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Kelci Mueller
Professor Marie Lo
Race and Social Justice
October 19, 2015

White Supremacy is a State of Mind

George Lipsitz talks about many things such as, how much Bill Moores murder affected
him because he was a white civil rights activist. Or how whites used to pin Native Americans
against the blacks. Or even how whites didnt allow persons of color to buy houses in certain
neighborhoods, in Possessive Investment in Whites, but within all these stories and arguments, he
is actually showing that white supremacy isnt just a law or an action, its a state of mind.
Whites pinning the Native Americans against the blacks by paying them caused the
Native Americans to use the captures of blacks for currency, it also had them reconsider joining
up with the blacks because they were making profit off of them. The whites also did the same
thing on the opposite side of things, they made militia out of the blacks to fight Native
Americans off so they wouldnt join to start a war. Blacks benefitted by being taken out of
slavery and were fed and trained for war. By doing these things, it puts whites in the position of
control because no one is fighting for the control because they are too busy dealing with each
other to really question authority and that they both benefit from these conflicts. With whites in
control, or power, it puts them in a state of mind of being better than the others because they
were operating these attacks that put race against race.

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Bill Moores murder was a big influence of Lipsitz because His actions forced my first
confrontations with the possessive investment in whitenessa poisonous system of privilege
that pits people against each other and prevents the creation of common ground. (Lipsitz XIX).
What he means by this, is that this was the first time he had to realize Bill Moores thinking
white supremacy an abomination even though he was white. (Lipsitz XIX) that he needed to
take a stand against this idea that whites were better than every other race, that he needed to
think that not just the acts against the other races were disgusting, but that the idea of white
supremacy itself was an abomination (Lipsitz XIX).
The Federal Housing Administration shows that even though the law is in place that
blacks are part of this civilization, it didnt change peoples minds about blacks being not
welcome.
The Federal Housing Act of 1934 brought home ownership within reach of millions of
citizens by placing the credit of the federal government behind private lending to home
buyers, but overtly racist categories in the Federal Housing Agencys (FHA)
confidential city surveys and appraisers manuals channeled almost all of the loan
money toward whites and away from communities of color. (Lipsitz 5)
This shows the law is granting credit to own a home, but under the table. Discrimination is
happening and sending all the money towards the whites to be able to buy nicer homes in nicer
communities while the communities of color (Lipsitz 5) cant afford to live in as nice of areas
because they do not get as large as loans. This segregates the white communities from every
other community. The reason people of color do not get as large as loans because they believe if
a house is bought by a black person in a white community, the community and houses around

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them will lose value because no white person wants to live next to a person of color. This state of
mind is why blacks were segregated even in the comforts of having a nice home.
These examples show that peoples state of mind is the reasoning behind the aspect of
whiteness. The conflicts within the Native American community and the black community keeps
the whites in control and nobodies questions their control because of the benefits they have
gained from the white by having these conflicts. Bill Moore really made people realize that even
if they are white they should something about white supremacy, and that they should recognize
its there. And the Federal Housing Administration shows that even though law is in place,
people still dont include people of color because of the state of mind is that whites are better
than everybody else. Lipsitz underlying theme proves to be that whiteness is not a law or an
action, it is a state of mind.

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Work Cited

Lipsitz, George. "Bill Moore's Body." The Possessive Investment in Whiteness. Ed. George
Lipsitz. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, . VII-23., . . Print.

Lipsitz, George. "The Possessive Investment in Whiteness." The Possessive Investment in

Whiteness. Ed. George Lipsitz. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, . VII-23., . .
Print.