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68 \f Whit e Privileg e an d Blac k Despai r some white s mad e thei r whitenes s a basis fo r privileg e an d blacknes s a badge of infamy. After th e Civil War and again in the 1960s , new constitutional amendments an d the accompanying federal statute s were intende d to undo white privileg e an d blac k caste . Today, a s Americans reevaluat e the meanin g o f thos e laws , the y mus t d o s o contextually ; otherwise , America's past will be its future . To begi n thi s discussio n o f white privilege , I shal l briefl y revie w th e racial attitude s o f whites towar d black s tha t mad e possibl e th e codifica tion o f slavery . Th e record s o f ou r Constitutiona l Conventio n i n 178 7 reveal that under America's new Constitution, whiteness meant privilege . Later, suc h event s a s th e Dred Scott decision confirme d tha t person s o f African ancestr y wer e no t citizen s accordin g t o th e Constitution . Th e effect o f tha t cas e wa s extende d whe n th e Cour t declare d tha t separat e was equal, leading us up to the 1960 s and America's second civi l war and reconstruction. THE DECLARATION OF INFERIORITY Americans rarel y talk candidly abou t thei r racial attitudes. In fact , white ness i s almost neve r examine d an d evaluate d i n th e wa y tha t blacknes s has been . A perso n fro m anothe r plane t wh o rea d America' s papers , watched it s televisio n programs , o r attende d it s school s migh t wel l be lieve that Americans were color blind. Bu t at the end o f nearly three an d a hal f centurie s o f existence , Americ a canno t suddenl y declar e itsel f t o be what it has never committed t o being. Nearly tw o centuries befor e Thoma s Jefferso n wrot e tha t al l men ar e created equal , hi s Englis h predecessor s claime d thei r superiorit y ove r people o f color in the Ne w World. They mad e Nativ e Americans , Mexicans , mulattoes, and blacks into outsiders, colonies within colonies. Thus, when th e whit e colonial s adopte d traditiona l Englis h lega l an d cultura l standards, they embraced whit e supremacy, among other inequities . Black slaver y i n colonia l Americ a wa s a declaration o f war agains t al l persons who appeared t o be black . I t was the ultimate assertio n o f white supremacy and blac k debasement. Fo r the slaves, it was not relevant tha t the Englishme n wh o cam e t o Americ a ha d th e Greek s an d Roman s o r the Spanis h an d Portugues e a s models fo r thei r for m o f huma n enslave ment . Wha t wa s importan t wa s tha t the y believe d i n whit e superiorit y and blac k inferiority . Suc h idea s wer e prevalen t i n Englis h literature , White Privileg e an d Blac k Despai r \f 6 9 travel journal s an d diaries , an d othe r writin g eve n befor e white s estab lished blac k slavery . In hi s landmar k wor k o n racia l attitude s o f whit e Englishme n towar d blacks, Winthrop Jorda n wrote : In Englan d perhap s mor e tha n i n souther n Europe , th e concep t o f black ness was loaded wit h intens e meaning . Lon g befor e the y foun d tha t som e men wer e black , Englishme n foun d i n th e ide a o f blacknes s a wa y o f expressing som e o f thei r mos t ingraine d values . N o othe r colo r excep t white conveye d s o muc h emotiona l impact . A s describe...

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