White Supremacy
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White supremacy is the belief that white people are better than those of other races, making it a type of racism. It also includes actions that prevent other races from gaining power, which is known as white privilege, preserving that power for white people. The basis of white supremacy is the former erroneous belief that significant biological differences existed between people of different races. Although this belief focused heavily on the so-called Black inferiority in and around the slavery era, white supremacy historically and currently oppresses people of many races around the globe, especially indigenous peoples. Furthermore, definitions of who qualifies as white can vary.
This type of racism paved the way for racist hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the attempt by the self-named Confederate States of America to secede from the Union, and various race riots or massacres, including that in Greenwood, Oklahoma. White supremacy has also been solidified in American legislature through laws such as those preventing Black people from owning property, voting, holding office, and marrying (either at all or those of other races). In the 20th century, Jim Crow laws, which forced racial segregation, upheld the ideology of white supremacy. While laws have changed, institutions and individuals can still promote white supremacy up to and including racist violence.
This idea is closely related to white nationalism, in which being white becomes an identity. Supporters of white nationalism may endorse overthrowing the government to uphold their power. Overlap also exists between white supremacy and racist skinheads who discriminate against Jewish people. Some Christian beliefs and doctrines also align with white supremacy. White (male) supremacy can play a role in domestic terrorism incidents such as shootings like the one in Buffalo, New York.
While Donald Trump was president, this movement gained popularity, with as many as 600 groups currently existing in the United States, members of which typically supported Trump.
Although there is disagreement about how we can dismantle white supremacy, some white supremacists eventually see the error of their ways.
All of our articles, exhibits, and events about white supremacy can be found in the archive below.
From about 1900 to 1965, most African Americans were not allowed to vote in the South. White people in power used many methods to keep black people from voting. Some of these methods also prevented poor white people from voting. Today there are still laws and customs that make it harder for African Americans, other minorities, and some whites to vote.
Launched online in December 2011, this is, we believe, the first memorial to remember the many victims of lynching in the United States. Here we gather their life stories, say their names, and note where and when these thousands of men, women and children were terrorized and murdered.
A sundown town is a community that for decades kept non-whites from living in it and was thus “all-white” on purpose. Sundown towns are rare in the South but common in the rest of the country. Learn why sundown cities, towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods developed–and how they continue to shape the lives and relationships of black and white Americans today.
This is the story of one of the largest rebellions by enslaved Africans in American history. It is also the story of historiography–how the past is researched, viewed, and written about.
The police chief of Lagrange, Georgia, along with the city’s mayor and the white business community, issued an apology to the Callaway family and the NAACP for the 1940 lynching of teenaged Austin Callaway. A commemorative ceremony and memorial plaque will be placed to honor Callaway and other victims of lynchings in the county.
For more than 400 years, the economic, social, and political behavior of Americans has been shaped by ideas about “races” and racial differences. Where did these powerful ideas come from – and are they true? How have your ideas about racial differences been affected?
This exhibit features a video along with many links to resources that can help you better understand the phenomenon of lynchings. The video give a brief but very complete explanation of how and why racial terror lynchings took place and how they set the stage for current racial injustices.
Arno Michaels grew up as a gifted child of privilege. In his teens he became a white-power extremist, a leader of skinheads. Today he is an international activist for peace, justice, and basic human kindness. Read his story and watch a video about his transformation and redemption.
Karen Branan returns to her ancestral home in Georgia to discover the truth behind the lynching of three black men and a black woman in 1912 – including the complicity of her family. She tells the story in a new book, The Family Tree.
The system of basing slavery on a person’s race did not occur in the first years of European settlement in America. However, by the 1660s, slavery was instituted and reserved for Africans only. How did this happen?