Becoming White
My Family’s Experience as Slave Holders—and Why It Still Matters
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"When my ancestors came to the Americas in the 1700s, they weren’t white. They were English and Scotch and Scotch-Irish, but not white. It was only after being here for several generations, and becoming part of a society that enslaved Africans, that they, and all other European non-Africans, learned to think of themselves as white.
"The purpose of this study is to explore how that process occurred, and what it has meant for the development of our nation. I am using my ancestral history as an example only because it is material I have access to. I do not propose that my ancestors were unusual in any way; they were neither worse than nor better than other Europeans who became white through their life here. They were neither worse than nor better than other immigrants, wherever they came from, who took up life in these
"My goal here is to demonstrate how that stain began with small drops—the blood of the original enslaved Africans—and gradually spread out over every inch of our national tapestry."
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About the Book
BECOMING WHITE: My Family's Experience as Slave Holders--and Why It Still Matters follows the travels of three of my ancestral families as they came from the Old World to the new American colonies. In this lively history you will follow these families from Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland to their new homes in the colonies--and most important, see where and when they first came into contact with enslaved Africans, and how they became slave holders themselves.
Although the book presents my own families' histories, it is really a parable for everyone's family history. Whether we came here long ago or last year; whether we are of European, African, Hispanic, Asian or Native American heritage, we have all been affected by the experience of being enslaved or of holding slaves.
The thesis of the book is that the experience of holding other people as slaves was the origin of racism in the United States, and that that particular kind of racism has affected all of us--and even affects people who have never lived here.
About the Author
Margaret Blackburn White, Ph.D., was born in Dandridge, Tennessee. An educator, writer and social activist, she has taught at universities in Buffalo and Rochester, New York; Seoul, Korea; Manila, Philippines; and Goddard College and Norwich University in Vermont. After her retirement as Professor Emerita from Norwich University she became a founding editor of The Diversity Factor, a quarterly journal dealing with issues of racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination in the corporate world.
She is the author of several other books and numerous articles. Since her retirement she has been active in social issues such as police brutality against people of color, affordable housing, the problems of undocumented immigrants, and systemic discrimination in educational, religious, and other major institutions in our society.
In 1999 she was a co-founder of the Teaneck Community Chorus, a singing group formed with the purpose of reflecting the diversity of the community of Teaneck, New Jersey, both in its membership and its repertoire.
She presently divides her time between Teaneck, New Jersey, and the family farm near Dandridge, Tennessee.