But how odd is it that White people are the ones who so often disproportionately get the credit for educating about White privilege? Yet, when it comes to White Privilege, White people somehow become the authority. While I have indeed learned important lessons from prominent White anti-racist educators like the above ability-privilege analogy that I pulled from Tim Wise , here are lessons people of color have taught me that have changed my life—and they could change yours as well.
Sure, the police who patrolled the affluent neighborhoods of my youth were an inconvenience to a few keggers, and I maintain that a traffic violation from the late 90s was unfair, but I grew up thinking of the police officers as a source of safety if I were ever in danger; I certainly never viewed them as the source of danger.
In , Amadou Diallo —and the 41 bullets that police officers in plainclothes discharged at this unarmed Black man with no criminal record—taught me that not all share this privilege. Diallo was for me what Michael Brown has been to some White people. Too many Black and brown people are not safe with the police.
Not even if you are child, a lesson Tamir Rice and Dajerria Becton taught me. Not even if you are seeking medical help, a lesson Jonathan Ferrell taught me. Not even if your back is turned, a lesson Rekia Boyd and Walter Scott taught me.
Not even if you have your hands up, a lesson Antonio Zambrano-Montes and Michael Brown according to sixteen witnesses taught me. Not even if you plead for help while in custody, a lesson Sarah Lee Circle Bear taught me. These are just a fraction of my teachers, those whose names reached the media, which too often neglect reporting police killings of women of color and Indigenous people.
Of course, I might not have learned any of these lessons if not for the efforts of Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi , the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, a movement that is changing White perceptions of racist policing , not to mention our entire political landscape.
Kiera Wilmot and Ahmed Mohamed , both of whom were arrested for bringing science projects to school while Black or brown , helped teach me this lesson. Recently, one Black year-old was suspended for intimidating a White girl through his staring—staring that took place during a staring contest. But it didn't only look at white privilege. Protests occurred around the world after the death of George Floyd.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter. Many argue black people have to deal with an extra burden of worrying about how they will be treated because of how people perceive them.
Related Topics. Published 10 June Published 27 September Published 26 January. In any case, we need to do more work in identifying how they actually affect our daily lives.
Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the U. In addition, since race and sex are not the only advantaging systems at work, we need similarly to examine the daily experience of having age advantage, or ethnic advantage, or physical ability, or advantage related to nationality, religion, or sexual orientation. Difficulties and dangers surrounding the task of finding parallels are many. Since racism, sexism, and heterosexism are not the same, the advantages associated with them should not be seen as the same.
In addition, it is hard to disentangle aspects of unearned advantage which rest more on social class, economic class, race, religion, sex, and ethnic identity than on other factors. Still, all of the oppressions are interlocking, as the Combahee River Collective Statement of continues to remind us eloquently. One factor seems clear about all of the interlocking oppressions. They take both active forms, which we can see, and embedded forms, which as a member of the dominant group one is taught not to see.
In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth. I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes. Individual acts can palliate, but cannot end, these problems. To redesign social systems, we need first to acknowledge their colossal unseen dimensions.
The silences and denials surrounding privilege are the key political tool here. They keep the thinking about equality or equity incomplete, protecting unearned advantage and conferred dominance by making these taboo subjects. Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of dominance while denying that systems of dominance exist.
It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all. Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already.
Although systemic change takes many decades, there are pressing questions for me and I imagine for some others like me if we raise our daily consciousness on the perquisites of being light-skinned. What will we do with such knowledge? As we know from watching men, it is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage to weaken hidden systems of advantage, and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base.
The co-presenter and I take equal time to testify about how we came to see privilege systems in and around us. Relationships matter. White teachers who don't understand the experiences of their students of color aren't going to be able to teach them as well. Second, consider the profound inequalities in education funding between inner-city and suburban school districts. Third, identity issues.
Have you heard of "stereotype threat"? This is a phenomenon whereby student of color is afraid to try hard to achieve because of the fear of failing and confirming a negative stereotype.
Here is an example of white privilege: I don't have to worry that someone will see me fail and attribute it to my race. There are so many more things I could mention but let me talk about one more for you Dr.
There is a researcher named Ogbu who has an explanation for why African-American students in particular experience less success than most any other racial group. He identifies "community forces" arising from how the minorities interpret, respond, and adapt to US society and their minority status. Ogbu differentiates between two types of minorities: voluntary and involuntary.
A group that exemplifies the voluntary minority, or voluntary immigrant, is the Vietnamese. Strong in their own sense of identity, they tend to be more open to learning how to use dominant culture ways of knowing to get ahead. Contrast this with involuntary immigrants, like most African-Americans who came to the US by force , who tend to have a fundamentally oppositional outlook toward the dominant culture.
