By Dr. D’Andra Orey
This post may make some people uncomfortable. That’s okay. Truth telling often does. The goal here is not comfort. It is honesty. As the saying goes, a hit dog will holler. In short, the question is “why” does it make you uncomfortable? This is not about being divisive. The current behavior of white politicians is divisive. It is about naming a system for what it is, one that continues to prioritize white political dominance in a country that is becoming more diverse every day. Pick one: white power, white supremacy, or white nationalism.
This year marks 250 years since the founding of this country. When it comes to race, there has undoubtedly been progress. But the question remains: progress for whom? In many states, no non-white candidate has been elected to statewide office since Reconstruction, raising important questions about who truly benefits from that progress.
At its core, this post is about ongoing efforts to maintain white power and white supremacy by white nationalists.
As this country celebrates another anniversary of its founding, we need to be honest about what this moment represents for many Black and brown Americans. This is not just a celebration of democracy, it is a reminder of how often that democracy has been denied.
What we are witnessing today is not neutral. It is not accidental. It is the reassertion of “white supremacy” and the preservation of “white power;” arguably, just in more sophisticated forms.
Let’s be clear: when political maps are drawn in states that are 30 or 40 percent Black, yet result in near-total control, or as is intended today, “total” control by white politicians, that is not fairness. That is not coincidence. That is power—WHITE POWER—being protected.
We’ve seen this pattern before. After Reconstruction, when Black men briefly gained political power, white elites used violence, law, and policy to dismantle those gains. Following the immediate passage of the Voting Rights Act, as Black political participation expanded, new legal and institutional barriers emerged. As the progeny of the Act, its legal protections and political gains, evolved and proved effective, so too did the strategies designed to counter them. Today, the tactics are the same as they were in 1966 and the efforts are the same: limit Black political influence while maintaining white control. But wait! In reality, it’s not about seeing this pattern before, we’ve always seen this pattern. This country was never designed to be a democracy nor inclusive. In truth, this isn’t just something that happens from time to time, it has never stopped happening.
You can call it “colorblind.” You can call it “constitutional.” But if the result is consistent overrepresentation for one group and diminished power for another, then we need to call it what it is: WHITE SUPREMACY and WHITE POWER, upheld by WHITE NATIONALISTS.
