Personal Statement : My Personal Perspective On Privilege, Race, And Culture Essay

One’s identity has the ability to play a central role in one’s schooling experience and in return, affect the way they perceive the world around them. Growing up in an Asian household located in a predominately Asian American neighborhood located in the San Gabriel Valley, I always identified myself strongly to my race and took pride in being a first generation Asian American child. Race has definitely affected my schooling experience in many different ways, both positively and negatively. In addition, there were a variety of other aspects such as stereotypical gender roles and socioeconomic class status which factored into the way I learned in the U.S. education system. In this paper, I will examine how race, class, and gender played a big role throughout my schooling experience.

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.

Some people define race as if it is something solid or concrete, but what they don’t see is that it is a “social fabrication”(Mathew Desmond, Mustafa Emibayer,2009;2). Race is based on the difference in physical appearance which is determined, for example, by the most apparent trait; skin color. Inequality emerges when people living, whether on the same sovereign terrain or across continents, are not treated with the same amount of respect and not given the chance to engage their rights in a free and fair manner. Race and inequality are often linked together because of the “issues that began in the 1800s”(NFB;Journey to Justice;2000) such as racial segregation. Over the years issues of race and inequality have

Peddy McIntosh highlighted various unearned white privileges in her autobiographical article “White Privilege, Color and Crime: A Personal Account.” She illustrated the white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that one white person could count on cashing in each day. White people have these privileges given to them by the society in which they live in. The same society taught them to be ignorant and unawareness of these privileges. This system of unearned privileges established by white individuals made people of color feel oppressed. In this system being white is a norm and dominant power. Caucasians, who benefit most from the white privilege system in the United States, are more likely to

In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer

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.

“Racism is a bad thing, you find it everywhere in the schools, the clubs and also in the streets.”

What is privilege? What does it mean? Is privilege inherited or is it earned? As an American resident of color I’ve learned that privilege in this country is something that is innate and inherited. The privilege that I speak of is that of White privilege.

Many people in the United States society believe that people of all cultures, races, and ethnicities are now on an even playing field. People with this belief support their logic with the argument that since equal rights for people of color and women have been required by law for some time now, we are all inherently as equal as claimed in the Declaration of Independence. Many believe that race is no longer an issue, a viewpoint frequently referred to as color-blindness. National polling data indicated that a majority of whites now believe discrimination against racial minorities no longer exists. (Gallagher, 96) Color-blindness allows a white person to define himself or herself as politically and racially tolerant and then proclaim their

THESIS: Race differences in identity and social position were, and are, more important than class differences in American society.

Television shows such as Dateline, 60 Minutes and 20/20 have often aired segments on discrimination within the justice system through hidden cameras recording police behavior towards minorities, interviews with minorities falsely accused or mistreated, and by referring to capital punishment statistics seemingly biased especially towards blacks. The Justice Files has produced several biographies on minorities who were subjected to some atrocity by the American justice system. General interpretation of nationwide statistics seem to give the public the feeling that minorities are more likely to be incarcerated or subjected to capital punishment and more frequently experience racism by police officers, juries or

In Anderson and Collins’, chapter on “Why race, class, and gender still maters” encourage readers to think about the world in their framework of race, class, and gender. They argued that even though society has change and there is a wide range of diversity; race, class and gender still matters. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class, and gender matter because they remain the foundation for system of power and inequality that, despite our nation’s diversity, continue to be among the most significant social facts of peoples lives.” (Anderson and Collins, 2010) When I was a little girl, I never knew that people were classified in to groups such as race, class, gender. I knew there were people that had a different color of skin than

In 1492 Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue. Everyone knows the story of Christopher Columbus; they are taught it in grade school if not before then. When he landed in America by accident, he had no idea that he would be creating the world's largest Melting Pot. This "melting pot" provided means for a new country, made from a mixture of many cultures and beliefs, thus creating a new country with a new and ever-changing culture. One complication with a Melting Pot is that you cannot put people of different race and ethnicity together without conflict.

Today, a serious problem exists all over the world. Racial oppression takes place in the poorest and the richest countries, including America. Racial oppression is characterized by the majority, or the ruling race, imposing its beliefs, values, and laws on the minority, or the ruled race. In most areas, the ruling race is upper class whites that run the “system”, and have a disproportionate amount of power. In other areas, it may not be the white race, but it is still the race that is comprised of the majority, makes the laws, or has the most money. These are the keys to domination over the weaker minorities that don’t have the power to thrive under the majority’s system according to their own cultural beliefs,

Right on the first page in chapter six it discusses the privilege groups discomfort about discussing privilege. Yes, it is true for so many and for those who don’t feel discomfort, I call you brave and open minded. But, it is a hard thing to discuss especially with a non-privileged group of individuals. I, for one also feel discomfort and defensive sometimes in those situations, and that could be from a number of different reasons. Whether it is because I feel guilty, ashamed, judged, etc. For this I will talk about race, for those who are white, we are born this way, we didn’t choose to be white and there’s nothing you can do about it. You were born into the privileged group here in America. But, it is something that we need to accept and admit to, we are the privileged group but, we don’t because of this nasty stigma about race. Race has turned into this sharp word that scares people when it is mentioned. We, as educators need to change the stigma of that word. We need to make it so people of privilege and non privilege can discuss privilege and race with out discomfort or being offended. In this class, our race discussion had brought up white privilege and at first it was not comfortable but, as you admit to it, the easier it is to discuss.