White race different in US than in rest of world, author says

The perceived superiority of the white race is more prominent in the United States than any other country, author Nell Irvin Painter said in a lecture at Harvard Book Store Monday evening.

Painter, who received her doctorate from Harvard University, spoke about her new book, “The History of White People” to an audience of about 50 people. A book signing followed the lecture.

“Whiteness has taken on a life of its own in America in a way it hasn’t in other countries,” Painter said.

The author said her seventh book explores the socially constructed idea of race and how it is perpetuated in America, delving into the connection between the white race and power, beauty and intelligence.

Painter read excerpts from her novel, took questions from audience members and signed copies of her books. The event was attended by a wide variety of people, with such high attendance that the employees set up monitors in a separate room to meet demand.

Painter also discussed the evolution of race from Ancient Greece to modern times, citing a number of prominent African-Americans, including Beyoncé, Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell and Barack Obama, who are presently breaking down deep-rooted stereotypes about blacks.

However, Painter said that “The fundamental black-white binary endures. Our country is pathetically unequal. The black poor remains an alien race.”

Painter offered explanations of the science of skin color, discussed the veiled “other side” of slavery &- Anglo-Saxon slavery &- and speculated on whether the perceived monopoly on power, beauty and intelligence will continue to rest with white persons in the future.

At one point in her presentation Painter also made an effort to make her audience laugh; when discussing the way America associates beauty with Caucasians said jokingly, “The very people who propagate these ideas are just ordinary-looking people.”

In her novel, Painter said she emphasizes the idea that race is a human invention, not a scientific fact. But the book “does not ignore black history, but traces the existence of white races before the notion of race, and before America. It is not a history of white versus black,” she said.

The lecture, organized by the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research and the Harvard Bookstore, was largely well-received by the audience.

“I wanted to see how she is, how she talks,” said Holger Droessler, a Harvard graduate student majoring in American history. “It was incredibly interesting. The history of white people is a historical land field.”

“I’ve been following Painter’s work for many years,” said Carolyn Layzer, a social policy researcher. “I thought the lecture was excellent. She answered all the questions very respectfully.”

Constance Williams, a social worker and former professor of social policy at Boston University, spoke highly of Painter and her works, one of which was dedicated to Williams and her husband.

“When we think about history, we think of it as dry, and not very engaging,” Williams said.

“She is the opposite. All of her books have a particular take, and reveal things that aren’t so popular or well-known.”