In the essay Whiteness as Property, author Cheryl I. Harris talks about how whiteness evolved into a property that was acknowledged and protected whites in American law. Harris starts by tracing everything back to the Native American era, where everything was based off of property and property rights. After the slavery period, whiteness became the base of many benefits in society, whether that be social, private, or public. One example of this could be seen with how only white’s could own land and if a Black person was the first to inhabit or take over some land the Rule of First Posessor wouldn’t work as they weren’t white. White’s were also only recognized as 3/5th’s of everyone else and they were also treated like property, like they were owned and used in currency exchanges. Harris gave an example in Johnson v. Butler where a slave was used to pay off a $496 debt. Harris then goes on to talk about how whiteness has been diminished over the years but is still present in everyday society and can only be addressed by recognizing affirmative action’s purpose. Harris also goes over cases like Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education to show how black people were discriminated against to the benefit of white’s. In the final parts of her essay, Harris discusses how the historical views of whiteness as a property continue to this day and is used to the disadvantage of Blacks. I agree with Harris’s factual points about the past and how Blacks were discriminated against and taken advantage of. I also agree with the majority of her opinion portion of the writing where she talked about how Blacks are set back to this day. To fix this issue altogether, we will need to recognize the issues and face them as a society.
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