I wonder if this can provide an explanation for those who look at black people and wonder "Why won't they just assimilate? Don't they know what is good for them? We white people have no way to understand what it is like for the black man in this country, to feel the pain of racism and to be so despised and misunderstood.
In conclusion, we can't undo racism with any affirmative action or even slavery reparations It's so difficult because the reality that we see constantly reinforces this faulty notion. When you see inequality, ask not "what is wrong with those people," ask instead "how can this be undone? Oh, I forgot to address the last question, would I be offended if a white person expresses pride for their heritage?
I think many white people in the USA are being power evasive when they tout their heritage from this or that European country. One could call it "mee-too-ism," i. I understand people have pride in their identity; that's great. But the meaning of this act of expressing pride in one's own race or ethnicity changes based on where you exist along the axis of power.
So if you are keep yourself ignorant of this on purpose I'm not offended but I'm irritated. If you're just ignorant then hopefully you have an open mind, so you can learn about how this makes you look to people of color. I am disgusted by a lot of these comments. Those of you who deny, reject, or incredulously, are offended by the term "white privilege" are very obviously white yourselves. The only way you'd understand is if tomorrow, you happened to wake up black or any minority and spent some time through the eyes of a non-white person.
But society cares about what races they are. So if 1 kid was white and the other black, the white kid is more likely to get hired.
The black kid will be more likely to be "stopped-and-frisked. Justmyopinion-did you actually say this is letting people of color off the hook for their situation? What situation is that exactly? And why are people of color "on the hook"? Also I agree that in a Kenyan store, the hair products might be different.
Yes, the majority of Americans are white, but there is certainly a healthy mix other races as well. As I read these comments, I am saddened by our collective lack of empathy. Can we recognize that, for white folks, changing deeply rooted and often unconscious patterns of thought is difficult while also acknowledging the vast and long-standing injustices suffered by people of color? Must this be cast as a zero-sum conflict? Is it not possible to have empathy for all people affected by the legacy of how humans have mis treated each other in the past and continue to do so today?
As a middle-aged, white male, I work on raising my awareness, challenging my beliefs and unlearning things I have been taught my whole life.
It is not easy to recognize how one's past actions often contributed to a system of oppression and inequality, much less realize that one still has more such work to do.
This work warrants neither praise nor pride nor guilt; I simply try to be patient and kind with myself. That said, I recognize that the difficulty of making these changes is but a whisper in the wind compared to the ubiquitous and grievous hardships that people of color have no choice but to confront on a daily basis. Both things can be true at the same time. What happy horse shit.
Life is simple treat others as you wish to be treated. Stop cultivating Victims. Be kind and shun these moronic measurements and judgements of racial identity. Yes u know who really get special treatment? Attractive people. You know who is inherently unattractive? RitajeFitzpatrick I hate to break it too you, darling, but I'm black and all myself reject the idea of "white privilege". Does that make me privileged all of a sudden. The biggest reason why this notion is complete bullshit is that it makes racist generalizations of not only white people, but non-whites as well.
White privilege exists, and you are all fools to undermine the horrible things that are happening to people of so many different races today. You need to get your facts straight. It might seem outdated, but it speaks a lot of truths about what is happening in our societies today. All the people who are saying white privilege doesn't exist are obviously coming form a privileged, safe life, and most of you are probably white.
Those of you who are not white, you probably grew up in a safe home with enough food to eat and enough money to have more than you need. Your thoughts on this topic disappoint me, and I feel as though this is why our world is the way it is. I would write more about my extreme pain in hearing your words, but I need to go cry my eyes out from the feeling of emptiness that I got from your comments. This is getting atrocious. How can you say white privilege doesn't exist, when we, as white people, can walk down the street in almost anywhere and always know that if anything happens, the police will be there to help us, not to hurt us.
How can you say that when you can go almost anywhere, do anything, say anything, and not feel fear for your life? RitajeFitzpatrick is completely correct. In denying the existence of white privilege, you are just creating a reinforcing cycle of denial.
We blatantly deny white privilege exists, though there are obvious instances of it, and in doing so, we attempt to convince others that it doesn't exist, often with the recipients idea of white privilege changing drastically. This never ending cycle is slowly eliminating our chances to improve on our ideals. The exact same thing is happening with the environmental problems happening today.
We don't want to hear what is happening to our world, so we deny it. Just as we don't want to hear about how people's lives are getting steadily worse for no reason but how they have more or less melanin in their skin, so we deny that anything is happening. Just like BKind, I am also saddened by "our collective lack of empathy.
