priv(ə)lij/
noun
a special
right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a
particular person or group of people.
-Oxford
Dictionary-(h)wīt/ ˈpriv(ə)lij/
noun
the ability
to be thought of as fully human, to have your mind, body, wants, and
needs be deemed of equal worth to those of the folks in power.
the ability to be something more than three-fifths of a person, more than a tool, a foil, or a means to an end.
-Evan Narcisse-
Depending on where and how you grew up, you'll more than likely read this and have one of two reactions. You'll either read this and think, "No shit!" Or you'll read this and think "WTF is she on about?!"
Somewhere along the way white people decided that they are superior to all other peoples, especially those with darker skin tones. I don't have the time or energy to break down the "reasons." They are just too numerous.
From this belief sprang "white privilege," an extremely prevalent phenomenon in American culture. It basically boils down to the fact that those of us with light colored skin are more likely to be afforded greater opportunities, more freedom, more leeway than those of us with darker colored skin. {{Insert reaction here}} I, in no way, intend to suggest that this applies to everyone with pale skin and excludes everyone with dark skin. But, it is a fact of life for the majority of us living in the United States. Let's take a look at a very recent example of white privilege: Ryan Lochte. If you don't already know his story, this is it in a nutshell: white guy from the US vandalizes a public bathroom and then lies about it (slandering the people of Brazil) with very few legal repercussions. How is this an example of white privilege? Jeff Johnson provided an answer to that question on the Thursday, August 25, 2016, edition of "The Rickey Smiley Morning Show," during his segment "3 Things You Should Know." He broke it down like this - Ryan Lochte was referred to time and time again by the media as "a kid" and "immature" (Lochte is 32 years old - how is he in any way a kid?). Yet, there are numerous black youths (14, 15, 16 years old) that are not given the same benefit of a doubt and are tried as adults at their young age. Even the language used in describing white youths and their behavior versus that used to describe black youths and their behavior is quite different. "When [black youths] do stuff, it's not 'they're a kid,' it's not 'they just made a mistake,' it's not 'they're immature,' it's that they are 'a predator,' they are 'a criminal,' they are 'a deviant.'" {You can hear the entire Morning Show on here. Jeff Johnson's segment starts at 23:53; the Ryan Lochte bit starts at 25:47. I encourage you to listen to the whole segment. What appears above is my synopsis.}
Hold on - Before you argue that vandalism is not that bad as far as crimes go and that Lochte and his teammates were just drunk and having fun, would you use the same argument be if the vandalism occurred at a public park? Say the kids' swing set was torn down...and the police attributed it to four young black males. Would you be as quick to forgive their behavior, find excuses for them? I have a hard time believing that this would be the general reaction from a large portion of American society.
I hear you white people - the ones of you that have to struggle to pay your bills, feed your kids, keep a roof over your head and clothes on your back. I hear you saying that you don't experience any privilege just because you're white; that life is a constant struggle. Peggy McIntosh wrote a paper that explores white privilege from which the essay entitled "White Privilege: Unpacking the InvisibleKnapsack" was taken. Here she list things from her daily life that she recognizes are available to her because she is white.
Here are just a few of her observations:
1. I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me...
Because white people often do not experience daily life the same way as say, blacks, many do not even realize that life is so different for non-whites. They take for granted that they will be accepted, trusted, understood, listened to, heard. This is not how everyone experiences life, not even remotely. Some people have to work a lot harder to experience the things that some of us take for granted, if they are ever able to experience those things at all. On a day-to-day basis, darker skinned people are more likely to be harassed, second-guessed, exploited, and/or rejected based solely on their skin color.
Here's the thing - for any positive change to be made each and every one of us needs to take a long, hard look at ourselves and decide how we want to be treated and how we're going to treat others. White privilege is so deeply ingrained in American culture, even if most of the time it's subconscious, that it is going to take a lot of effort to make any sort of impact. Dwayne McDuffie was spot on when he said, "...in American culture, there isn't anything that informs human interaction more than the idea of race." But each of us can help make a change happen, even if it's only in the way that you look at a situation that involves an individual with a different skin color. Or, how long you stop and think before jumping to conclusions and placing blame without knowing the entire story. Educate yourself, remove the blinders, stop being so blase about the things that go on around you but don't directly involve you. And then make sure to pass this down to your children and grandchildren, teach them the importance of looking beyond skin color, beyond what some of society tries to teach them to believe. Change is never easy but it is absolutely necessary.
1. I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me...
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race...
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person’s voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race...
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children’s teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race...
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
27. 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...
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have...
36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones. ..
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen...
47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us...
50. I will feel welcomed and “normal” in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
Do you still feel that you are afforded no privileges based on the color of your skin?
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race...
10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.
11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person’s voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race...
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children’s teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race...
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
27. 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...
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have...
36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones. ..
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen...
47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us...
50. I will feel welcomed and “normal” in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
Do you still feel that you are afforded no privileges based on the color of your skin?
Because white people often do not experience daily life the same way as say, blacks, many do not even realize that life is so different for non-whites. They take for granted that they will be accepted, trusted, understood, listened to, heard. This is not how everyone experiences life, not even remotely. Some people have to work a lot harder to experience the things that some of us take for granted, if they are ever able to experience those things at all. On a day-to-day basis, darker skinned people are more likely to be harassed, second-guessed, exploited, and/or rejected based solely on their skin color.
Here's the thing - for any positive change to be made each and every one of us needs to take a long, hard look at ourselves and decide how we want to be treated and how we're going to treat others. White privilege is so deeply ingrained in American culture, even if most of the time it's subconscious, that it is going to take a lot of effort to make any sort of impact. Dwayne McDuffie was spot on when he said, "...in American culture, there isn't anything that informs human interaction more than the idea of race." But each of us can help make a change happen, even if it's only in the way that you look at a situation that involves an individual with a different skin color. Or, how long you stop and think before jumping to conclusions and placing blame without knowing the entire story. Educate yourself, remove the blinders, stop being so blase about the things that go on around you but don't directly involve you. And then make sure to pass this down to your children and grandchildren, teach them the importance of looking beyond skin color, beyond what some of society tries to teach them to believe. Change is never easy but it is absolutely necessary.
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