Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America

Dyson addresses white Americans and describes whiteness as an invention. He distinguishes white people as human beings from the racial politics of whiteness. Whiteness is a socially and politically constructed privilege that has defined American identity. He notes that despite class differences, “whiteness has privilege and power connected to it” (45). Even though it is a myth and construct, it appears universal and human. Recalling his time as a university student, Dyson says that his presence as a Black man among white people made the artificiality of whiteness visible and challenged the presumed objectivity of American history. He suggests that the only way for American society to heal is to reject whiteness and its version of history. White Americans must realize and abandon their investment in whiteness to find their own humanity.

Dyson explains that the dominant version of American history is connected to whiteness and represents the white American worldview. He characterizes mainstream American history as a record of “white achievement” that ignores the diversity of peoples and cultures. White Americans resist this understanding. Dyson explains that the discussion on race perplexes white people who consider themselves racially neutral and view Black people as disruptive.