The White Spectrum is a project that discusses the historic and modern diversity of “white people,” such as the differences between ancestral groups, territories of origin and cultures.
In a time when the American education system is becoming increasingly focused on ethnic studies, it is ignoring the ethnic history of the white population. As a result, American society continues to lack knowledge of white groups and is developing a biased perspective of humanity.
Like any other group, white people also come from indigenous background. However, Americans tend to be unaware of this history. They tend to be more aware of later white history involving monarchies and imperialist endeavors.
It is important for Americans to acknowledge the indigenous history of white people and their diversity.
Personal story
While attending public school in Southern California in the late ‘90s to mid ‘00s, I did not learn much about European history or culture outside of more recent history, primarily colonization of the new world and events after year 1900, specifically World War I, World War II and the Cold War.
I did not have the understanding that white people also have “indigenous” history, a word that I only associated with Native Americans and minority groups.
In 2016 I moved to Europe and gradually began to learn more about the differences between European countries and European indigenous history. I was particularly impressed by a display at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen that showed tools, jewelry and other objects that the indigenous people in that area used. It reminded me of Native American displays I have seen at museums in the United States.
As I have been learning more about historic white history, I have given thought to a discussion I overheard while attending a community college in Southern California in the late 2000s that had a very active club for Chicano students, called Mecha.
A student saw the Mecha table and asked, “Why isn’t there a club for white students?”
Another student responded, “Because we learn about white history all the time in school.”
This response always bothered me, and has increasingly bothered me since I have been living in Europe and acknowledging that Americans actually have limited knowledge of white history.
As a result, I decided to launch The White Spectrum, a project to showcase diversity of white people and to discuss their indigenous histories and cultural differences. My goal is for Americans to become more educated about the history of white people and to acknowledge that they too have indigenous background.
Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels.