Ashamed to Be White in America?

When I was 11 years old, my best friend told me that she was ashamed to be white. We were playing with Barbies (which, ironically, all happened to be white), when she confessed to me that not only did she envy my ethnicity, but she felt guilty for her people's treatment of Jews and many other races. Oddly, my friend failed to realize that the ethnicity that she so envied, while part black, is also part white. I can't remember what I said to her, though I would like to think that I encouraged her to feel otherwise. I've never forgotten her words and have thought about them differently throughout my life. As an ignorant teen, I thought her guilt was justified. I thought about how Whites had decimated the Indian population, murdered Jews and enslaved Africans. In later, enlightened years, I came to realize that her guilt was absurd, even kind of sad.

My step-father, a black man who grew up during the time of segregation, has said that had it not been Whites, it would have been someone else. Whites aren't more prone to committing racial atrocities, people in power are. It just so happened that Whites have been in power for a particularly long time. Africans also participated in slave trade, and still do. Throughout history, races have pitted against one another. It is ignorant to assume that Whites are somehow responsible for the genocide in Africa, or the once racial conflict between Japan and China.

It seems that my friend is not alone in her guilt. This morning, I came across Linda Corby's article which features another AC writer's disturbing opinion about his own race: Whites. (Please read it here)

Nowadays, "white pride" is something to be shunned. In America, Blacks celebrate their history, accomplishments and skin color. Latinos incorporate their language and customs. Most Whites happily embrace and celebrate things like Black History Month and Cinco de Maya. When it comes to other races, these Whites seem to understand the importance of racial pride and conservationism. Why then, can't they feel pride for their own race?