Category: White Privilege

Introduction

White Privilege is a systematic advance of white individuals in society, with work and social as well as cultural situations. White Privilege is an issue that isn’t talked about because it isn’t felt by the minority in society who happen to be the most powerful and richest population in society. 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, the white privilege should be viewed as a built-in advantage, separate from one’s level of income or effort (Collins, 2018). I will be looking at white privilege but as well as in the context of school life and how I myself see the social injustice of White Privilege.

Define the Topic

What is White Privilege? White Privilege is an advantage or a head start of opportunities and situations which people of colour do not have. Francis E. Kendall, author of Diversity in the Classroom and Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race, makes a solid definition for this term White Privilege, ‘having greater access to power and resources that people of colour [in the same situation] do.’ (Kendall, 2012) White privilege is considered a social injustice it promotes unfairness amongst society as it discriminates against non-whites and gives a power of sorts to white individuals in society. In the words of Cory Collins, White privilege is most notably a concept that has fallen victim to its own connotations. The two-word term packs a double whammy that inspires pushback. The word white creates discomfort among those who are not used to being defined or described by their race. And 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. (Collins, 2018)

How are people affected?

White Privilege affects people in their school environments as well as social environments. In schools it affects people because it is hidden, white privilege in schools is almost unspoken of and people choose to dismiss the issue even though it elevates one group in the school above others. In many cases where both white and non-white individuals do the same amount of hard work or use the same set of skills, we see the creation of more opportunities for white individuals giving them access to more connections and evidently being given a head start making the playing fields uneven.

We see the effects of white privilege with the discrimination of hair amongst schools. We see the school code of conduct being bias and not diverse, a clear example of this would be Pretoria High School for Girls where black girls “protested a clause in the school’s code of conduct that banned wide cornrows, braids and dreadlocks.” (Greenblatt, 2016). The minister of arts and culture, Nathi Mthethwa said that ‘Schools should not be used as a platform to discourage students from embracing their African identity,’ if the roles are reversed, we see that white students do not experience the same tedious process of having to fight for the discrimination of their hair.

We also see the effects of white privilege in social settings, with educational and job opportunities being largely more open to white children than non-white children, nearly 25 years after democracy.

We see white privilege with the justice system where we see mostly black people being imprisoned in larger numbers by the justice system and we see only a handful of white individuals being done the same as their black counterparts and that is because of the privilege they carry with the colour of their skin. In 2017 a study showed that 8.76% of black American citizens who were unarmed were killed by police and only 5.69% were white (Beer, 2018)

Another example of white privilege and its effect socially is in the social media and media industry, where we see mostly white models and actresses on our television screens, magazines, billboards and runways and we fewer people of colour. Statistics show that in 2016, white actors made up 77.5% and black actors only made up 14.9%. (Bureau, 2016).

What is being done to solve the problem?

There is currently very little being done about white privilege in society and that is because many people are oblivious to the issue. There are no organisations that have openly spoken about the issue of white privilege, however, there are individuals such as Ryan Coogler who is the director of the famous all-black cast of Black Panther which was released after many years of white representation and nominees in Hollywood. Black Panther celebrates the indigenous African roots which some people neglect or are not highlighted in mainstream Hollywood films. (Lee, 2018)

A campaign was started in 2016 in Hollywood with the hashtag, “#OscarsSoWhite” which was a way to promote racial diversity within Hollywood and to have more African American representation. The research was conducted showing that African Americans represented 13.6% of characters in major film projects whereas 70.8% were white characters. (The University of Southern California, 2018)

What could you possibly do to help the situation?

As a student I sometimes feel I do not have the same power as celebrities or public figures or even people who are older than me to make my voice heard about situations that concern me, however, that is incorrect because just like celebrities I have my own influence. Indeed, exploring the notion of white privilege, supported by insights from a compelling white privilege essay example and various sources, has significantly molded my perspective. I would take the following actions:

• I would make people aware of White privilege because I feel not enough people understand the concept of this social injustice, thus meaning people who feel the effects of white privilege to speak up and highlight the issues they are experiencing.
• I would make white and non-white individuals recognise privilege because some people choose to turn a blind eye on this situation and others do not even recognise that it exists either because they are the privileged ones, or they have made it normality in their lives.
• I would encourage white individuals to educate themselves on the battles which their non-white counterparts experience on a daily basis, to take a step back and understand why the natural hair of a black woman is important to her and what it represents for her, to try to understand that White privilege will never stop if those who are privileged do not recognise that there is something unfair about the system.

Personal Reflection

My thoughts on the topic of White privilege are that I experience it almost daily in my life and I believe it is an issue that needs to be discussed and needs to be brought to light. I feel as if not many people are educated enough about white privilege and even if they are society has turned a blind eye to it. I chose this social injustice because:

• I relate to it and I understand it more because I have experienced it,
• I feel as if it isn’t spoken about enough in our society by both black and white and I feel as if I must educate people from my view of white privilege.
• I have been personally affected by white privilege with the discrimination of my hair – I have always been told that my hair is untidy, needs to be tamed or that my hair is too brown, and I should dye it black even though my natural hair colour is brown.
• Even though I am told to tame my naturally brown hair my white counterparts are let off the hook with their brunette hair and blonde highlights or their long hair in their faces.

