This article draws on the work of Charles Mills to posit white supremacy as a global political, economic and cultural system. Resistance among people of color is, and has always been, widespread. The focus here, however, is on what Mills (1997:18) describes as the ‘epistemology of ignorance’ among whites themselves, serving to preserve a sense of self as decent in the face of privileges dependent upon obvious injustices against (non-white) others. Five themes are identified within a broad and multidisplinary range of literature, described here as the ‘five refusals’ of white supremacy. These are points at which white ignorance must be actively maintained in order to preserve both sense of the self and the wider structures of white privilege and dominance. There is a refusal of the humanity of the other – and a willingness to allow violence and exploitation to be inflicted. There is a refusal to listen to or acknowledge the experience of the other – resulting in marginalization and active silencing. There is a refusal not just to confront long and violent histories of white domination, but to recognize how these continue to shape injustice into the present. There is a refusal to share space, particularly residential space, with resulting segregated geographies that perpetuate inequality and insulate white ignorance. Finally there is a refusal to face structural causes – capitalism as it has intertwined with white supremacy from its earliest beginnings. To undo one requires the undoing of the others. For each refusal there is a potential affirmation, presented here in hope that they might provide an understanding of the breadth of work required to dismantle white supremacy and of the multiple points for intervention.

中文翻译：

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白人至上的五次拒绝

本文借鉴了查尔斯·米尔斯（Charles Mills）将白人至上论作为全球政治，经济和文化体系的工作。有色人种的抵抗力一直而且一直很普遍。然而，这里的重点是米尔斯（1997：18）所描述的白人自身中的“无知的认识论”，在面对依赖于明显的不公正对待（非白人）的特权的情况下，保持自我感觉像样的） 其他。在广泛和多学科的文献范围内确定了五个主题，这里将其描述为白人至上的“五个拒绝”。在这些点上，必须积极维护白人的无知，以保持自我意识和白人特权与统治的更广泛结构。拒绝对方的人道-并愿意施加暴力和剥削。拒绝倾听或承认对方的经历–导致边缘化和主动沉默。人们不仅拒绝面对白人统治的漫长而暴力的历史，而且要承认它们如何继续在当下形成不公正现象。拒绝共享空间，尤其是居住空间，从而导致地理隔离，使不平等长期存在，并使白人的无知与世隔绝。最后，拒绝面对结构性的原因-资本主义从一开始就与白人至上主义交织在一起。撤消一个就需要撤消另一个。对于每一次拒绝，都有可能的肯定，