Why do we add quotes around “white” people?

The words we use matter. They mold the way we think. While white people is most commonly used, Reckon With seeks to learn from the teachings of movement leaders about how to refer to people who are racialized as “white” in a way that is accurate and that emphasizes the reality that race is a socially constructed idea, not a biological fact. These alternatives include:

• People who are racialized as “white”

• “White”

• White-bodied

• European-American

• People of European Descent or Heritage

Adding quotes around “white” draws attention to the fact that whiteness is an idea that has been constructed over time to justify and facilitate racist oppression, and to confer resources and power to some and take them from others. We use the quotes to be mindful of the fact that “white” is not a neutral identity or descriptor, and in order to jostle the neutrality and innocence that “white” people are often afforded. The construction of the “white” race has been widely researched and documented. You can find more information on our research and Why pages. For an institutional example of this format, see The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s website.

We also draw from the teachings of Resmaa Menakem who uses the language of bodies: white bodied, Black bodied, and bodies of culture (learn more here).

We also use the term European American to draw attention to the fact that “white” people, or their ancestors, also came to this land from elsewhere. Part of racial repair requires that “white” people reconnect with who they and their ancestors were before they became “white,” and what is possible as and after “whiteness” and its privileges and powers are relinquished in service of collective wellbeing. We are grateful to Elders from Healing Roots and the European American Collaborative Challenging Whiteness who have taught us this language.

We want to note that we have received feedback that European American has an implication that all Europeans are “white” which is of course not true. The suggestion here is to include heritage, e.g. people who are descended from Europe, or of European Descent. We also learn from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond which has an affinity group called European Dissent.

Finally, we recognize that we do not use quotes around Black. We only highlight the constructed nature of race when referring to “white.” This is complicated, and somewhat self-contradictory. We appreciate the scholarship of folks such as Dr. Sheena Michele Mason and her Theory of Racelessness.

We will continue to learn from and sit with these multiple perspectives.