I am affected by white privilege because being a black girl I must work ten times harder than my white counterparts for the same job or position at a school, in society I must work ten times harder to prove that I as a black girl can do the same as my white counterparts. I may be a privileged black girl at a private school but there will always be a white girl from the same private school who is automatically more privileged than me all because of the pigmentation of her skin.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that White Privilege is an unspoken social injustice which despite it being unspoken still gives advantages and a head starts to white individuals which aren’t given to non-white individuals in the same society and environments. However white privilege can be abolished if it is spoken about if it is recognised in the world and non-white individuals educate their fellow white peers about their culture and make them see that white privilege does exist and it will exist for a long time if it isn’t tamed. If people are not aware of their effect on others, the pain and humiliation they cause, the deep scars of our past and their unconscious biases, they are likely to continue to act in the same ways.

Schools, organisations and institutions will suffer irreparable reputation harm because of actions caused by White Privilege, the following examples come to mind:

• Pretoria Girls’ High School students were discouraged from having hairstyles such as Afros, dreadlocks and braids. They also claim they are banned from speaking their mother tongue among other things as the code of conduct does not allow it. (Pather, 2016)
• Northcliff High used concession cards or permission slips to allow Muslim students to wear a religious headscarf with their school uniform. (The Daily Vox, 2017)
• Durban Girls’ High School was taken to court for refusing a Hindu student from having a small gold stud in her nose, which is regarded as part of a Hindu coming-of-age tradition. (TMG Editor, 2014)
• Sans Souci Girls’ High came under fire for alleged discriminatory policies regarding, amongst others, hairstyles and the use of indigenous languages at the English single-medium public school. (Petersen, 2019)

In these and many other instances, the teachers, governing body and many students in these schools did not see anything wrong, but the pupils who suffered under these conditions raised the alarm. They could not see any of these injustices because of the White Privilege lens through which they view things. I hope that the discussion of this topic will open societies eyes to its future, where all will feel that their culture, language, traditions, religion and identity is not only protected and recognized but truly celebrated.

References

1. Beer, T., 2018. The Society Pages. [Online] Available at: https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/ [Accessed 13 February 2019].
2. Bureau, C., 2016. Data USA. [Online] Available at: https://datausa.io/profile/soc/272011/ [Accessed 13 February 2019].
3. Collins, C., 2018. Teaching Tolerance. [Online] Available at: 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 a [Accessed 14 February 2019].
4. Greenblatt, A., 2016. NPR. [Online] Available at: protested a clause in the school’s code of conduct that banned wide cornrows, braids and dreadlocks. [Accessed 12 February 2019].
5. Kendall, F. E., 2012. Diversity in the Classroom and Understanding White Privilege. In: Routledge, ed. Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race. s.l.:s.n.
6. Lee, N. T., 2018. Bookings. [Online] Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/02/26/black-panther-lessons-in-hollywood-diversity-and-black-pride/ [Accessed 14 February 2019].
7. Pather, R., 2016. Mail & Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2016-08-29-pretoria-girls-high-school-pupil-i-was-instructed-to-fix-myself-as-if-i-was-broken [Accessed 13 Febraury 2019].
8. Petersen, T., 2019. News24. [Online] Available at: https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/sans-souci-saga-school-dept-picking-teachers-side-slapped-pupils-lawyers-charge-20190222 [Accessed 23 February 2019].
9. The Daily Vox, 2017. Mail & Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-06-05-northcliff-high-concession-cards-likened-to-apartheid-dompas [Accessed 15 February 2019].
10. The University of Southern California, 2018. Bookings. [Online] Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/02/26/black-panther-lessons-in-hollywood-diversity-and-black-pride/ [Accessed 14 February 2019].
11. TMG Editor, 2014. Herald LIVE. [Online] Available at: https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2014-08-15-durban-girl-won-nose-stud-battle/ [Accessed 15 February 2019].

Privilege is the “special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to one person or group of people”. Privilege has narratives that caused struggles in history because of the rules of society. This means classification of people becomes obtained by certain kinds individuals and they become influenced by the constructed norm. Once you become aware of privilege, it becomes difficult to eliminate.

In ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’ by Martin Luther King Jr., addresses privilege throughout his speech and says “privileged groups” have hardly ever let up their privileges voluntarily throughout history. The oppressing group (Negros) do not give up the small amount of privilege they hold without pressure, and individuals might change, King says, but groups tend to bend a lot more. The White people do not suffer discrimination and cry, “Wait,” which the Negros have come to understand means “Never” or no. The white people in power decide on direct action for change to come about at the worst possible times. Martin Luther King Jr. insists that the Negros have already waited “over 340 years” for their “constitutional and God-given rights”. Martin then describes how other countries move towards a more diverse country while Negros in the US continue to undergo pain under segregationists who push that they “Wait”.