It took me a long time to realize that the privilege associated with white privilege is a lot deeper than any material aspect. Really, the reason the term bothered me is that I had never been purposely addressed by my race in a negative way, like Cory said. In addition to this, even though I have struggled in my life from a young age due to circumstances out of reach, like my mother's death, there is all sorts of statistical information to prove that as a white man I'm more likely to land a job in an interview.
Especially if the person conducting the interview is white. Due to a psychological characteristic of familiarity, any white person is more likely to favor another white person, merely because of the color of their skin, not necessarily because of who they are as a human being.
Of course this same concept applies to any race, if the person in power is Japanese, they may favor a Japanese candidate over a white one. The reason this is a flawed argument against my example of being favored due to my white privilege is because, the amount of white managers, and executives far outnumbers that of any other minority race. Just one of my many personal experiences with white privilege.
That option to ponder, is in and of itself, the privilege being described. Here is how white privilege plays out. White Privilege is acknowledging your white supremacy. But you will say, no! That's not what it is. Oh yes, it is! You are no better than those you call fascists or Nazis. By acknowledging your so-called "white privilege," you are still acknowledging that you are superior to non-whites yes, you are which means you think you are superior to my family members that are not white.
Additionally, you acknowledge that you are racist. I don't really care about that article that came out from that woman that helped to start all this divisive nonsense. She was probably a racist also and felt guilt after someone called her out on it. When white people like you state to other white people that they should sit down, shut up and listen to non-whites, you pretty much have a problem doing that yourself. If you don't like what a non-white says, the racism spews from your mouths. Yes, this has happened.
You have a problem listening to views that are different from your own and that is something you all need to do some soul searching on. Your opinions and ideas are not the end all, be all. In fact, sometimes your ideas are toxic and solve nothing to end racism.
Oh, but I just don't understand right? I don't think you understand the hardships of non-whites at all or anyone who has to severely struggle in life while you, who spout this nonsense, probably came from a sheltered middle-class or rich well to do family where you got a car on your 16th birthday! Don't preach what you don't know. Using your so-called "privilege" is actually insulting to non-whites because you infantilize non-whites and get offended on their behalf.
Oh, but your argument is, who will argue on their behalf. Guess what! They are intelligent enough to do it themselves! Shocker, right? Maybe you should let people speak on their own behalf if they get ticked off or offended by something.
You acting the virtue signaling fool solves nothing. Here is another thing, yes there is racism and it needs to be squashed. Going this route will not solve anything no matter what you think!
Now they are teaching kindergartners about race. My God! Kids don't even see race. It's people like you that have to be the ones to bring out the differences which is toxic! Maybe if people like you and other ignoramuses would stop teaching them to treat others cruely or like special "snow flakes," we would all get along and this would be a better world to live in. We must separate them in different classes. Teach the non-whites how special they are and give them cookies and cupcakes while teaching the white kids that they are crap.
Then they go home to their parents crying that they were told they were evil children and the parents get ticked. You wonder why homeschooling will be the new norm!
And before you doubt me, this has happened and it has been in the news. You know, my mother was brought up in the projects and she came from a poor Jewish background. She lived with the African Americans and Hispanics and guess what. This is a shocker! They all got along without her having to acknowledge any sort of white privilege. In fact, Jews are not considered white, did you know that? They are left out of that white club. Me being partly Italian and Sicilian And never say they are the same because they have different customs!
I so hate that when white people like you try to say differently and they know nothing! More of your ignorance at work! You think my family had it great? No one white would give them a chance and discriminated against them even if they had a college degree! Leave me with that nonsense! My mother taught me to respect and get along with everyone whether they were black, white, Hispanic, etc. I didn't need the "doctrine" or "political correctness" to do so.
If you need this, you are not a good person at all. People in this country need to wake up, grow up, and treat each other well. Stop with the "white privilege" nonsense. It does nothing to solve racism.
So you acknowledge your white privilege! It does nothing for non-whites. In fact, some are so offended by this nonsense. You want to dissolve racism in this country? Be the driving force that brings people together, not the one that keeps the division alive because they believe everything they are told! Think for yourself. When you speak like the collective, you do not look good and you do not appear intelligent. Think for yourself and maybe you will see the world that is much bigger than your "white privilege" which is nonsensical and small-minded.
It's narcissistic at best. I was lucky enough to be accepted to a school that taught AP classes and the number of students that were accepted were allocated by race.
As a poor white girl living in the inner city, this was a huge opportunity for me. I was an A student enrolled in the "Gifted and Talented Class", but there was no way of knowing if I would make it in.
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