White Talk Summary

Maddie Holmes

White Talk Review

After reading Alice McIntyre’s White Talk, it is evident that white people as a whole tend to not associate with their own acts of racism. White talk is the idea that white people find ways to isolate themselves from discussing or internalizing with the racism around them. This idea serves as a shield for white people to hide behind so that they can ignore the ongoing racism they are actively participating in.

The first story in the article is about a group of women discussing how they found their black customers to tip lower than their white customers. The women continually said they were not trying to be racist with what they are saying and these were only actual occurrences they had noticed. As we have

discussed in class, just because someone is not intending to be racist does not mean that they are not being racist. In this case, Elizabeth was not intending to be racist when in reality, she was making assumptions based off of the color of her customer’s skin. She may have had one group of people of color give her a bad tip, but that does not justify her saying that all people of color give bad tips. Even if she had one hundred black customers come in and give her a bad tip that does not justify saying that black people, in general, are cheap with tips. By saying this Elizabeth was creating a stereotype about black people. Furthermore, Elizabeth would never make this accusation about white people because that is her own race which she finds superior. Since she felt that she has factual evidence to make this claim she believes it cannot come across as racist. This entire conversation was these white women critiquing black people and never once critiquing themselves. In this scenario, the white women believed that they were the victims because they were receiving poor tips. On the other hand, the victims are the black people that were being viciously stereotyped based off a few isolated interactions. Conversations such as this one can happen, but the important part is to be critical. None of these women were critical of what they saying and therefore, deepening each other’s racist views by encouraging it. This story is an example of white talk because the women were making themselves the victims to confirm they were not the problem. If they are a victim then they are shielded from coming across as the person being racist. While this is their view, it is not a valid reason to preach these views.
The last story in the article was about a white student who said that her Chinese roommate was not directly affected by her race.

Gerry was questioning whether having problems with race was only something that black people dealt with. After hearing Ellen, the girls both questioned whether it was really a matter of race or a matter of socioeconomic status. There are many signs of white talk in this situation. For example, Gerry believing that she has the power to speak about how her roommate feels about her race shows that Gerry is not educated on race. The roommate has her own identity and she does identify as being Chinese. Her race is not something that is going to go away and it will be something that can cause problems for her. For Gerry to believe that her roommate is never affected by race is showing how ignorant she is on the struggles of people of color. Through all of this Gerry is not noticing the white privilege that she possesses that her roommate does not. While Gerry’s roommate can portray that race is not an issue for her that does not by any means mean that it does not affect her. Many people of color do not feel that white people even listen when they try to stress the issues they are going through. For this reason, it would just be easier for Gerry’s roommate to just shrug off their questions about her race rather than getting in an entire discussion that her friends may not even comprehend. Furthermore, Gerry and her friends are taking their beliefs about

her roommate and generalizing all Chinese people. They believed that since race does not seem to be an issue for the roommate that it must not be an issue for any Chinese person. This is another example of white talk because the girls are mindlessly creating stereotypes about Chinese people without even thinking about the consequences. The girls believe that since they are in a controlled environment with only white people, that they cannot be racist. This goes to show how white people often believe they have this bubble of protection around them which is why they feel they can push the envelope with their offensive comments.
When I finished reading this article, I could not stop thinking about the idea of the birdcage. In class, we discussed the example of the woman who was killed because she was crossing the street. After the incident occurred, there was a group of white people questioned on if they believed the incident was racist. All of the white people strongly believed there was no racism in this situation and it would be outrageous to say it was. On the other hand, a group of people of color was asked the same question and all of them agreed it was a racist incident. These results were so different that it raised a question: Why are white people’s views so drastically different from people of color’s? While McIntyre’s article only had responses from white women, it is easy to assume how different the responses would be from people of color. For the bus incident, the white people were only looking at one wire of the birdcage while the people of color were looking at the entire birdcage. To look at any situation as an isolated incident is not going to provide the entire picture of the issue. For the third story in White Talk, it talks about the white women only looking at one wire of the birdcage. The one wire is that Gerry’s roommate does not come across as being impacted by her race. The entire birdcage is that people of color are constantly impacted by racism from white people. This is such a problem that people of color do not find it beneficial to even explain the racism impacted them to the white people around them. The third story is an example of white people finding a “needle in the haystack” story. This is yet another example of white talk because the women in this story are only using examples that support the fact that there is not racism happening around them. While it is possible this is a true example, it is only one example and it does not set a precedent. This is only a counterexample that proves white people are not partaking in racism. The truth is that there is so much racism going on around this white women, but they are using the example of Gerry’s roommate to feel better about themselves. This story is allowing the women to hide behind it to make themselves feel they are not racist even when there are so many other places where they can and are being racist. Yet, while they hide behind this illusion of safety they will not focus on the areas where they are being racist which is crucially important.
As an upcoming teacher, it is very important to engage with articles such as this one. I am a white woman myself and need to be critical of my own actions so that I am not participating in white talk. In just a few years, I will be teaching a classroom of students who will listen willingly to anything I say to them. By reading this article, I can be focusing on how to not be preaching white talk to my own students. In today’s education system, the curriculum is focused on white people because they are the dominant group in our society. Sadly, as a teacher, we cannot change who the dominant group is, but we can be sure to teach our students from all perspectives. For my own future classroom, I will be sure to have students be held accountable for their words. While I may not directly connect this to race with very young children, I will be able to teach them the effect of the words they are saying. For example, if a student says something mean that could impact another student, I will have them sit down and discuss the implications of that comment. The targeted student will say how that comment made them feel and the student who said it will be able to see how their words impacted someone else possibly without them even knowing. I will also be sure to have the student apologize for what they said, but understand that they cannot take back what they said. By teaching my students this idea, they will be able to grow up seeing how their words do have an impact even when they do not mean what they say. Down the road, it will, hopefully, have the students see that when they say comments that could come across as racist that they will understand its implications. This possibly will have them rethink even saying the comment in the first place. I understand that it is not as simple as this example to eliminate white talk, but I can do my part to limit it. I hope that by seeing how their actions have an impact, whether it is positive or negative, they will not be as ignorant about problems around them. White talk stems from hiding from uncomfortable interactions and it is important to teach students to stand up in these encounters.
This article allowed me to do a lot of self-reflection about my own beliefs.

I had never directly heard about the idea of white talk, but I am now aware of how relevant it is to our campus. Even after reading the discussion we had on blackboard last week, it made me believe that I was being more ignorant than I would like to admit. There have been times in my life where I would use a “needle in the haystack” example to justify why I did not believe racism was present. Now I see that this was me only looking at one part of the birdcage. I see now that it is important for me to not use my whiteness as a shield to the racism occurring on our campus. I am white and that does make it nearly impossible for me to understand what it is like to be a person of color, but it does not make it impossible for me to make sure I do not add to the racism. While I do not believe I am a blatant racist, my silence can be adding to the racism around me. From what I have learned in class and from this article, it is important that we look at the whole picture and try to see the implications that situation is having on all races. So often white people only focus on how they are impacted, when in reality they are protected by the bubble known as white privilege. White talk is not going to stop overnight, but I can put more attention to making sure I am not blindly participating in it

anymore.