Reflections on Whiteness as Property

In this Response, Professor Cheryl I. Harris reflects on her seminal Article, Whiteness as Property, which was published in Volume 106 of the Harvard Law Review. In Whiteness as Property, Professor Harris posited that racial identity and property are deeply interrelated concepts, and examined how whiteness, initially constructed as a form of racial identity, evolved into a form of property, historically and presently acknowledged and protected in American law.  More than twenty-five years later, Professor Harris considers the continued role of race and racism within American law in the wake of the anti-racist uprisings following the murder of George Floyd.