WHITE PRIVILEGE – Part 1

People have asked me a lot in the last week what I mean when I say that I benefit from white privilege. Part of understanding the current protests over the murder of George Floyd and the degree of pain and rage we are seeing requires understanding the meaning of white privilege. Therefore, I am linking to an article originally published in Teaching Tolerance magazine which I believe is a good starting point for understanding as it explains what white privilege is and how to recognize it. Please also read Part 2 which I will post tomorrow.


WHAT IS WHITE PRIVILEGE, REALLY?

BY CORY COLLINS

Today, white privilege is often described through the lens of Peggy McIntosh’s groundbreaking essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Originally published in 1988, the essay helps readers recognize white privilege by making its effects personal and tangible. For many, white privilege was an invisible force that white people needed to recognize. It was being able to walk into a store and find that the main displays of shampoo and panty hose were catered toward your hair type and skin tone. It was being able to turn on the television and see people of your race widely represented. It was being able to move through life without being racially profiled or unfairly stereotyped. All true.

This idea of white privilege as unseen, unconscious advantages took hold. It became easy for people to interpret McIntosh’s version of white privilege—fairly or not—as mostly a matter of cosmetics and inconvenience.

Those interpretations overshadow the origins of white privilege, as well as its present-day ability to influence systemic decisions. They overshadow the fact that white privilege is both a legacy and a cause of racism. And they overshadow the words of many people of color, who for decades recognized white privilege as the result of conscious acts and refused to separate it from historic inequities.

In short, we’ve forgotten what white privilege really means—which is all of this, all at once. And if we stand behind the belief that recognizing white privilege is integral to the anti-bias work of white educators, we must offer a broader recognition.

A recognition that does not silence the voices of those most affected by white privilege; a recognition that does not ignore where it comes from and why it has staying power.

 

Racism vs. White Privilege

Having white privilege and recognizing it is not racist. But white privilege exists because of historic, enduring racism and biases. Therefore, defining white privilege also requires finding working definitions of racism and bias.

So, what is racism? One helpful definition comes from Matthew Clair and Jeffrey S. Denis’s “Sociology on Racism.” They define racism as “individual- and group-level processes and structures that are implicated in the reproduction of racial inequality.” Systemic racism happens when these structures or processes are carried out by groups with power, such as governments, businesses or schools. Racism differs from bias, which is a conscious or unconscious prejudice against an individual or group based on their identity.

Basically, racial bias is a belief. Racism is what happens when that belief translates into action. For example, a person might unconsciously or consciously believe that people of color are more likely to commit crime or be dangerous. That’s a bias. A person might become anxious if they perceive a black person is angry. That stems from a bias. These biases can become racism through a number of actions ranging in severity, and ranging from individual- to group-level responses:

  • A person crosses the street to avoid walking next to a group of young black men.
  • A person calls 911 to report the presence of a person of color who is otherwise behaving lawfully.
  • A police officer shoots an unarmed person of color because he “feared for his life.”
  • A jury finds a person of color guilty of a violent crime despite scant evidence.
  • A federal intelligence agency prioritizes investigating black and Latino activists rather than investigate white supremacist activity.

Both racism and bias rely on what sociologists call racialization. This is the grouping of people based on perceived physical differences, such as skin tone. This arbitrary grouping of people, historically, fueled biases and became a tool for justifying the cruel treatment and discrimination of non-white people. Colonialism, slavery and Jim Crow laws were all sold with junk science and propaganda that claimed people of a certain “race” were fundamentally different from those of another—and they should be treated accordingly. And while not all white people participated directly in this mistreatment, their learned biases and their safety from such treatment led many to commit one of those most powerful actions: silence.

And just like that, the trauma, displacement, cruel treatment and discrimination of people of color, inevitably, gave birth to white privilege.

 

So, What Is White Privilege?

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.

This defensiveness derails the conversation, which means, unfortunately, that defining white privilege must often begin with defining what it’s not. Otherwise, only the choir listens; the people you actually want to reach check out. White privilege is not the suggestion that white people have never struggled. Many white people do not enjoy the privileges that come with relative affluence, such as food security. Many do not experience the privileges that come with access, such as nearby hospitals.

And white privilege is not the assumption that everything a white person has accomplished is unearned; most white people who have reached a high level of success worked extremely hard to get there. Instead, white privilege should be viewed as a built-in advantage, separate from one’s level of income or effort.

