White Privilege In America Essay

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.

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

White privilege is a form of structural racism where whites are routinely advantaged while producing adverse outcomes for people of color such as Blacks and Hispanics. White privilege is a historically based system which still exists in the United States (US). In my view, white privilege system marked the beginning of racial inequality in the US. White privilege exists in the United States and is one of the contributing factors to the injustices people with color are facing in the US.

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 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

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.

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

Peggy McIntosh, a well known anti-racism, defined white privilege, which all caucasians can use, as “an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I am meant to remain oblivious” (McIntosh, 1988, p.1). White privilege serves several functions. First, it provides white people with “perks” that they do not earn and that people of color (POC) do not enjoy. Second, it creates real advantages for whites. White people are immune to a lot of challenges. Finally, white privilege shapes the world in which we live — the way that we navigate and interact with one another and with the world.

White privilege is defined, according to Emba, as the “the social advantage that comes from being seen as the norm in the United States, automatically conferred irrespective of wealth, gender or other factors.” Because it is an inherited membership, most of the people in this group do not understand the

Interwoven through history are the have and have nots. Those who come from privilege tend not to recognize those privileges, while those who fall into the marginalized groups have an uphill battle. White privilege is a set of institutional beliefs granted to those based on their skin color. These individuals have better access to privilege and resources. Much of these privileges are seen through types of employment, amount of compensation, quality of schools, and racial profiling. Among these few privileges one can see daily how the people of color are affect with basic needs as well.

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,

Privilege is simplified as basically an individual have can have something that others normally cannot. Unfortunately having a privilege can easily be overlooked and taken advantage of. White privilege, which is privileges associated with favoring only whites, has been around for a long time. White privilege is often associated with racism, due to whites being superior to other races in the past. Some Americans even tried to make up some false scientific proof that white American males were superior to other races by looking at skulls. “White American male skulls were measured as the base for the superior race, with all other men of color's skulls being measured to demonstrate the inferior races.” (Module 2, Pg 1) In the development of America, whites definitely had a lot more freedom than other races. Asians would work on plantations, and blacks were seen as slaves, a white slave was very rare or sometimes even unheard of. One example of whites having a privilege over other races is the freedom to have an education. In the past whites were just wealthier since they had been in America longer, so the new generation was able to go to school. A lot of institutions were, “White Only” so other races could not receive an education. Whites also had more private restrooms, facilities, water fountains, and more than the colored civilians. The second example would be the natural assumption that whites are smarter than other races. Whites have the privilege or advantage of getting jobs or into higher schools, because of the natural instinct that whites are always intelligent. Jason Richwine, who has a PhD in Public Policy, believes that whites will always have a higher IQ than hispanics. “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.” ( Module 2, Pg 6)

Black privilege also allows them “to move conveniently in and out of white reality at will. On any given occasion, I can act like a white person better than most white people and do it with finesse and elegance, and two seconds later I can become super Black, declare my history of exclusion and deny ownership of my own behavior.” (Na’Im Akbar, “Perspectives”, p. 47) This is called “shifting;” a reflexive defense strategy used by black women employed to cope with biases and discrimination in Corporate America.

This saddens me, because I have definitely witnessed unjust treatment like this before. I know for a fact that I in the past have been treated differently, handled differently because I am white. I see it at work, I have seen it at school, and have seen it in many social situations. I feel like I would be ignorant if I were to deny that white people such as myself have a privilege, that is often taken advantage of. I also know a lot of white people, including family members of mine that deny that people of our white skin color have in many cases a special privilege, that has gotten us out of many situations, or that have opened up doors to greater successes.

I bet you would see a pig fly before you would meet a white boy who strongly believes white privilege exists. Well I am here to tell you that I, myself, believe that white privilege is a serious issue. However, I was not always like that. About a year ago, I didn’t even know the words “white” and “privilege” even went together. On top of that, I didn’t give much thought on racism, I just thought it was a thing in the past. I didn’t start thinking like the way I do now until I took a Logic dual enrollment class at my high school that changed my life forever. With the help of my diverse and ethnic friends, I started to open my eyes and see that racial profiling and racism still exists in our modern-day society and we still have a long way to go before racial inequality dissolves for good.