Do you know about Bacon’s Rebellion?

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) was a key moment in the creation of white racial identity—a moment that laid the groundwork for racism as a system.

Nearly 400 years later, that system is still in place. In this uprising, both free and enslaved Africans and European indentured servants fought together against Virginia’s government, challenging colonial power structures.

In response, plantation owners sought to prevent such alliances by granting small entitlements to white European labourers—still poor and oppressed, but now placed just slightly above Africans.

By the late 17th century, we see a shift in how laws define folks with European heritage — as “whites” rather than “Christians”, inventing whiteness as a tool to create hierarchies, divide and disconnect.

Whiteness, as a constructed category, continues to harm not only people of colour but also those racialised as white.

Understanding its origins helps to untangle its impact today—and may support white folks in the deep work of dismantling whiteness, loosening its grip on our hearts and collective humanity.

 Understanding history is just the first step. If you’re looking for a space to unpack these ideas in practice, this is the work I do through Move Rooted.

Image: Howard Pyle, 'The Burning of Jamestown' (Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)