however. Whites are also unique in their support for the harsh treatment of those arrested and incarcerated—attitudes that a number of scholars have demonstrated are racialized. The cultural practices of whites diverge in some cases from the practices of other groups. While this occurs in a variety of dimensions, one example that will be discussed is that of country music.
Chapter 5 discusses the ways in which white identity and privilege are mobilized. Often, when Americans think about the ways in which white people join social movements to further the interests of their race, they think about white supremacist movements. The Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other supremacist groups are indeed important organizations to understand. However, there are other ways in which whiteness is connected to whites’ involvement in social movements. Some organizations, such as the Tea Party movement, comprise a large majority of white members. More importantly, however, their goals would secure white privilege. Such goals include policies about taxation and social welfare programs that would disproportionately harm non-whites and, relatedly, benefit whites. Movements in which whiteness is an organizing principle need not be politically conservative, however. Organizations that are predicated upon anti-racism and upon attempts to subvert white privilege are also examples of whiteness mobilized.
Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the future of white racial identity. The demographic shifts that occur in America are likely to have profound implications on racial attitudes and identities. Whites (as currently defined) are soon to become a minority of the United States population; they are already a minority among the young population up to the age of 15 (Frey 2019). What will happen to whiteness when whites are no longer in the majority? Perhaps nothing—or perhaps there will be a strong shift in whites’ attitudes and behaviors if they perceive their privileged position in society to be threatened. One form this may take would be for whites to draw even stronger boundaries around whiteness than the ones that currently exist. Such attempts could mirror and replicate, for instance, the behavior of native-born whites in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when waves of European immigrants from places such as Ireland and Italy were not considered fully “white.” Alternatively, whites may erect weaker boundaries around their whiteness. In an attempt to maintain majority status, they may consider relabeling “white” groups that are currently “honorary whites,” such as some Asians and Latinos/as. Finally, this chapter seeks to address the question: “Is there an ideal form of whiteness?” If a white individual were to care about the privilege and history of oppression that is associated with his or her identity, how might that person go about thinking and acting in ways that consciously challenge white privilege? While the connection between whiteness and privilege is not erasable, appreciating this connection and its many manifestations is a positive alternative to the passive acceptance of white racial dominance.
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