White Privilege

What is white privilege?

Formally, white privilege is defined by tolerance.org as,

“White privilege is—perhaps most notably in this era of uncivil discourse—a concept that has fallen victim to its own connotations. The two-word term packs a double whammy that inspires pushback. 1) The word white creates discomfort among those who are not used to being defined or described by their race. And 2) the word privilege, especially for poor and rural white people, sounds like a word that doesn’t belong to them—like a word that suggests they have never struggled.”

Where did structural racism stem from?

A study for the Race and Public Policy Conference cites the origin of systemic racism and white supremacy:

“Race is “a specious classification of human beings created by Europeans (whites) which assigns human worth and social status using “white” as the model of humanity and the height of human achievement for the purpose of establishing and maintaining privilege and power.”

“The U.S. Constitution established the new nation as a white republic. indigenous and African peoples were excluded from participation in the republic. The first law of the first (white) congress in 1790 banned all non-white immigrants from becoming citizens of this white republic. This law meant that first generation immigrants from any continent except Europe could not own land -- the main means of earning a living in the new republic -- because state and territorial constitutions prohibited non-citizens from owning land.”

Long story short? White people invented racism a suuuuuper long time ago

Fine, but what about reverse racism?

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE REVERSE RACISM IS NOT A REAL THING.

There’s a big difference between reverse racism, and having a conflict with someone/being judged/disagreeing with someone/not getting exactly what you want (Hey, Karen, did you hear that?)

Reverse racism does not exist, because in America, there has never been a time where white people have been oppressed. Cambridge Dictionary defines oppression as:

a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom

White people don’t have to worry about the color of their skin when they are:

Don’t believe it? Read this article about the myth of reverse racism. And for those white people who feel as though they are at a disadvantage because job are going to less qualified POC, you’ve got a long way to go in your allyship journey.

Lori Lakin Hutcherson explains white privilege in 10 ways we can all relate to:

Can we please create this into an inforgraphic?

If you’ve never had to rewrite stories and headlines or swap photos while being trolled by racists when all you’re trying to do on a daily basis is promote positivity and share stories of hope and achievement and justice, you have white privilege.

White Privilege Checklist

(Would like to have this be a self-select exercise.)

Curious about your own privilege? Take this assessment by Peggy McIntosh. As you read through the 26 statements, circle the ones you personally identify with as true.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

6. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

10. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

11. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

12. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.

13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

14. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

16. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

17. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

18. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race.

19. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.

20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.

21. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.

22. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.

23. I can choose public accommodations without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

24. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

25. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.

26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more less match my skin.

Now that you have completed the assessment, need to create a scoring system.

“Racism isn’t real”

Watch this side by side video to learn about real life differences between white and Black people.

Looking for an exercise to talk with other white people about privilege?

SURJ has a great exercise that allows for personal reflection and conversation.

ACTIVITY: The benefit of being white

Paul Kivel says: I FIND IT A CONSTANT EFFORT TO NOTICE that People of Color don’t share many of the economic and other benefits I enjoy from being white. This activity can help white people understand how racism works in our favor, and on many different levels. The exercise is for all white participants, or for mixed groups in which the white people participate and the People of Color observe. Since white privilege—the specific kinds of economic, social, and political advantages that white people gain at the expense of people of color—is generally invisible, this exercise can help those of us who are white see and acknowledge just how extensive and pervasive those benefits are.

FACILITATOR
​GUIDELINES

• Tell the group that you are going to read a series of statements and that each white person to whom a statement applies should stand up after that statement is read.

• Tell the group that all white people are being asked to participate, and people of color are being asked to observe, even if some of the statements might apply to them as well.

• Those who are physically unable to stand may raise their hand, if able to, to indicate that they are part of the group standing.

• The participants should decide for themselves whether the statement applies to them or not.

• If they are unwilling to stand for a particular statement that applies to them, they may pass, but at the same time encourage them to notice any feelings they have about not standing.

• The exercise will be done in silence to allow participants to notice the feelings that come up during the exercise and to make it safer for all participants.

• ​After each statement is read and people have stood for a few moments to reflect, ask the participants to sit down again, then move on to read the next statement.

BEGIN THE
ACTIVITY:
A WHITE BENEFITS
CHECKLIST

The American Indian Movement takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969.

