white supremacy

noun

1

: the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races

The alt-right is a reactionary conservative movement … . It is characterized by an embrace of fascism, white supremacy, and misogyny …

—Constance Grady

2

: the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races

… [William] Kelley turned his considerable intellect and imagination to the question of what it is like to be white in this country, and what it is like, for all Americans, to live under the conditions of white supremacy …

—Kathryn Schulz

Examples of white supremacy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Who Sat by the Door (1973) and Melvin Van Peebles’ absurdist comedy Watermelon Man (1970) delivered tart but clear-eyed observations about race, the effects of capitalism in the cultural sphere and the influence of white supremacy on interpersonal relationships. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024

At that time, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, citizens across the United States called for statues of Confederate leaders to be taken down, as many see them as a symbol of slavery and white supremacy. —Alyssa Johnson, Miami Herald, 9 Feb. 2024

Gun violence reflects the trauma of white supremacy and the intentional economic oppression of Black Americans across centuries. —Amanda Joy Calhoun, Md, Parents, 4 Feb. 2024

The Lost Cause myth sustained the cultural white supremacy of Southern States in the wake of their defeat in the Civil War. —TIME, 5 Jan. 2024

Biden in South Carolina:Black voters are asked to 'show up and show out' Haley weighed in on disputes over the flag – a controversial symbol of the Civil War Confederacy associated with white supremacy – as governor running for reelection. —USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024

Maybe the most interesting turn lives with Champlin’s disturbing and hauntingly effective interpretation of Ned, the epitome of everything white supremacy yearns to protect. —David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024

It Economic and structural inequality Slavery drove American industrialization, and to maintain the hierarchy of white supremacy after Juneteenth, government leaders created Black codes, restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of Black people and ensure their availability as cheap labor. —Tiffany Eve Lawrence, Parents, 4 Feb. 2024

This is obviously a satirical premise, meant to highlight the way Black lives are affected every day by white supremacy, but no one involved in the Society seems to be aware of how ridiculous their reasoning is. —Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1