This was a thoughtful response, so I wanted to be sure I replied thoughtfully in turn. Please excuse my delay.

I can see these points you’re making, but would counter with a few here.

First, of course, whiteness was not invented by the current group of people who are now labeled as such: it is an inherited term, largely produced and codified by people who are dead. That may sound like a cop-out, but it’s anchored by the notion that people deserve the right to define themselves more based on their direct experiences than the historical hand downs of those who came before them.

As such a term, it stands to reason that current generations have the right to redefine and reshape it as they see fit — including by abandoning it. This is an inherent human right to having a say in one’s identity.

This is not to say that other races in America would suddenly achieve equality — that would not be the case, but it would be an evolved conversation. Your rebuttal focuses quite heavily on blame and responsibility without necessarily connecting the dot to solutions. I think that’s happening because the label creates unnecessary restrictions in the way people can explore and express their unique experiences through and about race. Weakening and abandoning the label allows for new space to discuss more realistic solutions for social justice, rather than allowing the label to trap us in paradigms that may not have effective, equitable outputs.