white guilt

[ hwahyt gilt, wahyt ]

noun

1. the feelings of shame and remorse some white people experience when they recognize the legacy of racism and racial injustice and perceive the ways they have benefited from it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of white guilt¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

I think many of them would be blown away because they’ve been fed a distorted caricature of feminism and racial justice as based in man-hating and white guilt.

From Salon

“It’s about the West and the East and this idea of wealth disparity and white guilt in connection to Georgia,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a performance of racial acceptance; these fans are literally buying into their own white guilt.

From New York Times

That would more than explain the lack of follow-up on Hunter Biden’s laptop and the lab-leak theory, going full white guilt after George Floyd’s murder, and shifting to indignant white impatience with racial justice now.

From Slate

He suspects his gluten intolerance is internalized white guilt.

From Los Angeles Times