Thank you for this history lesson, Mr. Dyer. I shared this with my friends and offered the following introduction:

“A necessary read for my fellow white privilege rejectionists.

To understand what it means to "be white" and/or "of privilege" in America, we have to understand how we came to be recognized as White.

White Privilege is indeed rooted in a "bribe" offered to freed, formerly indentured colonists in exchange for their acceptance of their "whiteness" and its value over other "freed" non whites.

"Briefly, the bribe worked like this: Rich colonial planters offered white indentureds shorter and less harsh conditions and terms of service, together with “freedom dues” following their successful completion of those terms. Freedom dues included a plot of land, tools, implements, and farm animals to work the land, foodstuffs, clothing…and, crucially, guns — but if and only if the “white” indentured servants abandoned their black cohorts and accepted “whiteness,” their own and their rich benefactors’ whiteness, as a material thing of value over and above the “blackness” of “free” and enslaved “African”-Americans, and the “non-whiteness” of all “others.”"

Read on. And continue to recognize and reject your inherent whiteness- because after all these years- the more I learn about the origin of my "whiteness," the more I realize that not only is it my birthright, it is a choice.

We can accept this bribe offered to our forefathers over 300 years ago, or we can reject it and continue the work of abolitionists as modern "white privilege rejectionists."

Join me!”

Sincerely,

Peter Graves Roberts,

Freelancer, and “white privilege rejectionist.”