There’s no doubt that race has played a major part in the word privilege. For centuries Whites have had the advantage of not having to worry about leaving a place because of their skin tone. Unfortunately Negros did not have that luxury, during the 1900s a lot of policies and laws became about because Negros decided to fight back. One of the policies issued the name was “separate but equal” which instates that whites and Negros be separated at all times but share equal rights. This doctrine “ensured” that all races would be treated equally, however this did not agree with the US Constitution’s 14th amendment. Privilege plays a part in this issue because it allowed the white people to hold all the power in making the doctrine. Even though it meant to allow racial segregation, it practically did the opposite because all facilities and building became separated from the whites and maintained poorly because the doctrine did not discuss the quality of the buildings. The buildings were poorly maintained, and the Negros became embarrassed because they still could not use the same bathroom as the White people.

In summary, the white privilege and racism only grew and became more powerful with time. The white race defines mainstream American culture and is seen as superior/better. Minority and oppressed groups, such as Negros created intersection within each other. White people who hold a position of minority groups still hold a significant amount of privilege over their counterparts who remain people of color, whose culture is too often seen as inferior and abnormal. Despite the color of our skin, the people of the US should not try to take from each other, but help each other to end the advantages of privilege.

Whiteness has, until recently, been an issue which has laid dormant in my mind for almost my entire life. And when one considers all the times I didn’t have to think about it, for example when I was not arrested for public intoxication, having a party at my house, or driving with loud music, this fact makes more sense. I, like the majority of Caucasian people in society, do not have to live with eyes in the back of our heads like so many of our ethnic counterparts must do. When I walk through a public space and there is an attack, I know I will be one of the last to be pulled over for questioning, provided I am questioned at all. I also know that If I were to ever commit a crime worthy of making the night’s news, it would be me and me alone who would be judged, and there would likely be no reference to the race I form a part of. These experiences, which from observation seem to only apply to myself and members of my skin colour, all stem from the phenomenon known as white privilege. The idea that, because and only because of the colour of my skin, I am seen as less of a threat, a worry, or a concern, than others. Whilst there are countless examples of white privilege to choose from, one example shines brighter than the rest. Earlier this year, a white extremist terrorist named Brenton Tarrant approached and opened fire on two separate mosques situated in New Zealand. By the end, 51 people of Islamic faith had lost their lives, and 49 were gravely injured. The media was naturally quick to cover the event, but the headlines that came out were horrendous. Headers reading “Angelic boy who grew into an evil far-right supremacist” and background sentences describing him as an “angelic boy who former associates revealed was a likeable and dedicated personal trainer running free athletic programmes for kids”. To put this into perspective, the same news outlet described the Muslim man responsible for the mass shooting in Orlando’s ‘Pulse’ Nightclub, who was responsible for the death of 49, as an “ISIS Maniac”. This example brings to attention a number of things; firstly, it clearly shows white privilege in possibly one of its most extreme levels. But on a deeper analysis of the events, their media portrayal, and other events such as these, some common actions start to emerge. It becomes increasingly apparent that whenever the terrorist is of an ethnicity different to Caucasian, the terrorist label is immediately applied without a second thought, and is received well by the public. However when the accused happens to be Caucasian, the writers are quick to think of other ways around the use of the word, and in some cases not even use it at all, as was evident in the example used earlier.

It is not until one looks further into the issue of supremacy, that one can start to really understand what possessing white privilege means. A conversation had between myself and Isaac Silbert, an old school friend of Jewish decent, comes to mind. Being Caucasian as well, he was sometimes told to “check his privilege” by members of different races during day to day interactions. He told me that this re-occurring comment angered him immensely, as although he was not fully responsible for his family’s success, nor was he forced to make the sacrifices or losses made by his earlier relatives, some of which lived in the times of Nazi Germany, he still hated people making the comment, as he believed it was prefaced under the assumption that his and his families lives had always been easy, and that they never came from far more humble beginnings. At the time I agreed; Isaac used fair reasoning to justify his desire to be addressed as an individual, rather than as a member of the racial group he formed part of within society. Similarly, a study conducted by (Milkman, K, L. Akinola, M. Chugh, D. 2015) concluded that university professors were less likely to respond to an email requesting help sent by an ethnic student or female, then they were to respond to a Caucasian one. This particular study gained more attention after Richard Barton, one of the professors who received the hoax email, fired back at the trio of researchers, providing several reasons why he specifically did not reply to his email. Throughout his response, he drew on reasons such as having a busier work load due to the time of the year, he received the email, as well as a list of other factors. Barton’s main conclusion was that his decision was finalised purely from academia related reasoning, and that there was no possible way his decisions could be attributed to any personal beliefs he may have carried. Both Isaac and Barton wished for nothing more than to be seen as their own entities, as opposed to automatically being classed under a group or title. Isaac made the point that his privilege in no way defined his story, whilst Barton stated there were many reasons why he didn’t reply, with some of which having no relation to prejudice or favoritism. Yet the desire both Silbert and Barton share to be seen as an individual, is one which mirrors desires members of indigenous, ethnic, and most minority groups have been rallying for since the start of discrimination. It would seem from this, that even I, a ‘privileged’ individual, am subject to being put into a box just like everybody else, right? Wrong. In writing this paper, I have realised that not only does having white privilege bless one with what Peggy McIntosh would describe as the ‘invisible knapsack’ of perks and gains exclusively available to Caucasians, but also with the power to decide how other people are seen and addressed.

