In her classic paper “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack”, Peggy McIntosh points out that “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege.” She says, as a result, whites grow up unaware of with the basic privileges in North American society that come to them with their skin color. This privilege is invisible to whites, but glaringly evident to people of color. McIntosh goes on to offer 50 examples of privileges granted to whites, not granted to people of color. Furthermore, as she points out, with this privilege comes the power to set the intellectual, emotional and social agenda in any given setting.
In the last few years, I have sought to be more consciously aware of the privilege granted to me by society as a white, educated, middle class male. This awareness has caused me to experience myself in some discomforting ways. Recently, there was one situation, where my tendency toward privilege snuck up on me and I did not see it coming.
Recently, I have been participating in an interracial group exploring the topic, “Bridging the Gaps of Race and Class.” At our initial meeting, the organizers of the group indicated that they assumed that all the participants “had passed Racism 101” and understood concepts such as internalized oppression, institutional racism and white privilege. As we introduced ourselves to the group, we were invited to share a challenge we had faced in bridging the race and class gap. When my turn came, I shared that when I am new in a gathering where I am a racial minority among a group of people of color, I often get vibes of distrust from others in the group. My sense is that people are suspicious of my presence and my motives for being there as a white male.
Because I assumed in our group that everyone understood that I had “passed Racism 101,” I didn’t feel a need to explain that I understood that the distrust was part of a historical reaction to a pattern of white domination. I did not state that when I am in such settings, I accept that I must earn the respect of others. In making that statement, I was not being critical, but rather making what I considered to be an honest description of my experience. I also assumed that everyone would accept my statement at face value.
However, I was sorely mistaken. Later when the group broke into separate caucuses of white and black, I learned that some of the African-American participants as well as some of the whites, were quite upset by my comment. I in turn felt hurt and later angry about their reaction. I stewed on the incident for days. In subsequent meetings, my discomfort was magnified by one particular African-American woman who seemed very reluctant to speak with me, and at least one white person who seemed bent on setting me straight. In the subsequent weeks, as I participated by offering what I thought were valuable contributions, I have felt like I was digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole. My internal l response has been to say, “You asked a question, I gave an answer; why can’t you accept that?”
And then it hit me: this is what people of color experience on a daily basis. They think they are “playing by the rules” and then all of a sudden the rules change. As a white male I have been accustomed to making the rules of discourse and then making sure they are followed. I have been raised to assume that when I make a statement in apparent good faith, that statement is accepted at face value. I don’t assume that I will have to that there was not some hidden message or implication in what I said. Furthermore, I don’t assume that I will be regarded with suspicion once I have made my case. Finally, I don’t assume that by “being myself” I will sink into deeper and deeper sense of alienation. What I have come to realize is that in this small incident, I have experienced my white privilege in a way that doesn’t give me an easy out. More than that I have come to realize that because the rules of discourse are often skewed in my favor, I have not developed any resources to react to a persistent questioning of my integrity.
Yet this is what most, if not all, people of color face in our society. I have come to a new appreciation for the pernicious effect racism has on our identity, our assumptions, and our ability to communicate effectively. I am thankful for this group as uncomfortable as it has been, and I am thankful for colleagues and friends who are willing to be honest and set me straight. I have no illusions; I will stumble and stick my foot in my mouth again. I probably won’t even know at first that I have done so. White male privilege for all its benefits, has not prepared me to live in an increasingly multicultural society.
As I look at my children and white friends and colleagues, I think one of the major challenges we face in the next ten years is how to live in a society where we don’t have privilege. To people of color that seems like justice (and it is), but for many whites, including me, it is an uphill climb. We who are white have not been given the cognitive or emotional tools to live in a world that is not white-oriented. In some ways are friends of color can help us, but that is not their job. In most cases we need to make our own way. I am committed to keep on learning about how my white male privilege has crippled me for the world that is here and coming, and I am dedicated to sharing any insights I have had.
Thanks for sharing the experience, Drick. I wonder if,in the future, you explicitly include the background information, that will help people of color understand where your comment is coming from.
Drick, I appreciate your honesty and candor while discussing your experience. The journey towards truth often involves times of "stumbling"; however, the path towards truth is always the correct one. This is the only path that also leads to wisdom gained.
Breck A. Harris
Professor, Fresno Pacific University
You wrote of the crippling effect of white privilege for whites in changing times. To imply that "my priviledge keeps me down" is a little like saying "my education makes me ignorant."
Can I make a distinction? It may not be the historical fact of white privilege that will cripple me; instead it may be my reluctance to accept the pain of *parting* with that privilege and power that will frustrate me as US society continues to change in terms of demographics.
