The Workshop Healing From Toxic Whiteness On Fight For Racial Justice Essay

Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless

This book also attempts to explore how social and cultural forces encourage white people to expend time and energy on the creation and re-creation of whiteness. Whiteness is invested in, like property, but it is also a means of accumulating property and keeping it from others. This book in response to the crisis that confronts us in regard to race.

In the year 1898 in the town of Wilmington, North Carolina a riot occurred between the African American inhabitants and the white minority of the city. Several historians accuse the origin of the riot on racism and white supremacy. Although these two beliefs have been around for countless years, and African Americans received the right to vote almost thirty years’ prior, no demonstration nor aggressive threats, to the point in which was seen in 1898, had occurred in Wilmington until that year. The Wilmington Race Riot was the reaction of the “sociopolitical conditions” that were being applied by the Democratic Party to win the election through a sequence of diabolical campaign tactics just like creating partial accusations about the “negroes” of the town thus, creating unconstitutional practices, and threatening their existence.

White privilege is an advantage in society that is unmerited. Though it is practiced in every day life (whether it’s subtle or not), the majority views it as “absurd” and “non-existent”. It is a taboo that creates feelings of guilt, hostility and anger, but it must be addressed and understood in order to be eradicated. It is necessary for white people to acknowledge their part in maintaining and benefiting from a society that has thrived on racial hierarchy and white supremacy for centuries. White privilege is essentially the flip side of racism; racism does not only disadvantage people of colour, but grants white people power and dominance in our so-called “post-racial” society (McKintosh, 1). In this essay, I will argue that positive and widespread representation and implied acceptance are the most important features of white privilege. Widespread representation is the most important feature of white privilege because we live in an age where the media not only reflects, but also controls our real worldviews and attitudes. The second most important feature of white privilege is adequate housing opportunities and implied acceptance and respect. It is necessary to eliminate this system that puts people in power based on their skin tone and these two aspects are crucial in order to reach that.

As individuals, we live in a social environment that protects and separates us from feeling emotional pain that encounters with racism all around us. In the article, “The Sugarcoated Language of White Fragility”, Dr. DiAngelo argues, this “protected environment” of racial barrier constructs racial outlooks for comfort while at the same time lowering the power to allow emotional pain, leading to as white fragility (DiAngelo, 2016). White Fragility is defined as “racial stress becomes triggering a range of defensive moves” (DiAngelo, 2016, p. 1). In other words, the importance of one’s skin color and how it shapes an individual perspective and living knowledge is not characterized in an individual however it is determined by society and how they are presented (Lietz, 2015). This is the reality of attempting to have a discussion that encounters white fragility. For instance, this concept of white fragility can be seen in the Charlottesville riot. Charlottesville riot was occurring at the University of Virginia where white men demonstrated their racial outrage, and revulsion power violence because a statue have been removed (Heim, 2017). As quoted “You will not replace us” can be explained by how much rights are given than everyone else because of how much privilege is given in society (Heim, 2017). Overall, society have constructed and developed a belief system that deliberates power and privilege on those recognized of race (Kegler, 2016). Such power and privilege proves itself in having the capacity to shape social norms, and special treatment without being mindful of their race (Kegler, 2016).

In this spellbinding lecture, the author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son offers a unique, inside-out view of race and racism in America. Expertly overcoming the defensiveness that often surrounds these issues, Wise provides a non-confrontational explanation of white privilege and the damage it does not only to people of color, but to white people as well. This is an invaluable classroom resource: an ideal introduction to the social construction of racial identities, and a critical new tool for exploring the often invoked – but seldom explained – concept of white privilege.

At its core, white privilege is described to be an “invisible package of unearned assets” (McIntosh, 2002, p. 33) for white people. There are many layers explaining the manifestation of white privilege and even more explanations pertaining to its dominant presence in today’s world.