If nothing else, this proves that being white is inherently an easier task in today’s world then it is to be any other colour.

And although I fully acknowledge just how intrinsically wrong this fact is, and how unfair and unjust the world can be to someone based off the colour of their skin, if I had divine power, I cannot say with perfect honesty that I as a member of the Caucasian race, would make the changes to the world that have been so necessary and overdue for the time they have been.

References

1. Milkman, K, L. Akinola, M. Chugh, D. (2015) What Happens Before? A Field Experiment Exploring How Pay and Representation Differentially Shape Bias on the Pathway into Organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, Forthcoming. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2063742 . Pages 1-6.

This white privilege essay is about the main point of view that McIntosh discusses in her work, focusing on white privilege. “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group”, this is one of Peggy McIntosh famous quotes in her article ‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’. There the main point of view that McIntosh talks about in her is the daily effects of white privilege that happens in her life. As to what Peggy thinks “in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined”. As African Americans Peggy for sure stated that they cannot count on most of these conditions.

Time after time this nation gives obliviousness a chance to be a substitute for prejudice. Many trusts that if it isn’t conspicuous prejudice, at that point what they are doing is alright. The article demonstrates that by switching the term, there is confirmation that bigotry is still existent in this world. By investigating a class divided and white privilege their capacity to widen the social skill, one can perceive how race is still unmistakable in our way of life. A white individual in the United States has on his or her back an imperceptible weightless backpack conceding favored positions, status, acknowledgment, and then some.

McIntosh trusts that Caucasians hold control over minorities, and that white individual can’t or reluctant to see or concede their situation of favorable position. She proceeds to list twenty-six situations from her very own life that she accepts are instances of her benefit as a white individual. In her view, white individuals must utilize their ‘unmerited power’ to debilitate the social development that keeps ethnic minorities mistreated by the arrangement of white favorable position. Coincidentally, she additionally trusts precisely the same concealed power structure exists to oppress lady to men. Thus, the downright awful individuals, in her view, are white guys, as they covertly subdue the two non-white individuals and lady.

Presently, there is no doubt as far as I can tell that bigotry exists in this nation and any individual who says it doesn’t need their head inspected. However, what strikes me about McIntosh’s article is that she characteristics the issues of bigotry in America solely to whites, and she leaves the perused feeling that the main answer for the issue is for activity for the benefit of whites. Be that as it may, consider it. Is the extent of bigotry so wide that it is better named a trick that subtly draws in a whole race of individuals, or are supremacist acts secluded to the oblivious conduct of a couple of people?

As I would see it, it’s the last mentioned. The white benefit contention and its numerous variations are basically defective, also amazingly disruptive. One of the principal premises of McIntosh’s contention is that white individuals deny, or are unfit to see, their assignment as an advantaged class. Along these lines, ponder for a minute what she is really saying about white individuals. That is, they either deny or are unfit to perceive their status as an advantaged class.

As such, the white individuals who realize they are advantaged will deny it whenever inquired. In this way, they are for the most part beguiling – liars. On the off chance that they’re not being beguiling about it, at that point, McIntosh says that whites can’t see their advantaged position, or that they have been instructed not to remember it. Do somebody who is in a position of power and preferred standpoint not know and remember it in that capacity? To be honest, to propose that whites can’t see their leverage is to trust that whites are oblivious. It additionally states that first class scholarly dissidents (like McIntosh) are the divinely selected individuals, illuminated and equipped for seeing white prejudice since white individuals are excessively unmindful and unintelligent to see their situation of favorable position.

In this way, so, McIntosh is stating three things: white individuals realize they are advantaged, yet falsehood and state they are not advantaged when gone up against with their white bigotry, second they are excessively uninformed and shut disapproved to see their situation of predominance over individuals of different races, and third just dynamically disapproved, liberal, elitist scholastics are splendid and sufficiently edified to see white power.

As a matter of first importance, any hypothesis that puts together its contention with respect to the suspicion that a whole race of individuals are either misleading or uninformed ought to quickly be ruined as fraudulent, and most unquestionably has no spot in a talk on prejudice, particularly when you consider the presumptions natural in McIntosh’s contention are themselves, very supremacist. Saying that whites are excessively stupid or too beguiling to even consider seeing their bigot ways is appallingly supremacist and honestly profoundly hostile to a huge number of good, moral white individuals.

What might occur if somebody set forth a contention, with the basic reason being that either most lady or ethnic minorities are uninformed, or are on the whole liars? Would that individual not be abraded and for all time marked as a loathsome extremist that is no superior to a cross-consuming KKK excellent wizard? In any case, since the objective is white individuals, and the defender is a tip-top scholarly, the hypothesis is proclaimed inside the universe of the scholarly community as virtuoso! splendid! – a scholarly revelation as earth-shattering as the disclosure of E=MCsq! It’s exceptionally wrong to accept such terrible things about any gathering of individuals. The bad faith covered in the white benefit hypothesis is dazzling.

