White Supremacy

By Nahed Shata

General Context

White supremacy is based on a system of false belief that white people are superior to other races and automatically authorized to control them. From the Nazi concept of an Aryan race, British systematic colonization, slavery, and then segregation, white supremacy has been reinforced through pseudoscience, cultural beliefs, biased laws, and policies throughout the U.S. history.

In the past, Thomas Jefferson viewed African Americans as inferior in reason and imagination (Magnis). His idea about white supremacy still persists today. LAPD Chief Daryl Gates claimed that Black people died more often from police chokeholds because their veins and arteries didn’t open as quickly as those of "normal people" (Shaw). Biased laws and policies continue to operate today, sustaining white supremacy. Black Americans receives longer sentences than white according to Rios. Immigration laws also enforce white supremacy according to Erfani, just as Slave Codes legally placed whites above African Americans. Gradually, these laws and policies codified white supremacy, making it stronger and more normalized.

Connection to Novel

The novel shows how white supremacy operates on Pichot’s plantation and in Bayonne by enforcing racial hierarchy that deprived Black community of opportunities, and dignity. Black children attend a segregated school with limited resources and a shorter academic year; Grant uses old supplies while the white schools get more resources. Black individuals are also denied access to public accommodations; Grant can only go to Black restaurants and nightclubs.

Also, social institutions, like courts, sustain white supremacy, allowing white people to maintain their privilege while keeping Black people powerless. Jefferson, a Black man, is condemned by an all-white jury, and Grant is trapped in a white-controlled school system that enforces racial hierarchy. Cultural beliefs also reflect these hierarchies: Jefferson’s white attorney calls him a “hog,” and Grant is humiliated by the sheriff and Henri Pichot for being “too educated” for a Black person. Overall, Black people are treated as unequal, exposing how deeply white supremacy is embedded in everyday life.