Francis E. Kendall, author of Diversity in the Classroom and Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Racecomes close to giving us an encompassing definition: “having greater access to power and resources than people of color [in the same situation] do.” But in order to grasp what this means, it’s also important to consider how the definition of white privilege has changed over time.

 

White Privilege Through the Years

In a thorough article, education researcher Jacob Bennett tracked the history of the term. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “white privilege” was less commonly used but generally referred to legal and systemic advantages given to white people by the United States, such as citizenship, the right to vote or the right to buy a house in the neighborhood of their choice.

It was only after discrimination persisted for years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that people like Peggy McIntosh began to view white privilege as being more psychological—a subconscious prejudice perpetuated by white people’s lack of awareness that they held this power. White privilege could be found in day-to-day transactions and in white people’s ability to move through the professional and personal worlds with relative ease.

But some people of color continued to insist that an element of white privilege included the aftereffects of conscious choices. For example, if white business leaders didn’t hire many people of color, white people had more economic opportunities. Having the ability to maintain that power dynamic, in itself, was a white privilege, and it endures. Legislative bodies, corporate leaders and educators are still disproportionately white and often make conscious choices (laws, hiring practices, discipline procedures) that keep this cycle on repeat.

The more complicated truth: White privilege is both unconsciously enjoyed and consciously perpetuated. It is both on the surface and deeply embedded into American life. It is a weightless knapsack—and a weapon.

It depends on who’s carrying it.

 

White Privilege as the “Power of Normal”

Sometimes the examples used to make white privilege visible to those who have it are also the examples least damaging to people who lack it. But that does not mean these examples do not matter or that they do no damage at all.

These subtle versions of white privilege are often used as a comfortable, easy entry point for people who might push back against the concept. That is why they remain so popular. These are simple, everyday things, conveniences white people aren’t forced to think about.

These often-used examples include:

  • The first-aid kit having “flesh-colored” Band-Aids that only match the skin tone of white people.
  • The products white people need for their hair being in the aisle labeled “hair care” rather than in a smaller, separate section of “ethnic hair products.”
  • The grocery store stocking a variety of food options that reflect the cultural traditions of most white people.

But the root of these problems is often ignored. These types of examples can be dismissed by white people who might say, “My hair is curly and requires special product,” or “My family is from Poland, and it’s hard to find traditional Polish food at the grocery store.”

This may be true. But the reason even these simple white privileges need to be recognized is that the damage goes beyond the inconvenience of shopping for goods and services. These privileges are symbolic of what we might call “the power of normal.” If public spaces and goods seem catered to one race and segregate the needs of people of other races into special sections, that indicates something beneath the surface.

White people become more likely to move through the world with an expectation that their needs be readily met. People of color move through the world knowing their needs are on the margins. Recognizing this means recognizing where gaps exist.

 

White Privilege as the “Power of the Benefit of the Doubt”

The “power of normal” goes beyond the local CVS. White people are also more likely to see positive portrayals of people who look like them on the news, on TV shows and in movies. They are more likely to be treated as individuals, rather than as representatives of (or exceptions to) a stereotyped racial identity. In other words, they are more often humanized and granted the benefit of the doubt. They are more likely to receive compassion, to be granted individual potential, to survive mistakes.

This has negative effects for people of color, who, without this privilege, face the consequences of racial profiling, stereotypes and lack of compassion for their struggles.

In these scenarios, white privilege includes the facts that:

  • White people are less likely to be followed, interrogated or searched by law enforcement because they look “suspicious.”
  •  White people’s skin tone will not be a reason people hesitate to trust their credit or financial responsibility.
  •  If white people are accused of a crime, they are less likely to be presumed guilty, less likely to be sentenced to death and more likely to be portrayed in a fair, nuanced manner by media outlets (see the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign).
  •  The personal faults or missteps of white people will likely not be used to later deny opportunities or compassion to people who share their racial identity.

This privilege is invisible to many white people because it seems reasonable that a person should be extended compassion as they move through the world. It seems logical that a person should have the chance to prove themselves individually before they are judged. It’s supposedly an American ideal.

But it’s a privilege often not granted to people of color—with dire consequences.

For example, programs like New York City’s now-abandoned “Stop and Frisk” policy target a disproportionate number of black and Latinx people. People of color are more likely to be arrested for drug offenses despite using at a similar rate to white people. Some people do not survive these stereotypes. In 2017, people of color who were unarmed and not attacking anyone were more likely to be killed by police.