That might just be "semantics", but it seems important to me. Many of our neighbors with enslaved Africans as ancestors have proved in a few generations that an inheritance of historical conditions does not completely determine the extent of an individual's or a group's success. The "courage to change," may determine as much.
That said, I'm inspired by your prescience. I'm grateful that you persist within the group. That takes a commitment and courage that most of us refuse to muster. Of course it's that kind of action that limits those "crippling effects" for everyone. Bless you!
Pretty introspective… I wonder where you live however. I've found that most strites sympathetic with WP enough to actively search for it within themselves live in an area not riddled with a two-lane highway of racism. I've grown up with the feeling of hate towards me BECAUSE I am white. Many white people in the South are minorities in their communities and live in some level of fear as a result of hate. Some say turnabout is fair play, however, I can assure you my family saw no benefit of slavery or oppression. We do, however, pay the price for reparations. Why am I saying this? Because from a distance, these issues seem so simple.
The concepts you discuss about white privilege are absolutely right. Even today where we live, white privilege is all around us. When you see blacks for example, who live in impoverished neighborhoods and have lack to quality resources that people of the white race enjoy such as good quality schools, employment and other negative factors that go into living in inner-urban communities, you begin to realize how bad it is. However, society does not seem to pay attention to this as much as we should.
The questions we should be asking is why should children who are poor and living in urban minority neighborhoods receive less funding for education than any other child in America? We also need to realize that many of these children are growing up lacking the skills they need, leaving them without the ability to find quality employment just like they are growing up living with their parents. It is hard to understand how communities allow this to happen as if they don't want to improve the lives of their citizens or the development of the areas where they live.
Something also unfortunate is how jobs for unskilled people living in poor urban areas are folding up and moving to other countries and other areas of the country. Yet, we complain about rime being on the rise. When there are people with no skills who cannot find jobs, the rates of crime increase, and we face more problems in our society.
Another example of white privilege is how we still have racial stereotypes which can put people at a disadvantage, leading to discrimination and other racial prejudices. Although stereotypes have been around for a long time, many stereotypes come from the issues discussing minorities due to their economic status. It is so easy to judge people and place labels on individuals, yet nobody will tale the initiative to provide new opportunities for these people to succeed. We have gotten so caught up in the motions of life that we don't even acknowledge that racism exists along with the other problems in our country. Just watch a person of color walking into an expensive department store and observe the reactions they get!
There are two sad ironies about looking for privilege where one exists:
1) It overlooks the great racial strides that have been made in the last 40 years. That doesn't mean we have stamped out racism, but we have a black man running for president who has a very good chance of winning. If he doesn't win, it will not be because of his race. I wonder if Martin Luther King could really believe that would have happened 40 years after his last speach — RFK did say that in 40 years there would still be racism but that a Negro could be president within 40 years — he said that in 1968.
2) It fails to focus on the fact that a percentage of blacks continue to underachieve because of low expectations. They are taught that the opportunity is not there for them and that society is not on their side. Far from it, universities and businesses are bending over backwards to increae the number of minorities. Not only is no one standing in the doorway, but there are people standing at the door, saying come on in–we want you and not enough blacks are taking that opportunity — and I don't mean that blacks are sitting there refusing to simply take the opportunity — rather too many people are telling them that the limitations are external rather than something that they can control and that they probably have as good an opportunity if not better than most anyone in any society.
Clearly I can see this because as an academic, I was told, as a white male you are going to have to be that much better given how keen the competition is and the desire to hire women and minorities. That means that if you are black and accomplished doors are wide open.
That is the message that should be sent.
The trouble is with this focus on privilege that the discussion supresses the considerable evidence that groups differ in average ability.
By ignoring these factors, we risk demonising successful groups, as happened to the Armenian Jews or Jews in Germany. Also the Chinese in Mayaysia.
We know in terms of evolution, that groups exposed to different environmental pressures may develop distinct genetic traits. This is clear in athletics.
In terms of academic ability, it is quite clear that Ashkenazi Jews & East Asians, on average, outperform whites.
For example, in Brazil, it is the Japanese who are the highest-achieving group. They were brought in as indentured labourers to work the plantations after slavery was abolished in 1888. Yet, today, the Japanese outscore Whites on IQ tests. Seven studies of Jews in Britain yield a median IQ of 110. In educational achievement, East Asians in Britain also outperform the indigenous Whites. Similarly in Australia, East Asians (mostly Chinese and Vietnamese) average higher than Whites in IQ, educational achievement, and earnings. There are pockets of ethnic Chinese elsewhere in the world such as in Mexico, Argentina, and especially Hawaii, where they also do well.
These results are remarkably consistent over time, place, and situation, irrespective of the original status of the people, or the language, history, and political organization of the country concerned.
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