Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America

“Tribe” opens with a description from Huckleberry Finn that prompts Lalami’s discussion of race in America. Whiteness is, in this dialogue, the default category or marker of the absence of race. Lalami notes that other races receive acknowledgment during certain times of the year, such as Black History Month; this establishes whiteness as the default that allows such exceptions at designated times. Lalami notes that Donald Trump voiced a specific type of white outcry that comes from this default status; this is evident in the claim that designations such as Black History Month give other races special treatment. She adds, however, that previous presidents, including Bill Clinton, were also complicit in a white-dominated political scene. This pattern of reestablishing white control, Lalami says, is due to a fear of becoming a minority or being forced to allow other voices in politics and culture. Lalami explains that white supremacy is rooted in this fear; it also includes a dismissal of past colonialism and genocide and the rejection of any notion of white hegemony or dominance, such as white privilege.

In completing employment forms, Lalami notes that the options for race are too limited to account for her own background.