The 15 Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture

All of the characteristics

listed here are driven by fear

When we are afraid, whatever the reason, especially when we don't have the skills to

hold that fear, we are easily manipulated by any false yet powerful sense of safety

The promised

safety is false because it is always based on the abuse and misuse of power

White supremacy, white supremacy culture, and racism use fear to divide and conquer, always in

the service of profit and power for a few at the expense of the many.

First and foremost, naming it when it arises, whether in a group or in us individually

Collectively and individually develop skills to meet our fear, sit with our fear, name our fear, and work to avoid letting fear drive our beliefs, actions, and decisions 

Focus on what is wrong

Mistakes seen as personal, shameful

Little reflection when things go wrong, hard to learn from ‘mistakes’ 

Develop culture of appreciation

Develop learning organization, “mistakes” seen as opportunities

When giving feedback, always speak to the things that went well first 

There is no “time” to be inclusive, be thoughtful, consider the long-term consequences

Default is to the current (white) norm

Be realistic about how long things take

Understand that there are no shortcuts to building a diverse community

Adhere to agreed-upon decision-making processes; no “shortcuts” 

Criticism of those in power seen as threatening, rude, or inappropriate (due to either/or thinking)

New/different ideas seen as threatening

Name defensiveness as an issue and explore how it impedes the mission

Understand the link between defensiveness and fear and build community as an antidote to fear 

Focus on content rather than on process

Emphasis on what can be easily and “objectively” measured

Discomfort with emotions and tension

End up making decisions that don’t stick

Adhere to organizational values that value inclusion and process

Develop protocols for knowing when to move off content and into process, and build skills in having difficult conversations 

If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist

Those with strong documentation and writing skills are more highly valued, whether this is related to the organizational mission or note

There is one right way to do things 

Acknowledge that there are many ways of reaching the same goal

Accepting and implementing decisions made in different ways

Understand that there are many skillful ways of being in the world and it is desirable for all to flourish 

Decision-making is clear to those with power and unclear to those without it

Those with power think they are capable of making decisions for and in the interests of those without power

Those without power understand they do not have it and understand who does

Develop clear and transparent decisionmaking processes

Clearly defining roles and responsibilities

Emphasize transparency and discussion 

Unable to see ‘both/and’

Hard to learn from experience or accommodate diverse views 

Notice when either/or thinking arises and note this out loud as a group

When there is pressure to make a decision “right away,” take time to lower the emotional temperature and consider alternatives

Little value around sharing power

Those with power believe that they have the whole organization’s interests at heart and see those advocating for change as ill-informed or…

Those in power don’t see themselves as hoarding power

Actively share power, i.e. by rotating leadership positions

Clearly define and abide by organizational roles and responsibilities

Emphasize leaders’ responsibility to develop others’ leadership skills - Stay focused on the mission 

Emphasis on being “polite”

Those who bring up difficult issues are seen as rude, blamed for ‘causing problems’ 

Build distress tolerance and conflict management skills

Use discomfort as a signal for investigation 

Emphasize (supposed) individual achievement/competition over cooperation

Fosters isolation

Leads to focus on individual v. collective/organizational goals

Support teamwork and develop related skills

Emphasize collective goals

Actively give credit to everyone contributing to a process/activity/goal 

Assume that increasing in size is necessarily a good thing 

Belief that there is such a thing as “objective”

Devalues emotion (and people expressing emotion), hypervalues “logic” (and people arguing “logically”) 

Accept that there are many ways to experience a given situation

Assume that everyone has a valid point and it is your job to understand it fully 

Those with power have a right to be comfortable

Scapegoating those who “cause” discomfort