Police officers, who were once referred to as peace keepers, are now more law enforcement officers. Police agencies around the United States seem to be stuck more on quotas and creating revenue for their county or city. Making many officers strive for many unnecessary arrests. Which as a following result has brought up a lot of tension between the police and their citizens. With increasing violence in cities and states; police officers methods have slowly become more aggressive, bringing a rise in unnecessary police brutality related incidents within the last 10 years. This relationship is substantially disproportionate considering that there are five times as many whites as there are blacks in America. I find this incredibly concerning and it has definitely impacted my view of American law enforcement. Recently, I have tried to become more knowledgeable about racism and prejudice in the United States as issues such as police brutality are becoming more and more prevalent. Although there is still much more for me to learn about the complicated system of racism and white privilege, I do feel that I know enough to recognize unjust and unlawful behavior of police officers. Police brutality has a longstanding history in our country and will be very difficult to overcome. However, I think it is possible if we, as a nation, are willing to recognize the cause and attack the issue at its source. I believe that police brutality can be attributed to an immoral police force, a corrupt

Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. Hackman, M. Peters, & X. Zuniga book “Readings in diversity and social justice” chapters 6-10 (2010) they discussed in order to rid oppression it starts with recognizing our social identity and how it contributed to our socialization. In order to understand socialization you need to understand the socialization cycle. Supporting subordinate groups are privileged and target groups are disfranchised but the worse is these roles are determined without our permission. The authors argue that once individuals understand oppression and want to make a change they become frustrated with the process of liberation. Supporting that the process of liberation is a cycle that begins with empowerment of self, ends with maintain, and at the core is a serious of attributes (self-love, hope, self-esteem, balance, joy, support, security, spiritual base, and authentic love of others. In differ the authors’ further support the idea white people are compensating for the system of advantage but as high as the cost of black people. The authors back up this claim through the notion of whites benefit from racism but they don’t all benefit

As a result of this individualistic ideology and confirmed by media, whites enjoy the comfort of not dealing with the “social burden of race.” Until whites can face the reality and openly discuss the imbalance between opportunities that whites and black have in American society, the injustice of segregated privileges will continue without any prevail.

Throughout Reconstruction, southern whites felt constantly threatened by legislation providing rights for former slaves. The Civil Rights Bill of 1875 was the last rights bill passed by congress during reconstruction. It protected all Americans’ (including blacks) access to public accommodations such as trains. With the threat of complete equality constantly looming, violence toward former slaves gradually increased in the years following the Civil War. Beatings and murders were committed by organized groups like the Ku Klux Klan, out-of-control mobs, and individual white southern men. During Reconstruction, white southerners had limited governmental power, so they resorted to violence in order to control

Many white Americans are living with the fear that they didn't really deserve their success, and that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it, than brains and hard work. There are numerous reasons for the widespread discrimination at all levels, but the main reason for the existence of discrimination is a privilege to certain groups of people, and widespread social prejudice towards certain groups of people. Differences between people have always existed, but they gain in importance only when are different importance given to certain differences, so it creates privileges. People who are privileged in one society are often not aware of their privilege. It is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege. The problem of discrimination

In this paper, I will be reviewing Robert Jensen’s “The Heart of Whiteness. Confronting Race, Racism, and White privilege”, along with developing a critical analysis of this work. I will be comparing my analysis with the opinions of others that have reviewed this book along with utilizing concepts from James W. Neulieps textbook, Intercultural Communication.

Furthermore, the researchers divide white racial consciousness into two: achieved and unachieved. A person who has achieved white racial consciousness has explored and developed some sort of belief system when it comes to racial issues. Conversely, those with unachieved white racial consciousness have not grasped their own racial identity and its link to other minority groups, which may stem from either intentionally avoiding dialogue surrounding race or depending on family members to form an ideology. In his book Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Bell argues that this relatively loose grasp of white racial identity creates an environment that serves a significant detriment to advancing racial progress in the country, as “few white people are able to identify with blacks as a group –the essential prerequisite for feeling empathy with, rather than aversion from, blacks’ self-inflicted suffering” (Bell, 4).

In "A Worn Path", a short story by Eudora Welty, the main character, an old colored woman named Phoenix, slowly but surely makes her way down a "worn path" through the woods. Throughout her journey, she runs into many obstacles such as a thorny bush and a hunter. She overcomes these obstacles and continues with her travels. She finally reaches her destination, the doctor’s office, where she gets medicine for her sick grandson back home. Many critics have speculated that this short story represents the love a grandmother shows for her grandson. Others say this story represents life and death, where Phoenix represents an immortal figure. Dennis J. Sykes disagrees with the other critics by saying,