White guilt
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"White guilt" refers to a sociological concept of individual or collective guilt felt by some white people for the racist treatment of people of color by whites both historically and presently. The meaning and use of the term "white guilt" is controversial because what constitutes racist treatment and who should feel guilty for it is contested by many people.
The term is often applied to white Americans regarding the history of enslavement of African Americans, and colonization and displacement of Native Americans and Native Hawaiians. In addition, white guilt may be experienced by citizens of European countries whose nations participated in the slave trade and/or colonized portions of Asia and South Asia, Africa and North Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.
"White guilt" may be used as a political epithet in an attempt to discredit or misrepresent antiracist thought and practice.
See also
- Affirmative action
- White privilege
- Whiteness studies
- White Guilt is also the title of a book by American author Shelby Steele.