Would You Ever Give Up Your Whiteness?

Zaron Burnett III

Seventy-nine white people were asked if they would give up their whiteness. Here are the results.

Sometimes I’ll ask a white person a question I often wonder about. It’s a question only they can answer, and typically one they’ve rarely, if ever, considered:

Generally, when I ask a white person this question they look at me like I’ve just asked: Would you ever walk across the ocean? Or maybe it’s more like: Would you ever light a winning lottery ticket on fire, just to see how it feels?

How could a white person give up their whiteness? It’s not like a gym membership. But ah, in fact, it’s a lot like a gym membership — only it’s one where other people pay your annual fees.

Whiteness!

What exactly is it? Defining whiteness is both easy as all hell, and somewhat difficult. Essentially, whiteness is social power masquerading as