Updated March 12th
On Feb. 25, at 6 p.m., Shoreline College was graced by the auspicious Dante King, author of the newly released book, The Psychopathy of Whiteness. For two hours a mildly diverse audience was engaged in a lecture sprinkled with various interactive group segments that drove engagement and spurred thought provoking conversations on the fallacies of white supremacy and its deep historical roots to the founding of this very country, the “United” States of America. It culminated into a deep examination of the psychology of power structures, getting to the root of selective empathy and establishing a moral accountability rooted in trust and integrity.
Before…
The Monday preceding the event I came by The Ebbtide Newsroom for old times sake to see about writing one more story as a farewell to The Ebbtide like my predecessors before me. As of writing this I’m at a crossroads between continuing my education or officially becoming a drop-out, also I may be moving out of state this Summer. In the meantime I’m doing some soul searching and preparation for whatever may come.
Going in I had already planned on attending the event but it was brought to my attention that nobody was covering it, so I stepped up despite not currently being enrolled in any classes or even getting paid. I’m doing this for the love of the game!
Getting to the root of it…
The event was thought provoking through its reference to various authors of the 20th century(1900-1999) such as Dr E Franklin Fraiser, Black Bourgeoisie; The Isis Papers; Amos Wilson, The Falsification of African Consciousness; Jerome Fox, Addicted to White just to name a few.
Also throughout the lecture he progressed through history citing several landmark court rulings such as the Act of 1664, 1869 and would go on to reference countless books and authors as well as showcasing various interviews. I’d go into depth but truthfully I think you’d just have to be there.
King even showed part of the recent February 2026 state of the union to make an example of it. Personally, I tuned out the majority of what Trump was saying. Having seen his evolution between reality star to Head of State, I’ve grown a keen distaste for him, his candidacy, and the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs in our nation.
Personal Connection
I’ve experienced first hand the psychopathy of whiteness in online spaces. In the 2010s Call of Duty franchise was notorious for toxic behavior, and being a 12 year old playing casually one night I was accosted by a group of enemy players that really loved using a popular racial epithet. It was virtual insanity then, and even now with all the protections and policies to prevent such behavior it still persists. I’ve found that it’s based in blissful ignorance or apathy; so I don’t take any of it too personally.
My biggest take away was that in the ongoing struggle for truth and justice we must take into account the history that precedes us. Kamala Harris famously posed the question, do “you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” Then stating “you exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” White Supremacy is deeply rooted in the founding of this very nation and has been passed down systemically by legislation and tradition. One of the very first critically acclaimed films was The Birth of a Nation(1915), which which relied on heavy stereotyping and revisionist white supremacist history was endorsed by the 28th President of the “United” States Woodrow Wilson as if history was written with “lightning.”
Looking at the bigger picture it can become daunting, and even hopeless especially looking at current affairs. All it takes is a willingness to learn. Gil Scott Heron famously stated “the revolution will not be televised” it all starts in the mind. I’m hopeful for the future, and whatever tomorrow may bring. Knowing is half the battle.
