Examining 'Whites' by Otegha Uwagba: A Critical Look at Race and Privilege
BY OTEGHA UWAGBA
Otegha Uwagba’s Whites is a piercing, unflinching essay that examines racism, whiteness, and the enduring myth of British civility. It is a concise but deeply impactful exploration of the dynamics of power, privilege, and performance that underpin racial inequality, written with sharp clarity and personal insight.
Uwagba dives into uncomfortable truths, offering a reflection on the ways whiteness operates in modern society—often subtly, always insidiously. One of the essay’s most striking points is its critique of the romanticization of Black pain and struggle by white people. This phenomenon, where Black suffering is simultaneously consumed and commodified, reflects how racial trauma is often reduced to a spectacle for the benefit of white audiences, rather than addressed with genuine empathy or action.
The essay also tackles the chronic stress and health implications that come with the constant exposure to violent racism. Uwagba does not shy away from showing how this “invisible weight” disproportionately borne by Black people is dismissed or misunderstood in conversations dominated by white narratives.
Her reflections are personal yet universal, underscoring the exhausting emotional toll of simply existing in a society that perpetuates and denies systemic racism.
One of the most provocative elements of Whites is Uwagba’s dissection of allyship—the ways in which white people perform solidarity with Black causes. She interrogates the concept of allyship with a razor-sharp critique, revealing its transactional nature and the self-serving motivations that often underlie it. As someone who has always viewed allyship with skepticism, I found her analysis both validating and thought-provoking.
In French, the term “ally” has a military connotation, most notably associated with the international coalition of countries that formed during World War II. The Allies, while ostensibly united against fascism, were also guided by their own strategic, political, and economic interests. Take, for example, the Marshall Plan, the United States’ post-war economic aid to Europe. While framed as a humanitarian effort to rebuild war-torn nations, the plan was also a tool of American propaganda, designed to stave off Soviet influence, expand U.S. exports, and embed American cultural values in Europe. This historical context illustrates how alliances, even those couched in noble ideals, are rarely without self-interest.
Uwagba’s critique of allyship echoes this dynamic. She argues that allyship is rarely altruistic; it often requires something in return. Whether it’s moral gratification, social capital, or career advancement, the so-called ally gains more from the performance of solidarity than the people they claim to support. In a capitalist, individualist world where economic privilege is paramount, who would risk losing their privilege to genuinely uplift the underprivileged? Uwagba suggests the answer is painfully clear: almost no one.
This is where Whites becomes more than a critique of whiteness—it is a commentary on the pervasive selfishness embedded in modern society. Allyship, as Uwagba frames it, is often purely performative. It is a way for white people to assuage their guilt, maintain their moral self-image, and uphold their privilege under the guise of helping. This kind of solidarity ultimately serves to reinforce the very systems of oppression it claims to dismantle.