Whiteness defines the standards of merit and judgment others must aspire to

Evidence

Second, standards (of merit, excellence, morality, civility, civilization) are represented mainly as white, that is, those associated with the structure of whiteness. These are assumed as the norm, as the criteria of judgment, as representing excellence – as what everyone else should aspire to. — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 448

Categorization

• DEFINE: Encapsulates the ‘structure of whiteness’ as the unspoken norming of judgment criteria — a definitional concept foundational to critical race theory.
• XREF: connects to: The Talented Tenth ideal assumed northeastern white culture as the universal standard — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 161; Majoritarian narratives are presupposition-bundles that normalize white superiority. — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 471