GED Section: The “Myth” of White Victimhood
D.L. Hughley’s Notes from the GED Section, DL delivers a history lesson that cut straight through modern political rhetoric. Addressing Donald Trump’s recent comments to The New York Times where the former president suggested that the push for civil rights resulted in white people being treated poorly DL dismantled this narrative with sharp wit and historical receipts our community has come to expect.
Trump’s remarks were framed not as a new phenomenon, but as part of a long-standing attitude that has persisted for nearly 70 years. That mindset where white men feel as though something is happening to them is often used to distract from reality. Despite these feelings of victimization, if you look at the actual data regarding income, education, and access to resources, virtually no metric changed negatively for white men during the Civil Rights era. Their standing in society remained secure, yet the feeling of loss persisted simply because equality began to look like oppression to those accustomed to privilege.
The segment then pivoted to the slow, often painful crawl of progress. Integration wasn’t an overnight success story but a battle fought inch by inch. Hughley cited specific examples, pointing out that the University of Alabama only integrated its football team in 1970 after realizing they needed Black talent to win, and Brigham Young University didn’t follow suit until 1978. He painted a vivid picture of the pettiness of Jim Crow, recalling an era where Black people couldn’t even buy vanilla ice cream, a stark reminder that the system was designed to deny Black humanity at every level, from the courthouse to the ice cream counter.
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One of the most powerful moments of the segment was the breakdown of the term “Civil Rights.” Activists didn’t ask for a “Human Rights Act” or a “Superior Rights Act.” They asked for civil rights. “Civil,” as Hughley explained, is the absolute lowest modicum of human interaction, the bare minimum. It is simply a request for decency. The fact that a request to merely be “civil” caused political parties to shift and violence to erupt highlights the absurdity of the backlash.
The tension felt today, the fraying at the edges of society, exists because there is still resentment over laws that simply asked people to be nice. It’s a sobering reminder that while the laws have changed, the fight for genuine respect and equality is far from over.
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GED Section: The “Myth” of White Victimhood was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
