By Edmond W. Davis
Dear White men, why are you so angry?
For over 400 years in the United States, you’ve stood as the apex alpha male in nearly every statistical category imaginable. You dominate wealth, political power, corporate board rooms and cultural influence. You are not Black males—whose No. 1 killer from ages 1 to 44 is homicide. For White men, the leading cause of death is accidents. So again, why are you so angry?
You have the highest household wealth, the greatest social mobility, and the strongest political representation of any group in the nation—if not the world. And yet, too many of you are seething with rage. You’ve committed some of the greatest crimes against humanity—colonialism, slavery, genocide, systemic oppression—but your “rap sheet” is erased or excused by history books you authored. Still, you appear deeply, dangerously angry. Why? White males, you are roughly 30 percent of all Americans, but as a minority group you control the country. So why are you still angry?
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about vilifying you. It’s about saving the nation. Because the uncomfortable truth is this: the No. 1 terror threat to the United States, according to the FBI, is not Black extremism, or Latino cartels, or Asian gangs, or Indigenous militias—it is White male domestic terrorism.
This isn’t a hip-hop video. This isn’t a culture-war rant. This is a plea for emotionally mature White men to intervene—because other White men won’t listen to me, Deion Sanders, or to Black America. They will listen to you.
We must talk honestly about why so many young White men are being groomed into violent ideologies. They are picking up guns and turning schools, synagogues, grocery stores and parades into war zones. They are radicalized in online echo chambers while emotionally mature White male leaders remain silent. They are given deadly weapons as easily as they are given misinformation.
This cannot be fixed by Barack Obama, or AOC (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.) or even Donald Trump’s wife. The voice they will hear must come from someone who looks like them, someone they consider part of their tribe. You are the only ones they might believe.
So I ask again: Why are you so angry?
You have the White House. You have Congress. You have a Supreme Court tilted to your worldview. You have gutted affirmative action, rolled back diversity and inclusion, banned Black history curricula and re-centered government and corporate power almost entirely in your image. And still—rage.
What more do you want?
You’ve chased women out of senior military and federal leadership positions. You’ve slashed scholarships and gutted funding for minority-serving institutions. You’ve rewritten museums, curricula, and public memory to erase the contributions and humanity of people of color. You’ve reengineered policy to ensure your dominance for decades to come.
And yet, you’re still furious. Why?
Even many federal law enforcement agencies—ICE, Border Patrol and others—are overwhelmingly staffed by White men, earning salaries rivaling those of 20-year teachers or licensed master plumbers. And still, many of your peers – not Black or Brown men – are the ones killing police officers at an alarming rate. According to officer mortality reports, the most dangerous threat to law enforcement is not “leftist radicals,” not “Latino mafias,” not the “Japanese yakuza”—it is other White men.
Think about that.
Before you point fingers at migrants, at rappers, at single mothers, at “urban crime,” ask yourselves: who is actually pulling the triggers at schools, malls, country concerts, and churches? Who is lynching Americans in 2025? Who is sowing fear and chaos in the name of a twisted version of patriotism?
This is not about shame. This is about responsibility.
Scripture says, “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). You have been given everything: wealth, political power, cultural dominance, military control, global credibility. But instead of stewarding it with humility, too many of you wield it with hostility.
I know you are capable of better. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Right now, we need peacemakers—especially White male peacemakers—who will speak to the young men in your communities before they become the next mass shooter, the next Jan. 6 rioter, the next domestic terror headline.
Because this is an actual country, not a game board. This is a nation forged from the labor, genius, and blood of every race, ancestry and creed. You did not build it alone—and you will not save it alone. But without you, we may not save it at all.
Emotionally mature White men, where are you? We need you to mentor your sons, nephews and neighbors. We need you to tell them they do not need an AR-15 to prove their worth. We need you to show them that power is not domination but discipline, not violence but vision. If you want to be seen as leaders, then lead them away from the cliff.
Because if this rage continues unchecked, it will consume everything—including you. White terrorism has been the deadliest force in human history—not just in America but worldwide. But this moment feels even more perilous, because it is cloaked in denial, drenched in self-pity, and armed to the teeth.
And I say this not as an enemy—but as a fellow American who desperately wants this country to survive.
The Bible says, “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Right now, good requires courage from you. It requires that you disarm not just your weapons, but your anger.
I am a historian, a journalist, and a keynote speaker who has spoken around the world for two decades. Yet in the past eight months, I’ve received no speaking invitations—not because my expertise has diminished, but because this country is turning away from truth. I have had to pivot, and so must you.
Please. Help us confront the intra-cultural epidemic of White male violence before it becomes America’s undoing.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.