Discussion Journal #4

Over the last week (Sep 23- Sep 27) among the many topics covered was the topic if white privilege. Now, stay with my because I know many of you are thinking that same thing I was when we first started this topic which is, what are you talking about white privilege.  Firstly what is privilege? Well if you look at dictionary.com it is defined as “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most”.  Knowing this and how I felt prior to this week’s readings and lectures, had I been asked to list off my privileges I might have said having both my parents, playing multiple sports growing up, and growing up in the US. However, I would have never listed my race as a privilege I had never thought about the benefits that come with my inherited white skin. These privileges were only pointed out as I read White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack an article written by Peggy McIntosh.  In her article she talks about the many privileges that she has as a white woman. Also about how society almost makes a point of ensuring that those who hold the privileges of being white don’t recognize them as privileges but merely as the way things are.

So what types of privilege come with my white race, I have never been looked down on because of the color of my skin, people are more likely to trust me, all of my teachers in grade school were the same skin color as me and so I had many same race role models. I have also never been looked at as an outsider, never been told to go back to “my land/country”.  While discussing white privilege Peggy McIntosh lists 26 different privileges she has because of her race. She mentions flesh colored Band-Aids, the accessibility of dolls that resemble her race, and also that the color of her skin does not make people question her financial stability. All of the above also apply to me and to every other person who has been born part of the Caucasian race. Whether we realize it or not we are granted the rights and benefits of the white race, and immune to the stereotypical assumptions that come with other ethnic races.

Now I know I didn’t ask for these privileges, and neither did anyone else. None the less we were born with them, and so they are given to us, and it is what we do with this knowledge that is up to us. Our teacher this week played for us a rap by the artist Macklemore titled White Privilege, in this rap he mentions how the white culture takes over things originally started by other races and how he as a white artist gets away with more than a black artist would with lines like “I speak freely when I write this if a black emcee examined race there goes half of his fan base”. Lyrics like this refer to the fact that he as a white rapper can question a whites place in the rap community, but if a black artist asked the same question or pointed the same fingers there would be a more hostile reaction. It is in situations like that that we can use our white privilege to benefit those who are not receiving these privileges.

So as I am a member of the white race having acknowledged my privileges, and what comes with those privileges. In the future I want to remind those around me that when we fight for equality it should not be just for equality with in a position or with in a company but equality across the races. Hopefully helping others become aware of the privileges they have and the ways they benefit from those privileges.  From that point it all falls down to a choice that everyone must make for themselves.  They can silently acknowledge the privileges we have and do nothing to make it right, or they can use their new found awareness to fight for the rights of those who were not born with such privileges.