Whites are completely mindful that they have no uncommon points of interest throughout everyday life, and on the off chance that they did, most of them would let it be known and not lie about it. Why? Since white individuals need to end prejudice as much as some other gathering in the public eye. They are worn out on the bogus allegations, the continuous underestimation, the invert separation, and the troublesome talk of the ‘white benefit’ advocates. Do individuals not understand that it is so belittling to state that whites subtly persecute minorities? If all whites needed to do to end racial strains was to concede their mystery hang on power, they would do it instantly.

The reason the white benefit hypothesis has neglected to fathom anything and has been totally inadequate in facilitating racial pressures is on the grounds that its premises are false and unwarranted. Further, you can’t explain issues of bigotry by supporting more prejudice. On the off chance that we are keen on improving racial strains, individuals from all sides of the issue need to initially comprehend that accusing all whites, or all blacks, or all men, etc., just intensify and extend racial partitions.

White players are much less likely to be harassed based on race by fans. However, racially charged heckling and insults from fans are common towards non-white players. This issue is not exclusive to basketball but occurs often in the sport, such as in the case of Russell Westbrook and a fan who was insulting him.

Though Thabo Sefolosha was found not guilty of charges and came to a settlement over the NYPD’s use of force against him, the fact that the case occurred at all is an insight into the privilege of white players in terms of police interaction. Non-white players are much more likely to be unfoundedly stopped, harassed, or hurt by the police.

White players are not obliged to understand or research the history of racism in sports and basketball. As such, they may not have a fundamental grasp of why white privilege is an issue within the sport. Non-white players are unable to be ignorant of race as they often encounter issues that have racism at the source. This is how Kyle Korver describes his relationship with racism in sports before he decides to acknowledge it.

While players have the option to be uninvolved in discussions on racially charged problems or hold any accountability for themselves or others within the NBA and WNBA, as it does not directly affect them. Non-white players are unable to ignore certain issues of race as they are often directed at them, whether it is systematic or from exterior sources. An example of this includes racially-charged harassment through social media which many athletes cannot avoid aside from not using the platforms.

Non-white players are much more likely to run into systematic or administrative racism than white players. This can be seen through racially charged acts committed by figures of authority that should be completely unbiased, including judges, referees, coaches, and other administrators. Incidents such as racially charged decisions by coaches such as Phil Jackson to place white players before non-white players in important games.

Privilege is a complicated and diversified phenomenon, as it is not seen by those who are not granted it by nature. On the other hand, it is vital to people who are different from the others, so they feel the lack of a particular privilege in every sphere of their life. White privilege is a set of benefits granted to those whose skin is white. However, the volume of such benefits can vary based on appearances, sexual orientation, religious, socioeconomic, and educational background, etc. still, the primary criterion is the race. That said:

White privilege is an institutional (rather than personal) set of benefits granted to those of us who, by race, resemble the people who dominate the powerful positions [and] have greater access to power and resources than people of color do; in other words, purely on the basis of our skin color doors are open to us that are not open to other people. (Kendall, 2012, p. 62)

White privilege benefits the White in many ways. First of all, we can refer to history and the epoch of slavery in the United States. Then, there were numerous laws that made holding Blacks as slaves legal. Later, we can mention segregation of all spheres of life when the people of color were not allowed to be in one building with the Whites. For years, African Americans had no right to vote, equal pay for equal work, freedom of migration and speaking their native languages or living under the postulates of their religion. Altogether, these factors ingrained the belief that white people are better than those of color.

Today, white privilege is the foundation for prejudice, inequality, and racism. However, the race is never understood as a disadvantage. People with different ethnic rights are not limited in their freedoms, but when there is a choice between the White and the Colorful, the White almost always receives the benefits. For example, in most cases, the whites are more likely to find the job sooner or get higher wages or better grades while studying even if the level of education and skills is the same with that of the colorful person. Even if we study the history of receiving Oscar awards, the Whites receive them more often than the Blacks. Furthermore, Blacks are often prejudiced to be criminals or rude and illiterate. In general, what I want to say is that people are judged for appearances, not their hearts.

Even though white privilege exists and has a robust impact on relations between people of different races, it is ignored and, for the most part, invisible. The decision to defy it is a complex psychological and societal pattern based on a subconscious underestimation of the Blacks or simply the members of the minor social group (McIntosh, 1989). I believe that the invisibility of white privilege can be made visible in a few ways. First of all, I recommend reading the article named White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh. Even though it was written almost 30 years ago, it is still timely because the author helps understand the essence of this phenomenon and that the Whites do have benefits because of their skin color.

Another way of making white privilege visible is shifting the emphasis from combating racism and discrimination to acknowledging the existence of a white privilege, thus, make the general masses aware of this cultural phenomenon (Burnett, 2014). For example, it might be more advantageous to stress the contrast in the socio-economic environment of the Whites and the Colorful than accentuate the manifestations of racism in everyday life. I am strongly inclined to believe that if white people realize that they do have this privilege, they will change the way they treat people of color, and it will finally solve the problem of racism and discrimination.

