(As a note, we’re always looking to bolster these articles so send more information our way to improve and expand them)

Preface: People become what they see themselves as. We’re heavily conditioned by the world around us to act and think in many ways. This self-concept is the framework for how you see yourselves in relation to the world and it defines your actions. Ideally, read this section after you have read the Why Positive Whiteness and What is Positive Whiteness sections. This section here will provide an overview of the Positive White Identity approach of Positive Whiteness but those two articles will really be able to explain the philosophical and social reasoning behind it. Then absorb the Who You Are and Culture = Identity sections to provide context to this process.  

The concept of Whiteness is an emotionally charged topic in human history and because of this, it brings on the strongest of reactions. This article will in one sense be eye-opening, in another sense uplifting, and in another sense controversial. With that said, it will be safe to say that what you read here will cause a great deal of dialogue and discussion about what this all means. Reminder: People become what they see themselves as and that is the core purpose of this section.

Note: This approach is a science and philosophy and will evolve with input from the global community to hone its effectiveness.

In this section, we point out the things people of the global White community have POSITIVELY done for the world and the human race. This is done for several purposes.

The first purpose is for White people to view themselves A: Through the lens of people who have made a positive contribution to the world and B: As people who will continue to make positive contributions to the world. It is commonly known that people attach actions to identity. So if people identify themselves or others with a specific identity, they’ll then expect specific actions with that identity.

People become the identity they see themselves as, as shown by Social Identity Theory. Social Identity Theory “refers to the ways that people’s self-concepts are based on their membership in social groups. Examples include sports teams, religions, nationalities, occupations, sexual orientation, ethnic groups, and gender.” In short, you become what you see yourself as. 

For White people in America and around the world, they are seeing themselves as a race for the first time and developing a racial identity because of it. This means our self-perception, perception of others, and thus are actions are in the process of going through great transformational change. Yet in history when Whiteness, White groups, and White individuals “used the identity”, it was to engage in various forms of tyranny and oppression. The only organizations that speak for White people and Whiteness are all organizations that have a self-identity built on domination, racism, and oppression and a view of non-White people through a negative lens. They currently are the determinative “authority” on identity for the global White community. Because of that White individuals or groups, discovering their Whiteness for the first time will take on the behavior of “this identity” to confirm to the group. This identity only manifests itself in a destructive, malicious, and negative sense. 

Positive Whiteness seeks to create a culture and system of thinking that takes people in the opposite direction. Building a White Identity on the positive things White people have done for the human race that White people can be drawn to, embody, and be inspired to do more of.

Another thing we know is that people work toward positive stimuli and away from negative stimuli. People obviously like things that make them feel good about themselves and reject things that make them feel bad about themselves. By creating and celebrating what White people have done as a community/identity by recognizing their global contributions, this has the ability to defeat the major problems we are dealing with. 

The first reason is creating a foundational identity on the positive contributions the global White community has engaged in will create that “positive stimuli” to bring people in. Draw the individual and community here and thus away from these destructive Whites organizations. People like to be a part of things that make them feel good. The second reason is they will take on this positive behavior and reject the actions of these destructive Whites organizations as we’ve described. The third reason this can work is by celebrating these accomplishments, it will serve as a motivating factor to do more good in the world. The fourth reason is it will build trust and partnership with People of Color / Non-White communities around the globe because of this framework. The fifth reason for this is it will open up White people to criticism because they will see that critique through the lens of someone who supports their best and wants them to rise even higher in the good they’re doing.

Another thing to note. While there is a great deal of wonderful and important scholarship that has been done on the negative uses of Whiteness, this article only focuses on the contributions of the White Community. This doesn’t mean these things are to be ignored. In fact, the opposite! As you’ll see below, in White Majority countries, self-criticism and free critical expression are very welcome and are integral to fixing systemic inequalities and improving the individual/society as a whole. The world is broken and we must point out what is broken to fix it. Criticism of Whiteness and the White Community should be welcomed like we criticize any other identity group. Constructive criticism of anyone should always be welcome. Our goal is to build a society that works for everyone. The purpose of this section is only to build a Positive White Identity foundation.

Now as you’ve seen so far, you might be wondering “What do you mean by ‘White’?”. The question of “Who is White” is complex and a great deal of conversation has been had about it which we highly recommend you read up on. We’ve written a separate section that gives a summary here. However, we’ll cover the basis for it here. 

The main approach to defining who is White is using a combination of the usual classification, what people self-identity out of respect to their choice of racial identity and combined with government/scientific statistics.

In short for White People: “White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin”.

This area gets complex for Hispanic/Latin-based identities and Middle East-North African identities. The US Census Bureau for example currently has a listing of “White, Hispanic or Latino” to identify individuals from the Latin/Hispanic/South American worlds. In America, currently 58% of Hispanic Americans self-identity as White in addition to Hispanic. In Hispanic and Latin countries they have the classifications of White for those who are from Europe and/or The Middle East-North Africa (MENA) and they have a separate label called “Mestizo” for those with White and Indigenous heritage. For people who are Middle Eastern/North African, circumstances are also special. The US Census Bureau considers Middle Eastern/North African individuals to be White. Yet MENA individuals don’t see themselves as White and when presented the option 88% consider themselves Middle Eastern-North African instead of White. Further people who identify as White and Latino don’t see MENA individuals as being White either from a classification perspective. MENA groups are actively working to remove themselves from the White label and create a new label to align with their unique American and global experience. So for this initial approach individuals and populations from the Middle East and Northern Africa will be separately labeled “MENA”. 

Also to note, Positive Whiteness/Positive Identity has had some inspiration from the modern racial discussion in America and around the world. By the standards of modern times, the European origin experience is uniquely different than those of Mestizo, Middle-Eastern, North Africa, and Western Asian origins. 

Ultimately the standard approach to Whiteness and White people has been people of European origin.

In conclusion for this initial approach, “White People” will mean those of European descent.

Lastly regarding classification. Historically White people have included or excluded other groups from Whiteness for a variety of reasons. One of the negative aspects of Whiteness has been where it was used to figure out who wasn’t White and then exclude and discriminate against people who weren’t classified as White. Positive Whiteness is different. Instead, we do the opposite and we’re taking an inclusionary and empowering tact. People have the power and choice to choose how they identify as. Anyone who ultimately considers themselves White will be then considered to us, as White. Anyone who wants to be White is White.

Below will be examples of Positive White Culture, that we as a Global White Community will seek to emulate and perpetuate.