#RolandsBookClub: The Making of American Whiteness: How White Supremacy Was Built Roland Martin sits down with historian Carmen P. Thompson, author of The Making of American Whiteness: The Formation of Race in Seventeenth-Century Virginia, for a wide-ranging #RolandsBookClub conversation about how whiteness and white supremacy were constructed in America and how those systems continue to shape politics, power, economics, and identity today. Thompson traces the roots of American whiteness to colonial Virginia, arguing that English colonization was deliberately organized around land seizure, exploitation, racial hierarchy, and the creation of a society built to privilege Europeans. She explains how wealthy white elites repeatedly used racial divisions and political concessions to keep poor white people aligned with systems that often worked against their own economic interests. Roland and Thompson also connect that history to modern voting behavior, MAGA politics, the backlash against Black Lives Matter and DEI, the limits of fusion politics, white Hispanic identity, immigration, corporate power, and the continuing reluctance to name white supremacy directly. Thompson argues that understanding how whiteness was created is essential to understanding why racial power in America still operates the way it does. Black Star Network Partner: Chapter For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (724) 264-8281 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to https://askchapter.org/roland *Paid Partnership* Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.