Whiteness hasn't always been a thing in America, though the concept of the other is eternal. Class has always been the determining factor in acceptance. Money could mostly buy favor, though there were distinguishing factors like old and new money. Whiteness didn't exist until after Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 when groups of the lower classes, Black enslaved people, Black indentured servants, and white indentured servants joined forces against the governor of Virginia and burned down Jamestown.
Ironically, the goal of the rebellion was to force the government to force out or kill the Native Americans. The threat of the lower classes joining forces was too much to bear and required a whole new system. Race became the means to classify Americans, with wealthy white people occupying the top rung of the ladder and enslaved Black people on the bottom.
Indentured servitude soon ceased to exist, and the white indentured servants who once worked alongside Black indentured servants were now their superiors. They became overseers and slave patrollers, with some now having slaves of their own. There was a hierarchy among white people as well. Everyone considered white now was not at the time. People not initially regarded as white in America included Germans, Greeks, white Hispanics, Spaniards, Jews, Slavs, Italians, Afghans, Iranians, and Irish. The Immigration Act of 1790 only offered naturalization to "any alien, being a free white person." In 1923, the Supreme Court ruled that people of Indian descent were not white and couldn't become citizens.
William Spivey
Many groups listed above eventually achieved whiteness, although this was situational at best. Let's call their status probationary whiteness. They were gladly accepted when they needed to be white for elections or census purposes. They weren't always welcome as neighbors or into white families. Most churches are mostly segregated by race. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out in 1963 that the most segregated hour in America is 11 a.m. on Sundays.
"We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America," said King. "At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation. This is tragic. Nobody of honesty can overlook this. Now, I'm sure that if the church had taken a stronger stand all along, we wouldn't have many of the problems that we have. The first way that the church can repent, the first way that it can move out into the arena of social reform is to remove the yoke of segregation from its own body."
While most ethnic groups in America strive to retain their culture and history, it's also true the safest thing to be in America is a white person. Not that being white provides ultimate protection from random and even race-based attacks, but systemic preference for whiteness offers protections unavailable to others except those able to pay for it.
The title asks if it is possible to lose whiteness. It has always been possible on an individual basis; a white person can commit the most heinous act, and that person will be dismissed as crazy or mentally ill. Never are their actions a reflection on all white people, whereas the same can't be said when a Black, Jewish, or Hispanic person does something. Until recently, once a group achieved a probationary white status, they were mainly afforded white privilege, though there were exceptions. A recent cult-like dependence on one man's opinion to set the values for almost half the population has changed things. He may turn his hordes loose on Haitian people one moment and the presumed white Jewish people the next.
Donald Trump, during a campaign event titled "Fighting Antisemitism in America," cited an unnamed poll that he said showed him with two-fifths of Jewish voters' support. Trump went on to say that if he lost the upcoming election, Jewish voters would bear some of the blame, citing an unknown polling he only had 40% Jewish support.
“I’m not going to call this a prediction, but, in my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss if I’m at 40%," he said. "You can’t let this happen. Forty percent is not acceptable because we have an election to win.”
Trump believes the Jewish people owe him for the things he says he's done for Israel. Maybe he thinks they've forgotten the things he's said, showing his contempt for Jewish people. A Trump supporter sent a pipe bomb to George Soros' house (as well as 15 other high-profile liberals) last year. The right-wing terrorist who massacred 11 Jews at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last October espoused the exact same conspiracy theory about refugees. This is simply the kind of thing that happens when Donald Trump is constantly spewing anti-Semitic propaganda.
Other groups have come close to achieving whiteness as America comes closer to 2045, when white people are projected to become a minority in this country. The solution from the past was to make more people white, like the Irish, Germans, Catholics, white Hispanics, and Jewish people. Should Trump lose, he will blame Jewish people (among others), and there will likely be retaliation by some of his followers. In 2023, antisemitic incidents reached a record high, up 140% from 2022. Things have worsened in 2024, and with Trump warning that Jewish people will be to blame if he loses, those numbers could esclate.
Jewish people in America may already have lost their whiteness. It may be in part due to the rising popularity of white supremacists, some of whom Trump considers "very fine people" and others he dines with. It's debatable whether whiteness is something to aspire to, though a few like Clarence Thomas, Candace Owens, Enrique Tarrio, and Stacey Dash have tried. Thomas and Owens enriched themselves while Tarrio is serving time in prison. Dash is a recovering Vicodin addict and was fired from her job on Fox News. She also lost her Black card.
The good news is that whiteness in America will eventually disappear. Multi-racial children are more the norm, and the purity of races is becoming extinct. Racism has always been a symptom of a class-based society, and in the coming generations, it will become less of an issue. The trend is inevitable despite Trump's histrionics. One monkey don't stop no show.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.