One of the charges in Tatum's book is that I should actively think of myself as White. I'm not just ``normal'', I have a race. I should embrace my heritage and consider it part of who I am.
It seems that she's a little bit vague on how to do that, though. She recommends reading about white people who were involved with antiracist movements, and identifying with them. Well, okay. But do Black, Asian, Native American, and other peoples only identify with their racial heritage to the extent that people of their races fought racism? Of course not.
The White cultural heritage is quite rich. Bach and Mozart, Leonardo and Picasso, Hume and Kant, Gauss and Newton, Smith, Locke, and Marx, Shakespeare and Twain, Jefferson and Franklin. All of these people are White. And I do consider myself an heir to this heritage.
But would I any less if I weren't white? Maybe so. But I consider these men (yes, they're all white men) to be part of my heritage because they're familiar to Americans of all races; because I have read them, listened to their music, seen their artwork, and been influenced by their ideas. Perhaps it is easier to identify with these men because I am White. Perhaps it is not. But in any case, my feeling is that I share this heritage with people of all races. I don't wish to keep it for myself.
Let me now try to address a different aspect of the question. What does it mean to be White today? Is there a White culture, and am I part of it?
Christian Lander nailed this one. Let's see... I enjoy coffee, yoga, martial arts, improv comedy, and meditation. I have at least some interest in Buddhism. I love travel. I am an academic, and I live in San Francisco. And I'm constantly eschewing luxury and looking for deeper meaning in life. That makes me really, really white.
Lander's blog is funny as hell. But if you look at the list, it's clear where my culture comes from.
Privilege. And lots of it. I'll probably never struggle to pay my bills; the idea feels a bit absurd. I am working my dream job, and I'm a bit disappointed that I won't also be able to stay in my dream city forever. (And if that's not coming from a privileged voice, what is?)
The trend in the list, and in my life, and in those of people I know, is that material survival and even comfort have become easy, and that I don't have a lot of responsibilities. I have an excess of money, and in some ways time, and I am constantly looking for meaningful, "important" things to do.
No apologies for this. There's not much reason for me to worry about comfort, and I am very serious about the responsibilities I do take on. But I'm not so eager to buy a house with a lawn to mow. I've sought out diverse, interesting, entertaining, and (I think) meaningful things to do, and I've been doing my best to live a good life.
Does that mark me as White? Well, certainly there is a correlation in this country between Whiteness and privilege, but I share all of the above traits in common with people who aren't White. People who come from different ethnic backgrounds, but who (like me) had good educational opportunities, and who share many of my values and interests. This is the American subculture I identify with. This is what is part of my identity.
Now my racial heritage, my Whiteness, by itself? I'm sorry, Dr. Tatum, but after mulling the matter over I decided that I really just don't give a shit. But my race correlates with, even if it doesn't dictate, the opportunities I enjoy, and to a large extent my values.
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