white people

Federal government standards require the U.S. census to count people with roots in the Middle East or North Africa as white. But a new study finds many people of MENA descent do not see themselves as white, and neither do many white people.

National

The U.S. census sees Middle Eastern and North African people as white. Many don't

9:56am February 17, 2022

by Hansi Lo Wang

People with Middle Eastern or North African roots must be counted as white in the federal government's data. But a study finds many do not see themselves as white, and neither do many white people.

Cry me a river, because I cried a river over you.

Education

When The 'White Tears' Just Keep Coming

10:36am November 28, 2018

by Leah Donnella

The phrase is meant as a gentle poke at white people who take offense at minor threats to their privilege. "Sometimes it feels good just to make fun of racism and of racists," one humorist says.

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Why is it so hard to talk about whiteness in America?

Why Is It Still OK To 'Trash' Poor White People?

5:20pm August 01, 2018

by Leah Donnella

A lot has changed in the U.S. over two centuries. One thing that hasn't? How we talk about poor white people.

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A set of expressive cartoon hands making a variety of gestures.

National

White Skin, Black Emojis?

6:00am March 21, 2018

by Kumari Devarajan

This week on Ask Code Switch: Is it OK for a white teenager to use emojis that don't match her skin color? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Code Switch is tackling your trickiest questions about race relations.

Religion

How To Talk Race With Your Family: Ask Code Switch

5:57am August 20, 2017

We asked you to send us your racial conundrums. And in the first 'Ask Code Switch,' we take on a big one: How do you talk to family members whose racial views seem stuck in the Stone Age?

Actresses Logan Browning (left) and Ashley Blaine Featherson appear in a scene from the Netflix show Dear White People.

This Time, 'Dear White People' Is Not So Much About Them

5:52pm April 27, 2017

by Eric Deggans

Netflix's hit show, with its incessant and incisive look at race at a fictional Ivy League college, doesn't really focus much on white people at all.

UCLA students hold crosses, while taking part in a 2006 rally on campus to express their concerns about the lack of racial diversity in the student body.

A Theory To Better Understand Diversity, And Who Really Benefits

12:39pm April 19, 2017

by David Shih

The business model for diversity teaches students about cultural preferences and how to avoid offense, but it is ill-equipped to unpack social group power dynamics.

If Chicago, the fifth most racially and economically segregated city in the country, were to lower its level of segregation to the national median of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country, it would have a profound impact on the entire region.

Everyone Pays A Hefty Price For Segregation, Study Says

9:35am March 31, 2017

by Nick Chiles

If white people are informed that they are also harmed by America's pervasive racial segregation, will they be moved to try to decrease it?

Chris sits down for tea with Rose's parents in Get Out. (From left, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Allison Williams, Betty Gabriel and Daniel Kaluuya).

Arts

'Get Out' Sprang From An Effort To Master Fear, Says Director Jordan Peele

4:07pm March 15, 2017

As a kid, Peele was terrified of "the demons that lurked in the dark." Then he realized that by making a horror-thriller, he "would be wielding this power, as opposed to being a victim to it."

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A Neo Nazi group has declared New Balance the "Official Shoes of White People." (Really. They're serious.)

This Week In Race: Sisterhood, Immigration, And The 'Official Shoe Of White People'

6:36pm November 18, 2016

by Karen Grigsby Bates

What's popping with race this week? Here are few hardy racial matters to chew on as you head into Thanksgiving week.