Reverse racism isn’t a thing. This might not come as a surprise to many of you. Some people, however, are deeply committed to the idea that White people can experience racism.

So can White people experience racism?

NOPE. And here’s why…

The key to understanding why reverse racism isn’t a thing is in critically reflecting on how systems are built upon racism and how these systems function. Racism is based on the belief that one race is superior to others.  Specifically, racism is based on the belief that White, European, Christian people, (and for a long time men) – are superior to other people. In fact, for many years, only White Christian men were seen as capable of having legal personhood, which included the right to own property and the right to vote.

To support systems of racism, policies and laws were and are built around the belief in White superiority.  These policies and laws are constructed around this belief and therefore maintain white supremacy across the world, including in both the US and Canada. These racist policies and laws privilege White people’s interests and perspectives and therefore result in unearned advantages for White people. They also justify the place and power of White people in society and reinforce the belief that White people are entitled to these benefits.

One common question is whether white supremacy as a system operates in areas where White people don’t form the majority of the population. The answer is yes. Whiteness is valued around the world. Whiteness is normalized, it is seen as the default, the norm against which all other people are measured. So across the world people are measured against White beauty, White values, White abilities, and White achievements (see this great book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for more on this). White people therefore carry White privilege with them wherever they go.

As well, those with proximity to Whiteness (i.e. those who are lighter skinned or can pass as White) may experience a relative privilege when compared with those don’t have as close a proximity to Whiteness. Those with proximity to Whiteness, therefore, may experience some advantages of White privilege even if they may not experience every single advantage associated with White privilege.

So to bring us back to the question of whether reverse racism is a thing, it’s helpful to keep in mind some critical questions:

• Who built the system?
• Who benefits from the system?
• And who keeps the system going?

White people built the systems of government, laws, police institutions, electoral, education, and economic systems to reflect their values and to act to their advantage. This system benefits White people and correspondingly disadvantages Black, other racialized and Indigenous people. This has resulted in White people having power across all aspects of society, including political, economic and social power. Since white supremacy is a system in which White people hold, control, and maintain power, they will never be on the losing end of the racial power dynamic in racist societies. Simply put, White people have power in society because of their race.

These systems advantage White people because they are White. In other words, White people’s Whiteness always acts as an advantage within racist societies even if there are other systemic barriers based on a White person’s identity and positionality that may disadvantage them (i.e. sexism, ableism, classism, heterosexism, etc.). White people do not experience systemic discrimination on the basis of Whiteness and therefore do not suffer disadvantages due to race that result in less social, economic, and political power on the basis of race. Power is a critical aspect of racism. And that is why reverse racism is not a thing.

So when we see statistics about how Black, other racialized and Indigenous people experience higher rates of poverty, lower health outcomes, higher rates of incarceration, lower rates of employment, higher rates of intergenerational poverty and trauma, these outcomes are not accidental.   These are the outcomes of racist policies and laws created by White governments to privilege White people.

And remember… the system of racism is created in this way by design.

These outcomes are the inevitable result of a system that is built upon a deep foundation of racism. As Ibram X. Kendi and other anti-racist scholars highlight, since we are raised in a racist society, we are bombarded by racist ideas all the time and we operate within racist systems and institutions. It is therefore inevitable that we internalize racist beliefs and values. For those with White privilege, the system of racism and the advantages White people accrue as a result become normalized and thus invisible.

One of the things that is so tricky about racism is its normalization. Ideas of meritocracy, eugenics, civilization, and other false theories that justify White racial superiority have been and continue to be created and perpetuated by governments, institutions, and organizations. The violence of these false narratives is that they can lead to a dangerous and inaccurate belief that White people have earned their place in society and, conversely, that negative outcomes for Black, other racialized and Indigenous people are attributable to something innate about their race or ethnicity. As such, the system of racism functions to perpetuate these false narratives of White racial superiority and deepens the invisibility of White privilege for those who are served by and gain power from systemic, institutional, and personal racism.

For Black, other racialized and Indigenous people, systems of racism also become normalized within our lives. However, for Black, other racialized and Indigenous people, racism is highly visible because it impacts daily choices relating to safety, career choices and success, which neighbourhoods are affordable and safe to live in, and many other aspects of life.  And so the only way to remedy this is to dismantle this system of racism through sustained anti-racist and anti-colonial action. And we must do this until anti-racism and anti-colonialism become normalized.

So believe when I say that reverse racism is not a thing. It just isn’t.  And look for a future article about why affirmative action is not reverse racism either.

We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

Photo by Isaiah Rustad on Unsplash

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