Did American surf culture (outside of Hawai’i) begin on the east coast? beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/ahab-on-a-...

Long read for Monday, showing how identity based on "blood" and skin color instead of culture is a poison in the body politic of the USA. Here we look at the strange case of Buffy Ste. Marie, the folk singer claiming Cree ancestry for decades. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/longing-an...

So yes, we do need to learn history. "So we can learn from our past triumphs and know that change for the better is possible." Please make sure to subscribe to our newsletter! (4 of 4)

Learning history from different perspectives - like the Black perspective, women's perspective, the labor movement or via critical theory - teaches people that the status quo was and is often unjust - and what's more important, the status quo CAN BE CHALLENGED AND CHANGED. (3 of 4)

While this is true, it misses the bigger reason that authoritarian and fascist regimes work so hard to control the historical narrative. History is also replete with stories of hope, and the social changes and triumphs achieved by the underdogs. (2 of 4)

When I try to explain the importance of history, people who are sympathetic to the idea usually say: "Yes, we need to learn history, so we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat the past." (1 of 4)

Sunday long read. Americans, genealogy, and "Indian Princesses". beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/dressing-u...

Apropos the current news. open.substack.com/pub/beforewe...

The forgotten 9/11. Don’t forget to subscribe (free or paid), in order to never miss our BWWW newsletter! For people who prefer American history to American mythology. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/the-other-...

The resurgence of white supremacy and racialist eugenics in the USA is shocking. Americans are among the most ethnically-mixed people in world history. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/who-the-he...

Thanks to all my readers for bearing with me while I took time out to help my young son settle into a new life studying music far from home. Tons of things lined-up as we head into autumn. If you find BWWW of value, please consider subscribing. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/from-haiti...

I'm heading away until the 1st or 2nd of Sep. on family business. No posts for a few days. Here is this weekend's long read. Hope you enjoy it! beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/stop-talki...

Just a reminder to followers and subscribers that I will be away from my desk 24 Aug 2025 - 2 Sep 2025, helping my son to move country as he begins his college studies. In the meantime, here's something for a laugh and a bop around the kitchen... beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/when-the-m...

We are witnessing in real time “How the West was won” in American history. The mass graves in the USA are just buried a little deeper. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/a-topograp...

The 1960s weren't what most people imagine. Especially if you weren't male. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/born-a-wom...

A three minute respite from the news headlines. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/music-from...

In this weekend’s long read, BWWW asks the question few Americans will: Should we always be saying ‘Thank you for your service’? beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/the-last-s...

BWWW up to No. 17 in the Rising History charts today. Thanks to all of our new subscribers, free or paying! We’re pushing back against conjured reality, and will maintain a space for those who refuse to play ball with autocrats and their enablers. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/the-making...

Longform weekend piece asking if transgenerational trauma has an opposite counterpart - "transgenerational wellness". Please consider a free or paid subscription. Either way helps us to reach a wider audience for our traditional longer form writing. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/transgener...

I made this for those who believe that the current conflict in Gaza was started by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

It's hard for a writer who's also a person of conscience to "stick to the day job", meaning writing about things in which they have some special expertise. BWWW has studied the ethnic foundations of colonial America. BWWW wants to write about it. But Gaza. Fucksake. substack.com/@beforewewer...

American history and analysis served up raw, without garnish. A big welcome to all our new subscribers! After disengaging completely from the toxic META and X ecosystems, Bluesky and Substack seem to have been the right move. Now for a viable alternative to YouTube...

Short midweek article discussing early Hollywood's portrayal of "the other", and the mixed-ethnic women who played the part... substack.com/@beforewewer...

"Contingency" is a helluva word. This weekend's longform newsletter tries to trace the path which brought one person from a "white trash" evangelical upbringing to an epiphany. Subscribe, free or paid, to keep scribblers scribbling. substack.com/@beforewewer...

More about the lies at the heart of the American myth... substack.com/@beforewewer...