References

Burnett, Z. (2014). A Brief History of White Privilege. Web.

Kendall, F. (2012). Understanding white privilege: Creating pathways to authentic relationships across race. London, UK: Routledge.

McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom Magazine, pp. 10-12.

The modern globalizing world is going through multiple changes. Diversity brought by merge and migration processes making the boundaries between nations, countries, cultures fade away is getting more and more intense every year. Public awareness of social diversity is also a developing phenomenon.

It is demonstrated though the reflection of social and cultural diversity and its recognition in various spheres of our life such as healthcare, politics, mass and social media, and education. It is a well known fact that cultures dwelling next to each other have to interact all the time, which sooner or later leads to various reactions such a as acceptance of the differences or confrontation and discrimination on the basis of the differences.

Contemporary society currently experiences both types of reaction to cultural and emotional diversity. People of different backgrounds demonstrate different behavioral patterns, when they find themselves facing diverse individuals. School is the first society people have to interact with.

This is why the role of the classroom carries educational and social functions, it brings knowledge of various subjects such as math, history or science, and it teaches people how to collaborate, tolerate, start friendships and resolve conflicts. Teacher plays the role of mediator and has to know how to position themselves to mediate in the most effective way.

The subject of diversity is fairly recent, and it is a fact that today there still are various cultural and ethnic communities that have limited experience of diversity. The issue of white privilege is connected to limited interactions between white people and people of color, which may be the source of ignorance, complexes and discomfort in the future for both communities.

To my mind, the phenomenon of white privilege is real, although not all white people tend to feel privileged in a diverse society. Besides, not all people of color tend to feel limited, intimidated or repressed facing ignorance from the side of white peers, although such situations are not rare and certainly need to be reduced.

White privilege appears when white people have any kind of advantages over people of other racial background, which makes them more privileged. This problem frequently occurs in diverse classrooms, where some of the students feel as “others” or minorities. Besides, this issue may also challenge the classrooms where a black teacher is working with white students or a white teacher – with black students (Ladson-Billings, 1996).

Unfortunately, not everyone has the required skills to maintain inner balance in such circumstances. Some people start feeling pressure and discomfort and under these circumstances many would prefer to stay silent instead of communicating and defending their point of view.

It is true that until recent times white people in the United States were considered to be the majority. Most mass media did not work on creating awareness of diversity in our society. In order to see proofs of that it is enough to remember the films and TV shows popular in the end of 1990s and beginning of 2000s.

A large number of them were about white people, they had white actors on the leading roles and very few to none actors of color. The public interpretations of schools and workplaces shown on TV did not reflect the reality properly. Today, this phenomenon is noticed, brought up and carefully fixed. White privilege is gradually eliminated, while proud self-identity of people of other ethnic groups is supported.

Racially inhabited silence in the classrooms where white teachers have to discuss racial issues with students of various non-white ethnicities (Mazzei, 2008).

Such classes make both students and teachers feel uncomfortable because neither of the sides usually wants to explore such sensitive subjects, because they border with conflicts and misunderstandings. This issue has to be worked on because statistically these days the majority of the American teachers are white and the majority of the students they work with are not.

Contemporary society is under a lot of pressure trying to find appropriate solutions of racial issues and conflicts. Struggling to defeat the history and habit of white privilege made some of white people feel oppressed for being white. Contemporary educators are determined to find approaches and techniques of working with diverse classrooms without neglecting anyone’s interests (Gillespie et al, 2002).

This is hard to put into practice because the researches revealed that part of the problem is that the majority of white people are cognizant of their own race. Overall, white privilege is based on the habit of considering whiteness as normality, which makes all other races seem deviant.

Profession of a teacher today is extremely challenging, because even working with homogenous classrooms an educator needs to find the right balance between challenging and inspiring their students without losing their trust or making them shut down.

Work in a diverse classroom is complicated by racial, ethnic, cultural and social differences; it requires a great deal of diplomacy and individual approach.

Reaching out to students that initially feel as “others” because they do not share ethnicity fir their teachers is not easy. White teachers need to be educated to interact with diverse students successfully, make them speak and be prepared to answer their questions however challenging they may be.

Reference List

Gillespie, D., Ashbaugh, L. & Defiore, J. (2002). White Women Teaching White Women about White Privilege, Race Cognizance and Social Action: toward a pedagogical pragmatics. Race Ethnicity and Education, 5(3), 237-253.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1996). Silences as Weapons: Challenges of a Black Professor Teaching White Students. Theory into Practice, 35(2), 79-85.

Mazzei, L. A. (2008). Silence speaks: Whiteness revealed in the absence of voice. Teaching and Teacher Education 24, 1125–1136.

Racism is a social construct that differentiates people in the society according to color and privileges. Conventionally, the blacks have no privileges while the whites have privileges in that they can access social, political and economic perquisites in the society.