Those who survive instances of racial profiling—be they subtle or violent—do not escape unaffected. They often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and this trauma in turn affects their friends, families and immediate communities, who are exposed to their own vulnerability as a result.

study conducted in Australia (which has its own hard history of subjugating black and Indigenous people) perfectly illustrates how white privilege can manifest in day-to-day interactions—daily reminders that one is not worthy of the same benefit of the doubt given to another. In the experiment, people of different racial and ethnic identities tried to board public buses, telling the driver they didn’t have enough money to pay for the ride. Researchers documented more than 1,500 attempts. The results: 72 percent of white people were allowed to stay on the bus. Only 36 percent of black people were extended the same kindness.

Just as people of color did nothing to deserve this unequal treatment, white people did not “earn” disproportionate access to compassion and fairness. They receive it as the byproduct of systemic racism and bias.

And even if they are not aware of it in their daily lives as they walk along the streets, this privilege is the result of conscious choices made long ago and choices still being made today.

 

White Privilege as the “Power of Accumulated Power”

Perhaps the most important lesson about white privilege is the one that’s taught the least.

The “power of normal” and the “power of the benefit of the doubt” are not just subconscious byproducts of past discrimination. They are the purposeful results of racism—an ouroboros of sorts—that allow for the constant re-creation of inequality.

These powers would not exist if systemic racism hadn’t come first. And systemic racism cannot endure unless those powers still hold sway.

You can imagine it as something of a whiteness water cycle, wherein racism is the rain. That rain populates the earth, giving some areas more access to life and resources than others. The evaporation is white privilege—an invisible phenomenon that is both a result of the rain and the reason it keeps going.

McIntosh asked herself an important question that inspired her famous essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”: “On a daily basis, what do I have that I didn’t earn?” Our work should include asking the two looming follow-up questions: Who built that system? Who keeps it going?

The answers to those questions could fill several books. But they produce examples of white privilege that you won’t find in many broad explainer pieces.

For example, the ability to accumulate wealth has long been a white privilege—a privilege created by overt, systemic racism in both the public and private sectors. In 2014, the Pew Research Center released a report that revealed the median net worth of a white household was $141,900; for black and Hispanic households, that dropped to $11,000 and $13,700, respectively. The gap is huge, and the great “equalizers” don’t narrow it. Research from Brandeis University and Demos found that the racial wealth gap is not closed when people of color attend college (the median white person who went to college has 7.2 times more wealth than the median black person who went to college, and 3.9 times more than the median Latino person who went to college). Nor do they close the gap when they work full time, or when they spend less and save more.

The gap, instead, relies largely on inheritance—wealth passed from one generation to the next. And that wealth often comes in the form of inherited homes with value. When white families are able to accumulate wealth because of their earning power or home value, they are more likely to support their children into early adulthood, helping with expenses such as college education, first cars and first homes. The cycle continues.

This is a privilege denied to many families of color, a denial that started with the work of public leaders and property managers. After World War II, when the G.I. Bill provided white veterans with “a magic carpet to the middle class,” racist zoning laws segregated towns and cities with sizeable populations of people of color—from Baltimore to Birmingham, from New York to St. Louis, from Louisville to Oklahoma City, to Chicago, to Austin, and in cities beyond and in between.

These exclusionary zoning practices evolved from city ordinances to redlining by the Federal Housing Administration (which wouldn’t back loans to black people or those who lived close to black people), to more insidious techniques written into building codes. The result: People of color weren’t allowed to raise their children and invest their money in neighborhoods with “high home values.” The cycle continues today. Before the 2008 crash, people of color were disproportionately targeted for subprime mortgages. And neighborhood diversity continues to correlate with low property values across the United States. According to the Century Foundation, one-fourth of black Americans living in poverty live in high-poverty neighborhoods; only 1 in 13 impoverished white Americans lives in a high-poverty neighborhood.

The inequities compound. To this day, more than 80 percent of poor black students attend a high-poverty school, where suspension rates are often higher and resources often more limited. Once out of school, obstacles remain. Economic forgiveness and trust still has racial divides. In a University of Wisconsin study, 17 percent of white job applicants with a criminal history got a call back from an employer; only five percent of black applicants with a criminal history got call backs. And according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, black Americans are 105 percent more likely than white people to receive a high-cost mortgage, with Latino Americans 78 percent more likely. This is after controlling for variables such as credit score and debt-to-income ratios.

