You come from a middle class white family, you went to a school whose demographic was mainly white, you live in a white neighborhood, the majority of your friends are white, you decided to continue your education at a college that has a heavily white student body. Notice any similarities? Every aspect of your life has been white. In the past we have had conversations about race, and your opinions always seemed to be unsettling and never really showed any empathy to the struggles minorities face. I never could figure out why you thought this way until I heard the term white privilege in my English class. Once I acknowledged the fact that unknowingly my race has given me advantages that people of color do not have, I am more aware about the racial injustice in today’s society.
That being said, I think you will benefit from learning about the unearned benefits you reap just from being born white.In English class, we were give a checklist that contained points most white people could check off without hesitation. For example, 1. “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.”2. “When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
“3. “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.”4. “I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.”The idea behind white privilege is that white people inherit social advantages that people of color don’t have. As demonstrated from parts of McIntosh’s list previously mentioned, it is easy for a white person to check.
.their privilege. It ‘s not your fault you were born with white skin and experience these privileges. BUT, whether you realize it or not, you DO benefit from it, and it IS your fault if you don ‘t maintain awareness of that fact” (Corcoran). I think Gina Crosley-Corcoran makes a good point that having the self awareness of your white privilege is a step in the right direction because there are outside factors that someone cannot control. In conclusion, I hope you are more educated on the idea of white privilege and when you should consider it when talking about people of color.
My hope is that you took from this that acknowledging your own white privilege will not only benefit you, but will benefit everyone around you. By acknowledging your white privilege you are also acknowledging the social and economic disadvantages that come fro being born as a person of color.
