American Whiteness and Critical Race Theory

    Toni Morrison's Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination is an investigation of how a constructed 'Africanist' presence is used to define whiteness in American literature and, in conjunction, American culture. This analysis through a lens which recognizes race as a socially constructed tool which is used to subjugate people of color and legitimize white supremacy is unmistakably a work of Critical Race Theory, or CRT (Curry et al.). Morrison's assertion that white America relies on this Africanist presence to distinguish itself as a coherent group, meaning that white America hinges it's culture on the absence of blackness (Painter), aligns with some of the basic tenets of CRT. The tenets I'm referring to point to the fact that the legal setbacks and advances made by POC, as well as the negative stereotypes assigned to them, are always at the whim of white priorities (Delgado & Stefancic). Essentially, white people possess the power and use it to manipulate and frame people of color however they please, which is exactly what Willa Cather does in Sapphira and the Slave Girl, according to Morrison.

The Basic Tenets of Critical Race Theory 

"(1) Race is socially constructed, not biologically natural.

(2) Racism in the United States is normal, not aberrational: it is the common, ordinary experience of most people of colour.

(3) Owing to what critical race theorists call “interest convergence” or “material determinism,” legal advances (or setbacks) for people of colour tend to serve the interests of dominant white groups. Thus, the racial hierarchy that characterizes American society may be unaffected or even reinforced by ostensible improvements in the legal status of oppressed or exploited people.

(4) Members of minority groups periodically undergo “differential racialization,” or the attribution to them of varying sets of negative stereotypes, again depending on the needs or interests of whites. 

(5) According to the thesis of “intersectionality” or “antiessentialism,” no individual can be adequately identified by membership in a single group. An African American person, for example, may also identify as a woman, a lesbian, a feminist, a Christian, and so on. Finally, 

(6) the “voice of colour” thesis holds that people of colour are uniquely qualified to speak on behalf of other members of their group (or groups) regarding the forms and effects of racism."

- (Delgado & Stefancic)

    The effect of the presence of black people, and the formulations of them which white people concoct, on American literature and identity have been widely ignored by literary critics and liberals alike. This is another way in which Morrison's critical work aligns with CRT. Morrison discusses the gaping hole in literary criticism where discussions of Africanist presences should be, citing the common notion that "the habit of ignoring race is understood to be a graceful, even generous, liberal gesture." as a reason for this. Another reason, she says, this goes unmentioned is because analyses of racial disparities tend to focus on the consequences for the victim, not the "masters." It is partially for this reason that Morrison feels the need to investigate Africanist constructions in American literature because it is also a way to delve into the nature of the white authors of these works. Literature is deeply connected to societal views and culture, even if it is fictional, because literature is inextricably connected to the mind and experiences of the authors.

    This same sentiment is reflected in CRT's strong opposition to the notion of 'color-blindness' (Chayes et al.). This is something I wrote about in my questions about this piece and we briefly discussed it in class, but I wanted to focus on it a bit more. Liberal anti-racism has tended to regard racism as abhorrent and irrational (Chayes et al.), focusing mainly on explicit racism rather than implicit racism. Explicit racism is what one initially would think of as 'racism,' things like the KKK or racist jokes, but implicit racism is made up of unconscious, internalized biases which we may not even know we have (DiAngelo). Color-blindness is a form of implicit bias in that the people who express having this point of view do not actively view people of other races as inferior, but the notion is still informed by biases that come with privilege. By this, I mean that white people are in a position in society where we do not have to consider our race in daily lives- we see ourselves as race-less (DiAngelo). It is because we do not have to worry about discrimination based on skin color that we are able to claim that race is not of significance in our interactions with others.

    Another, more exceptional, example of this implicit bias lies within the perception of whiteness as "bland nothingness" or "racist hatred" (Painter). By this logic, white people feel that they must be racist or apathetic towards matters of race. This is supported by Morrison's assertion that white identity is shaped by its relationship and diametrical experiences in relation to those of black people. This construction of whiteness led Rachel A. Dolezal, former leader of the Spokane, WA chapter of the NAACP, to believe that "she could not be both anti-racist and white" (Painter). Dolezal is a white woman, born to two white parents, who 'passed' as black for a number of years before there was a widespread controversy surrounding her racial identity (Painter). 

    This woman's story and Toni Morrison's Playing in the Dark can both be viewed through the lens of critical race theory to highlight a similar conclusion; white identity is exceedingly fragile and dependent on the oppression of people of color, Africanist presences in particular. In order to move away from this society where both explicit and implicit racism are so prevalent, white identity must be strengthened and defined by something other than this power imbalance. 

Works Cited

Chayes, Abram, et al. "Critical Race Theory." The Bridge, https://cyber.harvard.edu/bridge/CriticalTheory/critical4.htm.

 

Curry, Tommy, et al. "Critical Race Theory." Britannica, 2 Apr. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory. 

 

Delgado, Richard, and Jean Stefancic. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. NYU Press, 1984.

DiAngelo, Robin. "Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo." YouTube, uploaded by General Commission on Religion and Race of The UMC, 21 Feb. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwIx3KQer54&t=963s&ab_channel=GeneralCommissiononReligionandRaceofTheUMC. 

Morrison, Toni. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. Harvard University Press, 1992

Painter, Nell Irvin. "What is Whiteness?" The New York Times, 20 Jun. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/sunday/what-is-whiteness.html?_r=0.