Federal government housing law led to redlining, a policy where the government and then banks colluded to finance the expansion of white suburbs while refusing to invest in Communities of Color.

Research shows over and over again that the same resumés are judged differently based on the race of the applicant.

• Please stand if:

•  Your ancestors were legal immigrants to this country during a period when immigration from Asia, South and Central America, or Africa was restricted.

• You live on land that formerly belonged to Native Americans.

• Your family received homesteading or landstaking claims from the federal government, or if you or your family or relatives receive or received federal farm subsidies, farm price supports, agricultural extension assistance or other federal benefits.

• You lived or live in a neighborhood that People of Color were discriminated from living in or you lived or live in a city where red-lining discriminates against people of color getting housing or other loans.

• You or your parents went to racially segregated schools.

• You live in a school district or metropolitan area where more money is spent on the schools that white children go to than on those that Children of Color attend.

• You live in or went to a school district where the textbooks and other classroom materials reflected your race as normal, heroes and builders of the United States, and there was little mention of the contributions of People of Color to our society.

• You attended a publicly funded university, or a heavily endowed private university or college, and/or received student loans.

• Your ancestors were immigrants who took jobs in railroads, streetcars, construction, shipbuilding, wagon and coach driving, house painting, tailoring, longshore work, brick laying, table waiting, working in the mills, working as a furrier, dressmaking or any other trade or occupation where People of Color were driven out or excluded.

• You have received a job, job interview, job training or internship through personal connections of family or friends.

• You worked or work in a job where People of Color made less for doing comparable work or did more menial jobs.

• Your parents were able to vote in any election they wanted without worrying about poll taxes, literacy requirements or other forms of discrimination.

• You live in a neighborhood that has better police protection, municipal services and is safer than that where People of Color live.

• You have never had to worry that clearly labeled public facilities, such as swimming pools, restrooms, restaurants and nightspots were in fact not open to you because of your skin color.

• You see white people in a wide variety of roles on television and in movies.

• A substantial percentage of the clothes you wear are made by Women and Children of Color in this country and abroad.

• Most of the food you eat is grown, processed and/or cooked by People of Color in this country and abroad.

• The house, office building, school, or other buildings and grounds you use are cleaned or maintained by People of Color.

• Most of the electronics goods that you use such as cell phones, TVs, microwave ovens, computers, and cameras are made by People of Color in this country and abroad.

• You, other family members, friends or colleagues were ever cared for by People of Color either at home or at a medical or convalescent facility.

• You don’t need to think about race and racism everyday. You can choose when and where you want to respond to racism.

DISCUSSION AND DEBRIEF

After the exercise ask white people to pair with other white people to talk about what feelings and thoughts came up for them participating in the exercise.
 
Ask People of Color to pair with other People of Color to share what came up for them and what it was like to observe white people doing the exercise.
 
Reassemble the group and facilitate an open discussion of the feelings, thoughts, reflections, and insights that people want to share. Some questions you can use to facilitate discussion are:
 

1. What kind of attitudes does the possession of invisible white privilege produce in us and other white people?

2. What kind of attitudes towards People of Color does it produce?

3. What are ways that we and other white people justify our privilege by blaming People of Color and Native Americans?

4. Are there ways that it is hard for us to accept that we and other white people did not fully earn the job opportunities, housing, education, etc. we and they have?

5. What are things that those of us with unearned privilege can do to promote equal opportunity and racial justice?

To conclude the discussion tell the group that the purpose of this exercise is not to discount what white people have achieved but to question prevalent assumptions that everyone started out with equal opportunity or that white achievement occurs on a level playing field.

Also remind everyone that although some of the benefits listed above are money in the bank for each and every white person, some white people have bigger bank accounts—much bigger—than the rest. According to 2013 figures, 20 percent of the population controls about 95 percent of the net financial wealth of this country and whites own 90% of the nation’s wealth. White wealth is not evenly distributed. The top 10% of white families own 65.1% of all the wealth while the bottom half of white families own just 2% of the national wealth. All white people own more wealth than their People of Color counterparts. But while we may gain benefits from being white that doesn’t necessarily mean we are well off.

Finally, point out that individual white people are not responsible for the circumstances under which we stood for particular questions in the exercise. We were born into and inherited a system that exploits People of Color and provides benefits to white people whether we want them or not. Individual white people are not responsible for racism—but we are responsible for how we respond to it.