Argumentative Essay On White Privilege

You would probably be very disappointed if you were rejected from your dream school and a kid who scored significantly lower than you did on standardized tests got your spot. Asian Americans are treated unfairly in many elite college admissions such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. They score higher and achieve higher on average compared to other races and are forced to outperform them by a significant margin to gain acceptance into the same college. They are also fairly underrepresented at top colleges as a larger percentage of them that have the required test scores are denied spots than any other race. They are also now pitted against each other for a certain spot as they will only take a “specific” amount of Asians which causes a significant amount of stress. To truly provide fair access to education and opportunity, universities should accept people based mainly on their abilities rather than their ethnicity.

In the reading “At the Elite Colleges” by Peter Schmidt the nature of admissions in top colleges was discussed in relation to class and race status. Schmidt states that affirmative action is often serving white populations of upper middle class females rather than those in minority races and ethnicities. This was a great relevant point, especially when considering why affirmative action was proposed and enacted in the first place. Affirmative action was created to serve those who are part of groups who had been quashed in some way by oppression. This stands in stark contrast. Colleges often make excuses for these undeserved admissions because, they are looking for future donors or are aiding an athlete. However, this is still inexcusable. On

When I think about white privilege, I see it as something I must understand to truly feel a relation to my own privileges with race. “As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.” (McIntosh 1988) When comparing other privileges McIntosh sees that her life is more influenced by her skin color than class, religion, ethnic status, or geographical location. Tim Wise explains “even though there is more than one type of privilege, they can never fully eradicate white privilege.” “Understanding the persistence of privilege requires recognizing the sleight of mind that occurs on the subject of individuals as members of groups” (Wildman 2005). Early work done by African American sociologist W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963) showed that studies with white workers over time came to see themselves as white unlike the developing working class with recently freed black slaves. DuBois was one of the first people to initiate the concept of white privilege.

Shannon Sullivan wrote the book “Revealing Whiteness: The Unconscious Habits of Racial Privilege”. She does agree with McIntosh that whites do in fact receive these hidden privileges. In her book she wrote “Blithely wrapped up in a white world, white people often do not see their own ignorance and cannot be faulted for not addressing it...” (18). Sullivan explains that white people do not realize that they are receiving these certain benefits for just being white. They also can’t fix this problem until they realize that they are privileged.

Privilege is defined as “a special advantage or authority possessed by a particular person or group” in the Cambridge Dictionary. Globally, white individuals are often granted privileges than minority groups do not receive. While white privilege often goes unnoticed by white individuals, it causes many disadvantages for people of color and effects how they see themselves. Furthermore, Affirmative Action attempts to equal the playing field for minorities but is faced with contention by many white people.

The term “privilege” is when a person has the right or confused with having the right to do something. For example, for someone to advance their education is not a privilege perhaps it is a right. In some cases during certain situation person can be granted the privilege. White privilege is a word greatly used in social rights that advantage individuals to be acknowledged as white in Western countries, afar what is frequently proficient by non-white individuals in the same social, political, or economic conditions (Rothenberg, 2016). However, when a certain race color is treated more superior than another race is giving the advantage or benefit to have the opportunity to do anything they want without anyone trying to stop them.

Minorities are still fighting to be seen as equals and treated as human but people still think we have achieved equality today. It really is up to educators to teach children about white privilege and how it affects people. White privilege is something that white people benefit from just because of what they look like, but they have no control over it. This can range from having more opportunities for jobs to being more likely to have enough money to go to private school. I am focusing more on the idea that white people have these benefits and have the privilege to deny that such a divide exists. Being able to dismiss the idea of white privilege shows ignorance and can minimize the experiences of those who have suffered at the hands of white privilege.

White privilege is a unique form of racism given its fascinating characteristic of not involving hostility. Therefore, it cannot be directly blamed on someone (Pludo, 2015). The lack of blame does not cause any discomfort on the white persons enjoying the privileges.

White privilege is the ability for whites to maintain an elevated status in society that masks racial inequality. It is also considered a system of advantage based on race, as well as societal privileges that benefit white people. It is usually known as the “other”, or the opposite side of discrimination. Some people in society, typically people of color, feel as though people with white skin have benefits over people of color, just because they’re white. White privilege is sometimes seen as a higher social status, having the freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely as one wishes. The effects of white privilege are predominantly evident in professional and educational settings. Some critics argue that the concept of white

“White privilege refers to the fact that in many societies, “white” people have access to greater power, authority, and privileges, than non-white people” (Robbins et al. 2013:81). It goes beyond letting white people get away with more than other races; it also discriminates against them. This is well illustrated by the history of white privilege in America and how it changed over time (Nkomo & Ariss 2013) and how white privilege is used to benefit white people (Blum n.d). Without white privilege, people would be equal and perhaps live in a more peaceful society. Therefore, if white privilege has been around for years and continues to be an issue in America and all around the world, than without educating the population and making them aware of the issue it will continue to happen.

White privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.

There are two prominent writer/scholars who have taken the issue of white privilege to heart and have shared their expert analysis on the subject; these authors/writer-scholars are Peggy McIntosh, a white feminist, and Beverly Tatum, an African American Psychologist. McIntosh, in her article "Coming to See Correspondences," makes excellent observations about the privilege that she has experienced just by being a white female in America. The two most significant points made by McIntosh

When discussing the issue between African-American and Caucasian the claim of is white skin privilege a myth can be debatable. Paul Kivel claims yes, from White Benefits, Middle-Class Privilege. Tim Wise claim No, from “The Absurdity (and Consistency) of White Denial: What Kind of Card Is Race?” Paul Kivel and Tim Wise both agree that African American and Caucasian have received different treatment. However, Paul Kivel states, “Privileges are the economic extras that those of us who are middle-class and wealthy gain at the expense of poor and working class people of all race.” Tim Wise believes that Caucasian is in denial that discrimination is a real problem. After reviewing both claims I believe Tim Wise made a more valid point. Wise states,

White families often don’t always spend their money but invest it, save it, buy houses that gain interest over the years to have different things to pass down to their kids from when they are getting situated in the real world after college. A lot of these white graduate students doing have to worry about paying bills and trying to make ends meet from month to month but can focus on interning at different companies without pay and build their resume for their future. These black students who have actually gotten over that color barrier and are being accepted into these top law schools cant afford to do unpaid internships and don’t have the assets but basically have to build them selves from the bottom up instead of having an unfair advantage from birth. These different white families set their children up so that they have a fresh start coming out of college. Worrying about having to pay back school loans is something that isn’t even an issue in most of the white community as college I just expected to get paid for by your parents. Sometimes these students who are becoming entrepreneurs are given the money and the recourses to start their own businesses. As a sophomore in college trying

I applied to the historically black college, Howard University in Washington. DC and I was denied the first time...the second and on the third try, I got in. I had a caucasian friend who applied and got in the first try. My SAT/ACT scores were higher, and so was my grade point average, I was more involved and I had a higher class tank then her. She was accepted and got a twenty thousand dollar scholarship. I could not understand why it was so easy for her but do difficult for me being it was after all a historically black college. I had to step back and analyze, she now was the minority. She was a caucasian, blonde hair and blue eyes girl. This is not the norm at Howard. I then realized that colleges and universities often accept students not based on their academic transcript but their skin and background transcript. Howard willingly accepted her because she gave that extra umph and demographic factor I did not. There are already thousands of black students at Howard. She would be that diverse look that they are looking for. They wanted to have that diverse demographic look and that is why they accepted her over