Radical White Identity
The Radical White Identity model is based on the following assumptions:
- White people experience the racial identity of “white” on a daily basis through white privilege and white supremacy, whether or not they are active supporters of these positions.
- White identity cannot be renounced, eliminated, or destroyed- it is part of how people of European descent have been socialized in the U.S. and how they live in the U.S. day to day.
- White people move in the world in both racist and anti-racist ways. However, white people’s racism and anti-racism is not always conscious or intentional.
- In order for white people to be allies in ending the white supremacist system, the lived racial identity of white people must become associated with anti-racism and must be consistently conscious and intentional.
- Radical white identity is the recognition that white identity can be an actively anti-racist identity.
For more information on this model, read the paper Toward a Radical White Identity by AWARE-LA or contact us.