Posts will land a bit erratically over the next month. I will be away from my desk for a couple of weeks in August, trying to help my young son settle into university life and an apartment far from home. I hope my loyal subscribers will bear with me. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/they-worke...

Hope this Sunday finds everyone in a reasonable state of peace. Here's some info I've pulled together on J. D. Vance's connections to White Christo-Nationalism (with notes and references due to the importance of the subject matter). PLS like & share. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/j-d-vance-...

Today's long piece looks at some of the lies at the heart of USA foundational mythology, and how even our own family names can fail to tell the truth about our ethnic history in America. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...

Today’s piece explores the mysterious case of the “lost Cajuns” of Appalachia. Don’t forget to subscribe if you don’t want to miss the BWWW Newsletter. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/mountain-c...

Even a broken clock gives the right time twice a day. And sometimes, even members of the quasi-fascist American GOP party accidentally say the quiet part out loud. Please give a like or subscribe to help us continue writing. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/raise-me-u...

Just a regular reminder, as if any were needed, that the rich elites will publicly agree with whatever nonsense is currently "on the street", as long as it doesn't materially interfere with their own lives and wealth. Read today's short post here: substack.com/@beforewewer...

Today's article is about the blurred line between reality and pop culture in the USA. We look at Victorian séances and good clean family TV shows from the 70s. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/ghosts-of-...

After a 5 month hiatus (as we moved from META to Bluesky and Substack), Before We Were White-Podcast is back with a new episode. Why have "poor white folks" - aka Hillbillies - always been seen as fair targets for vicious ridicule by "mainstream" American society? beforewewerewhite.com/episodes/

Short piece today, about how Hollywood whitewashes and commodifies tales of human tragedy. If you haven't already, PLS consider subscribing over on Substack. It's free (unless you choose to support our writing financially!) Free subs help us to grow. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/bonnie-and...

In this wide-ranging article, I explore the centuries-long drift of religion into the arms of capitalism in the USA. Along the way, we learn why poor "white" people - aka Rednecks and Hillbillies - have always been the object of public ridicule. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/hillbilly-...

Today's longform post is relatively short, actually. A look at the people Americans like to call "white trash". Nothing is ever quite as it seems... If you enjoy this stuff, please consider subscribing "over there". beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/the-origin...

Today's longform article looks at the bankruptcy of the modern "white" male American identity espoused by MAGA types and the goons filling the ranks of ICE and much of the military. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/goons-and-...

Today's longform piece explores some of the dark secrets at the heart of American history, and how two innocuous-looking maps are the gateway. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/old-data-n...

A brief appreciation upon news of the death of Brian Wilson. substack.com/@beforewewer...

The shocking authoritarian abuse of power seen in Paramount, CA over the last 48 hours compels us to ask ourselves the question once and for all: "Who are the good Americans, and when is enough really enough?" beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/a-good-ame...

The shocking authoritarian abuse of power seen in Paramount, CA over the last 48 hours compels us to ask ourselves the question once and for all: "Who are the good Americans, and when is enough really enough?" beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/a-good-ame...

Today's longform article asks why so many Wikipedia biographies of notable Americans claim that their subject is of "Scots-Irish" ancestry, even when these claims are demonstrably false or unsubstantiated - from frontiersman Hugh Glass to J. D. Vance. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/historical...

I made this map as an aid for showing how much of the population of post-Revolutionary War Virginia was seen as “non-white”. These percentages DO NOT include people enslaved at the time. Millions of "white" Americans descend from free people of color. More at link: substack.com/@beforewewer...

In Sunday's long-form newsletter, we take a look at some of the ways in which both the American Right and the American Left get “ethnicity” in the USA all wrong. beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/johnny-dep...

This is what I love to write about in between having a near constant freak-out about the current political situation and the killing of innocents in places like Palestine and Sudan. Hoping it finds engaged readers (who might consider subscribing...) beforewewerewhite.substack.com/p/appalachia...