Summary

The article discusses the importance of white individuals acknowledging their privilege as a prerequisite to engaging in meaningful conversations about racism and actively participating in its eradication.

Abstract

The article emphasizes that recognizing white privilege is crucial for addressing and combating racism. It highlights the defensive reactions of many white people when confronted with the concept of white privilege and underscores the need for them to understand how their race grants them unearned advantages in society. The author argues that this acknowledgment is essential for white people to see and challenge the systemic discrimination faced by black and brown individuals. The article suggests that once white privilege is acknowledged, individuals can use their position to support and elevate marginalized communities, citing Vice-President Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as a running mate as an example of leveraging privilege for equity. The author calls for collective action, involving both the privileged and the unprivileged, to dismantle racism and asserts that the Black Lives Matter movement has prompted more white people to reflect on race and privilege.

Opinions

The author believes that the denial of white privilege is rooted in racism and that those who deny it are benefiting from and perpetuating a racist power structure.
People who acknowledge their white privilege are more likely to recognize discrimination and racism, which is a step towards fighting it.
The author considers the denial of white privilege to be disingenuous and indicative of a belief in white supremacy.
The author suggests that white people have a responsibility to use their privilege to create opportunities for others and to actively call out racism and discrimination when they witness it.
The article posits that societal change can only occur when white people join the fight against racism, as they hold the privilege that maintains the status quo.
The author expresses concern over the stubbornness of some white people in acknowledging their privilege, which they see as a willful ignorance of the realities of racism.
The author views the engagement of white people in the fight against racism as essential, drawing a parallel with the Women's Rights movement, which saw progress when men joined the cause.

Start By Acknowledging Your White Privilege And Then We Can Talk

I find it interesting how many white people become ultra-defensive when you talk about their privilege. Sometimes, before I even have a chance to explain further how this privilege manifests itself in their daily lives, they start shaking their heads in almost manic disapproval.

Many berate, challenge, and/or troll or insult me, coming up with a flurry of examples to show me, a black woman that they don’t have more privilege than I do, that the whole concept is pure fantasy.

Education or socio-economic levels do not seem to play a role in whether a person will readily acknowledge their white privilege or not. It’s a highly emotional subject. From the 6-figure salary Swiss banker to the garage mechanic, many white people don't want to see their privilege and this is a problem.

To begin to address racism and attempt to eliminate it, it is important for people to acknowledge and accept their white privilege because it is this same privilege that maintains racism in place thereby sustaining a hegemony of oppression over black lives.

This stubbornness to acknowledge white privilege concerns me. I mean clearly, if you are white, you must notice that you don’t get followed around stores by security guards all the time. You must realize you don’t get pulled over by police all the time, you must see how the world is different for your black and brown friends — well of course that is if you have any. As a white person, you cannot be oblivious to this — unless you are intentionally ignoring that racism exists or you inhabit the Teletubbies landscape.

In most cases, human beings tend to understand the notion of privilege in and of itself. People that have had access to education most often realize that that privilege allows them to get better jobs for example.

People who can walk realize that they have privilege versus those who can’t. People that can speak multiple languages realize that it gives them more opportunities.

Usually, privilege is something that people are aware of, except somehow when it comes to white privilege, which many people ferociously deny and say doesn’t exist.

For me, it’s simple, deniers of white privilege are full-blown racists. They knowingly benefit from this prevailing power structure on a daily basis but will never acknowledge that they have it. It’s blatantly disingenuous.

Chances are they are also conniving white supremacists who staunchly believe that they are superior. As a black person, I keep away from these people because their minds are poisoned with prejudice and hate. They run contrary to everything I represent. They will never become non-racists or work toward the betterment of humanity. I refuse to spend a minute of my time trying to talk to them.

When a white person acknowledges their privilege, in most instances, that person also realizes that there are those that are less privileged. With that lens on it is easier to see discrimination and racism. And once you see that, you cannot unsee it. Any normal morally constituted person would understand why the fight against racism is an important one, one that must be fought and won at all costs.

For these white people, there is an opportunity to go further, to embark on a journey to fight racism. This lifelong mission should they choose to accept it is to use that same privilege to provide opportunities for those that have less.

One of the most common examples we have of this today is Vice-President Joe Biden choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate. Her own bid to run for the presidency was cut short by a lack of funding and an incredibly hostile backlash from society.

The NYT wrote a brutal piece accusing her campaign of lack of professionalism, sound judgement and good leadership. That proved to be the final nail in the coffin of her bid for the presidency — however, when Biden threw a little of his privilege her way, she was able to come back as the Democrat VP nominee. And at this stage, it seems like she will ultimately become the first female VP of the United States of America. I’m keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

I’ll make it clear, I believe that Harris has what it takes to be a good Vice President and president, but without Biden’s privilege, she may not have been able to get there.

So yes, this is what white people need to do: seek opportunities to share their privilege until the world gets it, until the world changes.

No matter what profession you are in, no matter what your status in life, you need to use your privilege to help brown and black people. When you witness racism and discrimination, have the courage to call it out for what it is. When a black person calls out racism, they are often accused of being too sensitive, but when a white person does, other white people listen. Don’t ask me why this is, it just is and I’m a taker for any voice that will help dismantle this insidious construct of racism.

Black people alone will not win the fight against racism. We need to find a way to get others to understand and feel the pain we go through on a daily basis, be infuriated by it, and act to change it.

All large social movements of our time only brought about change by mobilizing support from some of the very people that were oppressing them. The Women’s Rights movement is a perfect example of this — women got men to join them and this made the movement progress and become successful. Same thing here, white people are going to have to be a part of the solution to dismantling racism.

Even though I am hearing less and less about the Black Lives Matter movement in my corner of the world, I think that it still has its effect in that it is making white people think and engage more about race.

Many more are acknowledging their white privilege and as I said at the start of this article, now that they have done that, we can talk. So let’s get to it, and let’s work together, hand in hand, the privileged with the unprivileged, to get rid of racism once and for all.

Thank you for reading my perspective.