White supremacy
White Supremacy is "an historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and peoples of colour by white peoples and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege." - Elizabeth Martínez [1]
White supremacy identifies the power-over present in racism. Both refer to the same problem, but the term White Supremacy gives white people a clear choice of supporting or opposing a system, rather than claiming to be anti-racist (or not) in their personal behaviour.
How is white supremacy historically based?
Every nation has an origin myth. For example, Canada suggests it began with Columbus's so-called "discovery", continued with settlement by white europeans, expanding into the rich, developed country you see today. This myth demonstrate that White Supremacy is fundamental to the existence of this country. In reality, the first stage of settler colonialism was the European seizure of the lands inhabited by Indigenous Peoples. Before the European invasion, there were between nine and eighteen million indigenous people in North America. By the end of the wars, there were about 250,000 in the so-called United States, and about 123,000 in so called Canada. [2] Moreover, it was enslaved Africans who provided the labour that made the growth of North America possible.