White supremacy is the belief, and/or promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social, political, historical and/or industrial dominance by whites. White supremacy, as with racial supremacism in general, is rooted in ethnocentrism and a desire for hegemony and power, and has frequently resulted in violence against non-whites. Different forms of white supremacy have different conceptions of who is considered white, and not all white supremacist organizations agree on who is their greatest enemy.
White supremacist groups can be found in some countries and regions with a significant white population including Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and South Africa. The militant approach taken by white supremacist groups has caused them to be watched closely by law enforcement officials. Some have even been labelled as terrorists. Some European countries have laws forbidding hate speech, as well as other laws that ban or restrict some white supremacist organizations.
Read more about White Supremacy: Systemic White Supremacy, Academic Use of The Term, Ideologies and Movements, Alliances With Black Supremacist Groups
Famous quotes containing the words white and/or supremacy:
“I don’t have any doubts that there will be a place for progressive white people in this country in the future. I think the paranoia common among white people is very unfounded. I have always organized my life so that I could focus on political work. That’s all I want to do, and that’s all that makes me happy.”
—Hettie V., South African white anti-apartheid activist and feminist. As quoted in Lives of Courage, ch. 21, by Diana E. H. Russell (1989)
“Only those who know the supremacy of the intellectual life ... can understand the grief of one who falls from that serene activity into the absorbing soul-wasting struggle with worldly annoyances.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)