Why mention these issues in an article defining white privilege? Because the past and present context of wealth inequality serves as a perfect example of white privilege.

If privilege, from the Latin roots of the term, refers to laws that have an impact on individuals, then what is more effective than a history of laws that explicitly targeted racial minorities to keep them out of neighborhoods and deny them access to wealth and services?

If white privilege is “having greater access to power and resources than people of color [in the same situation] do,” then what is more exemplary than the access to wealth, the access to neighborhoods and the access to the power to segregate cities, deny loans and perpetuate these systems?

This example of white privilege also illustrates how systemic inequities trickle down to less harmful versions of white privilege. Wealth inequity contributes to the “power of the benefit of the doubt” every time a white person is given a lower mortgage rate than a person of color with the same credit credentials. Wealth inequity reinforces the “power of normal” every time businesses assume their most profitable consumer base is the white base and adjust their products accordingly.

And this example of white privilege serves an important purpose: It re-centers the power of conscious choices in the conversation about what white privilege is.

People can be ignorant about these inequities, of course. According to the Pew Research Center, only 46 percent of white people say that they benefit “a great deal” or “a fair amount” from advantages that society does not offer to black people. But conscious choices were and are made to uphold these privileges. And this goes beyond loan officers and lawmakers. Multiple surveys have shown that many white people support the idea of racial equality but are less supportive of policies that could make it more possible, such as reparations, affirmative action or law enforcement reform.

In that way, white privilege is not just the power to find what you need in a convenience store or to move through the world without your race defining your interactions. It’s not just the subconscious comfort of seeing a world that serves you as normal. It’s also the power to remain silent in the face of racial inequity. It’s the power to weigh the need for protest or confrontation against the discomfort or inconvenience of speaking up. It’s getting to choose when and where you want to take a stand. It’s knowing that you and your humanity are safe.

And what a privilege that is.

Collins is the senior writer for Teaching Tolerance.

(Original Article posted here: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2018/what-is-white-privilege-really)

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13 Comments
  1. Jane,
    Thank you so much for sharing this amazing piece of writing. This puts it all right out there and explains things perfectly. I will be sharing this and printing copies to hand out as well.
    It’s hard to believe we are in the year 2020 and dealing with such issues, still. Change has to happen now and we can all make this happen by coming together and doing the needed work. It’s never too late, but it sure is extremely over due.
    Thank you for continuing the good fight and being a true leader!
    With Love & Gratitude,
    Kara

    • Kara, I think it is important to see differing perspectives and opinions on this subject especially because I find it very interesting how the MSM (mainstream media) is defining what has happened from the same perspective that hasn’t resulted in “change” for decades… Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. There are some interesting opinions from other Americans who are not receiving the attention they should. In fact, something is happening behind the scenes that is very disconcerting; for example I know for a fact that yesterday I watched the opinion from another person’s (who is Black) on Youtube and 30 million people had watched it… Then later 70 million had watched it and now Youtube’s count is 3 million or so. I believe healthy views on any given situation are formed from educating yourself from all sides of the story to formulate an educated opinion. For a different perspective, try watching “Candace Owens: “I DO NOT support George Floyd!” & Here’s Why! | Durtty Daily” on Youtube. She presents some intelligent ideas and facts and I am interested in learning what you think after you watch it. Everyone’s voice is important, including yours.

  2. Jane, we Mexicans realized the change in people, some people heard in a restaurant to some friends speak Spanish and told them to return to their country, our countries are related, we are neighbors, remittances help our country a lot and we go there for vacations and spend money, in my case since Trump has been president I have only gone once and only to take a ship because I had no other option, my intention was not to return while he is president, I believe that having so many places it is not necessary go if they treat you badly, through you I have realized that there are many people who think differently and I wanted to go to meet you now with the Covid-19 everything has changed, I will have to wait when you return to do public events.

  3. How about crowdfunding a very expensive and largely symbolic measure to approach Alexandria Ocasio Cortez about introducing a bill on the House floor, named for “George Floyd”, to rename The “White” House to The “People’s” House?

    This would send a strong message to the world that “We the People” are still here and want to be heard, no matter the misguided messages of and actions being taken by our leadership.

