Because they think they are white,                                                                   they do not dare confront the ravage and the lie of their history.

Because they think they are white,                                                                 they cannot allow themselves to be tormented by the suspicion that      all men are brothers.                                                                                        

Because they think they are white,                                                                 they are looking for, or bombing into existence, stable populations, cheerful natives and cheap labor.                                                              

Because they think they are white,                                                                they believe, as even no child believes, in the dream of safety.            

Because they think they are white,                                                           however vociferous they may be and however multitudinous, they are as speechless as Lot’s wife—looking backward, changed into a pillar of salt.

 

James Baldwin, On Being ‘White’ and Other Lies