The Dependence of Whiteness on Blackness

Dear Twain and Chesnutt,

I have mixed reviews of your recent writings.

First, let me applaud you, Chesnutt, for choosing to not pass as the “white man” you describe in your article even though technically under many state laws you are defined as white.  You never really answer the question, “What is a White Man?” Your lack of a clear answer represent, in a way, reflects the ambiguity of the term in America. You cite a number of state laws mainly from the South that define a white man as generally a person who is an eighth or less black.  It’s interesting to note that you define white as the absence of blackness and not the other way around.  Whiteness and all of the privileges it affords is dependent on blackness, or the lack of social, economic, and political privileges.  Specifically, you quote from a court case that summarizes how whiteness was determined then: “The question whether persons are colored or white, where color or feature are doubtful, is for the jury to decide by reputation, by reception into society, and by their exercise of the privileges of the white man, as well as by admixture of blood.”  You establish that whiteness was equivalent to privilege and blackness was equated to a lack of privilege. I think, however, that it is important to move away from this negative association.  We, as in blacks, should work towards defining blackness for ourselves through self-mobilization.  Being black is a gift.

            Twain, you also do an amazing job of encapsulating the vague line between white and black through the switch of Tom and Chambers at birth.  When “Tom” is revealed as Chambers, and “Chambers” is revealed as Tom, Tom expresses how uncomfortable he feels in the white man’s world, since his upbringing in an environment that treated him as a slave largely shaped his self-identity as a black man.  When Roxy told “Tom” that he was actually Chambers for the first time, “Tom” should have been more willing to no longer pass as white. He should have more fully embraced his identity as a black man.  

Sincerely, 

W.E.B. Du Bois