    At the same time this could be the cause needed by the American populous that we can all get behind as a unifying statement to our Governing class without having to hang our heads tomorrow.

    If we give it all we’ve got and the bill actually sees the light of day, perhaps all of our minority Americans and the third world can see that the hatred they have suffered may not be resident in all of our hearts and that the sun is about to rise on a new day that has been far to long coming.

    Talk it up and share with everyone you know.

    Destiny is upon us and the World and every American needs a plan that works to get us ALL back to the table and start to heal our country for the generations to come!

    (AOC) NY 14th. District Office
    7409 37th. Ave.
    Jackson Heights
    New York, NY 11372-6300
    718-662-5970

    (AOC) Washington D.C.Office
    202-225-3965

    This could actually pass in the House, and if there was enough global press talking it up before it made it to the Senate, the members would be hard pressed to deny a bill to call it “The Peoples House”, and once and for all remove any confusion around the context associated with the word “White” in its present name.

    While this would cost tens of millions of dollars to implement, if passed, and would seemingly serve no practical purpose, “We The People” could surely crowdfund this cause and may possibly kickstart the healing as a result!

    We won’t get many more chances to right this wrong and the fate of our democracy hangs in the balance!

    Looking forward to seeing you ALL at the table with your shirt sleeves rolled up!

    We have a lot of work ahead.

  4. Hello Jane, I live in Northern NSW, Australia. This is a beautiful region. At Bingara there is a special and unique place of reflection and reconciliation. Myall Creek saw a massacre of 28 indigenous people in 1838 but what takes it different from other killings was that the white perpetrators were charged and brought to justice. This year Friends of Myall Creek commemorates 20 years of holding an annual ceremony whereby all people come together and reflect upon our shared history. This year we couldn’t hold an onsite ceremony. This is the link to our virtual ceremony
    http://myallcreek.org/
    Please watch this and discover a positive place in the world where #blacklivesdomatter.
    Sincerely
    Carmen

  5. Thank you for this powerful post. I am trying to educate myself. I’ve shared your link with a few family members and I think it’s something that should be taught at all educational levels and of course as part of any business manual for Human Resources etc. I have always thought of myself as a loving open minded and liberal minded individual. This changes my whole perspective on my entire life. It really brought tears to my eyes,( as if there haven’t been enough in the current state of our country and world). I could go on, but it’s not needed. I just want to thank you for sharing this.
    Erin

  6. I know this is an off-the-wall question but I have a dress that you wore in a movie and I cannot find what movie is from it’s a Warner Brothers movie has your name in it production number but I cannot for the life of me figure out which movie it came from. Can I please send you pictures of the dress so you can tell me if you recognize it I would greatly appreciate it thank you. I’m wanting to frame it and put it in my movie room

    • I know of no other way to get in contact with you thank you Miss Fonda!

    • Heath, send the photo to PO Box 10927, Beverly Hills, CA 90209

  7. The dress came from a store that used to be in Santa Monica called “star Wares” it was a store that I’m sure you are probably aware of that is no longer there and it used to sell memorabilia and apparel

  8. Thanks Jane for your enlightening blog. Big fan of yours. As a child of the South and lower middle class background, I can agree and disagree with some of your views. First, the reason for speciality ethnic items being off to another area in the store has to do with the items used by everyone should be prominently displayed. It has nothing to do with race—but everything to do with marketing. Black and Hispanics have been a minority in this country—and were still recognized with their own array of specialty products all together for convenience—but majority items are displayed to attract everyone.

    Second, I have a had a few encounters that were racially unfortunate in my “white privileged” life. I was bullied by blacks in high school gym class—not a natural athlete I guess. And striving for a job with the government, I had to take a test—which I did “great”—but not great enough to get a job I was qualified for. After many attempts, I did get the job only to find black and Hispanics before me had 20 to 10 points added to their score.

    During my employment, I attended many seminars on EEOC and race relations. One seminar, one coworker poured out her heart about the racism that had traversed throughout her family. It left everyone speechless. Which brings me to my final point, Racism is learned. It comes through families—and although no one might be outright bigoted or hateful—it still is picked up through the little innuendos of family life.

    All of this did not affect me negatively. I still have and have had a great many black and Hispanics friends l love dearly and feel the same about me.

    • Racism is learned, for sure. Remember the Rogers and Hammerstein song, “You’ve got to be Taught” (to hate and fear…)

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