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Whiteness as property is a concept in critical race theory that holds that whiteness functions as a form of property in which white individuals have an asserted interest.[1] Throughout American colonial and independent history, property and race have developed side by side and grown intertwined, leading many to argue that whiteness and property are bridged. Whiteness as property began in legal theory and was introduced by law professor Cheryl Harris in 1993. The concept highlights how whiteness functions as a set of privileges codified and encoded in law and society. Through property law, whiteness has been structured and maintained, implicating issues of inequality and hierarchy.[2]
Pulling from critical legal studies and property theory, the concept argues that whiteness meets the traditional criteria of property:
- Whiteness includes the right to use and enjoyment as it allows white individuals access to social, economic, and legal privileges and resources, such as freedom of movement and presumption of innocence.
- Whiteness includes the right to exclusion as it grants possessors the ability to exclude nonwhite people, such as in segregation, restrictive covenants, and immigration policy.
- Whiteness has the right to transfer, meaning it can be passed down generationally.
- Whiteness has the right to protection, meaning that through violence, legal doctrine, and policy, the legal system has played a role in maintaining whiteness as property.
Whiteness as property has been extended to other disciplines, such as sociology, cultural studies, and education.[3]
- ^ Harris, Cheryl I. (1993). "Whiteness as Property". Harvard Law Review. 106 (8): 1707–1791. doi:10.2307/1341787. ISSN 0017-811X.
- ^ Reardon, Jenny; TallBear, Kim (2012). ""Your DNA Is Our History": Genomics, Anthropology, and the Construction of Whiteness as Property". Current Anthropology. 53 (S5): S233–S245. doi:10.1086/662629. ISSN 0011-3204.
- ^ Clark, LaToya Baldwin (2019). "Education as Property". Virginia Law Review.