Since racism is a social construct that renders the whites as privileged and the blacks as unprivileged, social, political and economic status of the whites has set precedent for the ethnic minorities to follow. The disparity that exists between the two is that, although racism is a national problem that needs attention and solution, the whites do not view it as a significant problem for they are more privileged.

According to Wise, a research done to determine whether white Americans believe that racial discrimination is a significant national problem showed that only 6% believe it to be (2008, p. 5). This shows that the whites do not see racial issues to have any significance because of their privileged status. Therefore, the white people appropriate the essence of white privilege because they do not perceive the problem of racism to have any national significance.

Given that racism is a social construct that elevates social status of the whites and degrades blacks’ social status, the whites perceive such differences as normal social process of life attributed to difference in ethnicities and races. Although there is significant decline in the formal discrimination, racial institutional practices that give privileges to the white still continue to operate in the society.

Krysan, Farley and Couper argues that, “contemporary process of discrimination are no less powerful in denying African Americans equal access to the nation’s material, symbolic, and emotional resources, but they are less obvious and observable, allowing whites the luxury of ‘plausible deniability’ and rationalization” (2008, p. 7).

Due to subtle nature of the racism in the modern society, the whites perceive it as just a social factor that differentiate people into privileged and unprivileged classes in the society. Perception of racism from economic point of view has made the whites to realize the essence of white privilege in the society.

The studies on housing patterns show that there is still racial discrimination that leads to residential segregation of the whites and blacks due to perception that the white need more privileged housing as compared to the blacks. Even though all residents have similar quality of housing and amenities, the quality of estates depends on whether the neighborhood residents are whites or blacks. Perception of the residential estates from racial perspective shows that the whites clearly understand the nature of their privileged race.

In the study to determine how the whites perceive neighborhoods shows that, “white respondents who saw a neighborhood with black residents evaluated it significantly more negatively than similar whites who saw exactly the same neighborhood but with white residents” (Krysan, Farley and Couper, 2008, p. 7). The perception of the neighborhood shows that the whites have racial bias in their evaluation of the residential estates for they perceive themselves to be more privileged than blacks.

The white privileged is not only a social issue that occurs due to material possession or power, but also a psychological factor that influences perceptions in the society.

Wise confesses that even though he was unprivileged in class, his teachers perceived him as an intelligent student “…because I was seen as a bright capable white child, while students of color who were every bit as capable as I were tracked low, while I was tracked high” (2008, p.9). Social construct of racial privileges has led to the damaging stereotype that the whites are always better than the blacks, and thus the whites have historically struggled to ensure that they retain their privileged status in the society.

References

Krysan, M., Farley, R., & Couper, M. (2008). In the Eye of the Beholder: Racial Beliefs And Residential Segregation. Du Bois Review, 5(1), 5-26.

Wise, T. (2008). The Pathology of Privilege: Racism, White Denial and the Costs of Inequality. Media Education Foundation, 1-17.

Introduction

Privilege whether it derives from gender, class or race, is an alien concept to those whom the nature granted it with. However, the ones who feel oppression based on their difference may experience it in nearly every area of their social lives. Those who are born white enjoy the so-called white privilege that is based solely on skin color (Kendall 62). The matter of white privilege is especially acute for the people of other races who experience it in every sphere of life from unskilled work to art and the most complex scientific research. This complicated psychosocial phenomenon may become a matter of interest not only to those who have ever experienced it but also to people who believe in social justice and equality of all people without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, faith, ethnicity or socioeconomic background.

History

Throughout the course of history, the issues of social interactions between the people of different races and social fairness have never been matters of concern, as the whites were considered to be a ruling class. It was even more aggravated by the historical background of the African Americans who were enslaved. Even though the slavery was abolished, people of color are subconsciously underestimated, so discrimination based on skin color is instinctively excused, as white people never think of themselves as of racists (McIntosh par. 3).

Believe it or not, white privilege still affects social interactions between people of races. It can be seen on the level of life of people of color and white people. That said, white people originating from the middle or lower classes are more likely to have access to education, public wealth, healthcare, social protection and justice, and employment in comparison to the African Americans who have the same background (Yancy and Zach par. 8).

Conclusion

This complex phenomenon was crucial in granting equal rights to people of different races that was a great breakthrough in the development of society. Even though in theory we are all equal, in practice, people of color are oppressed, however not as openly as they used to be, so understanding white privilege is of significant importance, as overcoming it is the only way to reaching genuine social justice and equality.

Annotated Bibliography

Kendall, Frances E. Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race. London, England: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Frances E. Kendall offers an in-depth study of a complex psychosocial phenomenon referred to as the white privilege. The book introduces the evolution of understanding this concept, how it changed with the march of history, and how people all over the world came to a realization that it is a social problem. The source is reliable for my purposes because the author draws attention to the role it plays in our everyday lives starting from gaining school and higher education to being guaranteed social protection and distribution of power and talent in the society based on her rich experience of work in different colleges, universities, and corporations and witnessing relations based on white privilege. Together with that, the book is useful because the author stresses that this phenomenon has become a basis for building relationships across races, derives from and is aggravated by our ignorance thus it helps understand the nature of white privilege and how it affects interactions in the society.

McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. n.d. Web.

The article of Peggy McIntosh is the fundamental work that talks about the phenomenon of white privilege and its psychological complicatedness. The author claims that it originates from the subconscious underestimation of the black people by the whites, as they remember the historical background of both races. Because the African Americans were enslaved in the past, discrimination and cruelty towards them based on race is instinctively justified.

The source is reliable for the purpose of my research because the author helps understand the origins of white privilege. What is more, it can be useful since Peggy McIntosh provides a number of examples that help make the matter of this phenomenon clearer. What is even more significant is that the author focuses on the subconscious side of the problem and stresses that if we eradicate psychological origins of discrimination from our minds, then we can deal with white privilege, and that will lead to social equality and justice.

Yancy, George and N. Zack. What ‘White Privilege’ Really Means. 2014. Web.

This source provides an interview with Naomi Zach, who is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oregon. What is more, she is the author of the book regarding race as the foundation for social equality and justification of discrimination. Reading the interview helps discover the point of view of the modern philosopher in the sphere of race. The source is reliable for the purposes of conducting the research on white privilege as it helps understand the definition of this phenomenon and its nature.

What is more, the philosopher provides situations from real life that prove that white privilege exists in a nowadays society. Together with that, the interview is useful because the examples given by Nancy Zach are from different areas of life from gaining education to healthcare, social protection, and employment. The philosopher as well draws the difference between privilege and right that may be useful for conducting even deeper study of this phenomenon and its impact on our everyday life.

The present article dwells upon the role of race and gender in the American society. The author argues that there is a privileged group in the USA. One of the major findings of the author is that everyone (contrasted to minorities) is affected by disproportions which exist in the society.

Peggy McIntosh points out that she, just like any other white individual, i.e. representative of the class of privileged, was taught to enjoy the privileges without even noticing it (79). The author draws a parallel between the privileged position and wearing a special “knapsack” which contains everything the privileged individual might need (79).

Interestingly, the author also notes that privileged people also live in terms of certain morality which presupposes that these people live “ideal” lives or at least “morally neutral” lives while trying to benefit others which is regarded as attempts to “allow” others “to be more like” those privileged individuals (McIntosh 80).

Thus, having acknowledged this disproportion the author attempts to realize what it means to be in the other camp. The author points out particular everyday situations where the disproportion is manifested.

Therefore, McIntosh concludes that in spite of the fact that the American society is regarded as democratic, it is overwhelmed with various kinds of inequality and oppression. Interestingly, the author does not simply reveal the problem. McIntosh also suggests a particular solution.

Thus, the author claims that even though she is in the class of privileged, when it comes to race, she is, at the same time, in the class of oppressed since she is a woman living in the men’s world. This enables the author to draw certain parallels and come up with a particular decision.

Thus, McIntosh claims that it is possible to diminish the disproportion when the privileged class lessens their privileges. Admittedly, the present article can help to address the problem as the first step to its solving is in-depth analysis of the roots of the problem. McIntosh manages to provide insights into the issue concerning race and gender.

It goes without saying that issues concerning equality, race and identity have been discussed throughout decades. For instance, Nakayama also pays much attention to constraints that Asian people have to endure in the American society (32). Gonzalez and Willis-Riviera also focus on ethnic identity while considering peculiarities of Hispanic people’s lives in the USA (245).

Gordon also deals with issues concerning identity when it comes to Hispanic people (261). These four works focus on similar issues, i.e. they dwell upon constraints ethnic minorities face in the American society. However, McIntosh reveals quite close ties between two types of oppression, the one based on ethnicity and the other one based on gender.

McIntosh also suggests a particular solution to the problem providing strong arguments to support her conclusions. Admittedly, these sources contribute greatly to the discourse which is analyzed in Communication Studies as these sources reveal constraints that exist in the American society.

Admittedly, to analyze the origins of these cross-cultural constraints is one of the major objectives to address for those who are involved in the field of Communication Studies.

Discussion Question

Based on McIntosh’s conclusions, do you think privileged people will be able to lessen their privileges? What can be done to make these people lessen their privileges?

Works Cited

Gonzalez, Alberto and Jennifer Willis-Rivera. “Hispanic Heritage Month: Not for Members Only.” Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. Eds. Alberto Gonzalez, Marsha Houston, and Victoria Chen. New York, NY: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2011. 243-248. Print.

Gordon, Dexter D. “Identity and Struggle in Jamaican Talk.” Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. Eds. Alberto Gonzalez, Marsha Houston, and Victoria Chen. New York, NY: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2011. 259-264. Print.

McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege and Male Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities. Eds. Joan Z. Spade and Catherine Valentine. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2004. 79-82. Print.

Nakayama, Thomas. “Dis/orienting Identities: Asian Americans, History, and Intercultural Communication.” Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication. Eds. Alberto Gonzalez, Marsha Houston, and Victoria Chen. New York, NY: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2011. 31-36. Print.