The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives

This book explores how white people create narratives to justify white supremacy and maintain racist oppression, using the police murders of Philando Castile and George Floyd as a framework. It examines how these narratives erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present. The author argues that white supremacy insists on white knowledge being superior to Black knowledge and dismisses the truths embodied in Black narratives. He looks to literature to trace the construction of Whiteness and finds a response to this racial distortion in James Baldwin's essays. The book calls for white people to change their racial narratives to dissolve the myth of Whiteness and fully acknowledge the stories and experiences of Black Americans.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 07 February 2023
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Unveiling the Devious Narratives White People Craft to Justify White Supremacy and Sustain Racist Oppression

The tragic police murders of two Black men, Philando Castile and George Floyd, serve as the backdrop for this profound examination of the historical and fictional narratives that white America propagates to justify and perpetuate white supremacy. Spanning from the nation's inception to the summer of Black Lives Matter in 2020, David Mura exposes how white stories about race aim to erase the brutality of the past and perpetuate systemic racism in the present.

Interweaving history, literature, ethics, and the deeply personal, Mura delves into foundational narratives of white supremacy, including Jefferson's defense of slavery, Lincoln's frequent minimization of racism, and the establishment of Jim Crow. By examining these narratives, Mura demonstrates how white identity is built upon a shared belief in pernicious myths, false histories, and racially segregated fictions that enable whites to deny their culpability in past atrocities and current inequities. White supremacy consistently asserts that white knowledge is superior to Black knowledge, thereby dismissing the truths embodied in Black narratives.

In his quest to unravel the complexities of Whiteness, Mura turns to literature, comparing the white savior portrayal in the film Amistad to the novelization of its script by the Black novelist Alexs Pate, which highlights the African protagonists. He also examines depictions of slavery in Faulkner and Morrison, as well as the absence of race in the fiction of Jonathan Franzen and its undeniable presence in works by ZZ Packer. Through this literary analysis, Mura traces the construction of Whiteness to willfully distorted portraits of race in America.

In his exploration of James Baldwin's essays, Mura discovers a response to this racial distortion and a pathway for Blacks and other BIPOC people to heal from the wounds of racism. He encourages readers to move beyond mere apologies, contrition, or sadness and embrace a more transformative approach to addressing the legacy of racism.

This searing exploration of the historical and fictional narratives that white America employs to justify and maintain white supremacy offers a crucial lens through which to understand the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality. By challenging the narratives that perpetuate white supremacy, Mura empowers individuals and communities to dismantle the systems of oppression and work towards a more inclusive and equitable society.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517914547