What I Hear When You Say

For me, the term white pride is actually pretty offensive.

White pride is really different from gay and black pride because its about being someone who's already in power.

I can be prideful of my Swedish heritage but my whiteness in general is something much more complicated.

[MUSIC] I think theres an argument that people make when they want to argue for things like white pride or white heritage month or something like that, that comes from a desire for, like, an even playing field.

Like, oh well, if black people have a history month, then white people should have a history month too.

That just makes sense.

Thats just math.

But thats not really the case.

Gay pride was really borne out of a necessity.

There were people who were and are and continue to be in real physical danger, not just by like families that rejected them, but also by jobs that would fire them if they found out about their personal lives.

In our society, white people arent in that much danger, so there is not really that intense necessity for, like, a white pride movement.

We dont live in a colorblind society.

We dont.

And there are power structures that are in place and real life consequences of that.

And thats why its important to say, black lives matter, instead of all lives matter, for example.

Because were talking specifically about what black people are going through.

Not what all people are going through because were not all going through it.

But that was something that I really had to learn.

The concept of whiteness has changed.

Sometimes Jews or Scots or Irish people werent considered white at one point but they are now.

So its definitely very complicated.

I think theres an inherent tension between how we see ourselves as individuals, and how we understand our relationship to our history and this country.

You know, you can look at any sort of set of data and its like, its so readily apparent.

We live longer.

We make more money.

We have better medical care.

We have higher education.

Were arrested less.

So you cant deny that there is white privilege.

The problem with white privilege is that I think for white people, it feels like a pejorative statement about themselves as opposed to just a statement of fact or a state of what things are.

What is the difference between white pride, gay pride, and black pride?

Two of those come from being powerless and trying to gain power within a power structure.

And one is sort of celebrating an existing power structure.

The project Im working on now is called, The Whiteness Project.

And what it is - is a non-oppositional look on whiteness.

Race is something that we all live with. Identity is the intersection between how you see yourself and how the world sees you.

The actual genesis of the project came from being asked by a seventh grader during the talk of a Q&A session I was giving, what I had learned about my own racial identity, working with my partner, Marco Williams, who is African American.

It was like suddenly getting x-ray glasses.

I could suddenly see the matrix.

The most day-to-day manifestation of my white privilege is not being forced to think about the fact that I am white.

And that is this incredible privilege because then I can function as an individual.

And I think that for most people who arent white they dont have that luxury.

For white people, because they dont experience the negative, its very hard to see that it is this real thing that exists and is an active component of their life For people of color, and for queer community, it comes out of standing up against oppression.

And I cant help but think, you know what, there is a difference between being proud of the fact that you are a white person and feeling an air of superiority because of that fact.

Its like kicking people when you're down.

Its like we are the best because we already beat you, remember that? Yeah, we remember.

We remember really well. When I hear somebody say to me, Well, whats wrong with white pride? I say the same thing that is wrong with white supremacy.

There were three different Klan factions in the state of Maryland.

And they all were rivals with one another.

I managed to become friends with all the Klans, all three of the Klan leaders.

The imperial wizards and the grand dragon.

The Ku Klux Klan in Maryland fell apart.

Maryland had a strong Ku Klux Klan organization with many members.

Today, there is no more Ku Klux Klan in the state of Maryland.

So I never set out to change anybody.

That was not my goal to convert anybody.

My goal was to find out how can you hate me when you dont even know me.

What I have right here is a Ku Klux Klan robe.

This is called a M.I.O.A.K.

Its a Ku Klux Klan insignia.

Its a red circle with a white cross and a blood drop at the center.

He was the head of the Klan in the state of Maryland, the grand dragon.

And he went to prison for three years, for conspiring to bomb a synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland.

This guys day job was Baltimore city police officer.

He was not an undercover officer in the Klan.

He was a bonafide Klansman on the Baltimore city police department.

He went on to become one of my very best friends, which is why he gave me his police uniform and his Klan robe when he quit the Ku Klux Klan.

And I take these things on tour and lecture about them.

What got me in with these people in the Klan initially was music.

I would interview them; I would invite them out to my gigs, for them to see what I did.

Next thing you know, theyre tapping their foot, theyre getting up out of their chair, theyre dancing and carrying on.

And so they begin to appreciate you.

You wanna go to a gig?

[PIANO ROCK N ROLL MUSIC] What is there to be proud about, just because you are white?

What is there to be proud about, just because you are black?

Nothing, because you know what?

We all came from the same humanity.

We all just came up with different colors.

But its what we do with ourselves that gives us that sense of pride.