Many believe that we live in a post-racial America, using the presidency of Barack Obama as their basis. If so, then why has “the wage gaps in wealth, income, education, and health care widened over the last eight years” (Rothenberg 327)? In actuality, America is a white-supremacist society. White-supremacy refers to how Whites are inherently superior to non-Whites; minorities. This belief rationalizes why there are racial disparities in the distribution of wealth and why White people have the most influence in our society. Accordingly, in a white-supremacist society, White people will have privilege. Peggy McIntosh describes white privilege as “an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, …show more content…
It’s unsettling to think that White people are gaining from Black’s disadvantage. Interestingly, “the initial construction of Whiteness had been based on a material benefit for Whites: land, or the apparently realistic hope of land” (Rothenberg 35). The benefits are different now: it makes Whites confident, comfortable, and oblivious and other groups unconfident, uncomfortable, and feel alienated. A contemporary example is that a White people can go shopping alone and be sure that they will not be followed or harassed (McIntosh). The thought of white privilege traces back to the eighteenth century, so how is it still relevant? Well, the inequality is a result of deliberate planning done by White people of power. With the contributions from many individuals over decades, “some of them no doubt made by people of conscience who thought of themselves as anti-racist, but who maintained an institutional structure that creates conditions that support white-supremacy” (Jensen 19). Such racial inequality can be found in the structure and procedures of many institutions, this creates conditions that support white-supremacy. This can even be seen here, at TCNJ, through our Greek organizations. These organizations aren’t overtly racist, but with slightly observation one will notice that the majority of pledges are White. Minorities have reported not feeling welcome on campus because no one looks like them in these organizations. …show more content…
Still, I don’t see this as progress. The only way America will become post-racism is by getting rid of the systems that causes one group to profit for the pain of another. First, White people must acknowledge the existence of white privilege and be aware of its effects. Then, policies need to be adjusted so that no one group is getting better opportunities than another. Deinstitutionalizing racism makes it harder to be racist. Next, the media has to start broadcasting the truth. Don’t tell the news for profit, but to inform society. These are things that White people can do There are also way minorities can contributing, starting by educating themselves. Education gives individuals opportunities that would be impossible without it. These are just a few ideas I have for a better society. In conclusion, I believe that America has potential to, in the future, a fair and just society. People are beginning to get tired of the current system we have have and are trying to change it. More specifically, the protesters in Baltimore. There civil disobedience is what America needs, so they can realize the inequalities faced by Blacks and all
The two articles that had a profound impact to my understanding of race, class and gender in the United States was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Imagine a Country by Holly Sklar. McIntosh explains the keys aspects of unearned advantage (a privilege that one group hold over another) as well as conferred dominance (the act of voluntarily giving another group power) and the relationship that these factors hold when determine power of a social group. Additionally, the purpose of McIntosh’s article was to demonstrate the privilege that certain individuals carry and how that translates to the social structures of our society. Furthermore, conferred dominance also contributes to the power of the dominant group
The famous anti-racism activist Tim Wise once said “The irony of American history is the tendency of good white Americans to presume racial innocence. Ignorance of how we are shaped racially is the first sign of privilege. In other words. It is a privilege to ignore the consequences of race in America.” White Privilege is commonly defined as “a set of advantages and/or immunities that white people benefit from on a daily basis beyond those common to all others.” (What) As White americans living in the United States, you never really pay any attention to the fact that there is a racial “smog” (Marks) living among us in everyday life and you really never realize how it affects the people on the other end who don’t receive this ‘privilege’. White privilege shapes the world we live in by how we go about and interact
White privilege is not a figment of African American or colored people’s imagination, it is just as real as many problems in America and one privilege that wealthy and middle class white people have is the right to a decent education. Many people might not think a simple thing such as education is a privilege seeing that all students by law have to attend schools but it is, and we all know that all schools and their districts are not created equally. In Jonathan Kozol essay “Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Education Apartheid,” he writes, “Of seeing clusters of white parents and their children each morning on the corner of a street close to school, waiting for a bus that took the children to a predominantly white school” (349) Kozol
After World War II, “ A wind is rising, a wind of determination by the have-nots of the world to share the benefit of the freedom and prosperity” which had been kept “exclusively from them” (Takaki, p.p. 383), and people of color in United States, especially the black people, who had been degraded and unfairly treated for centuries, had realized that they did as hard as whites did for the winning of the war, so they should receive the same treatments as whites had. Civil rights movement emerged, with thousands of activists who were willing to scarify everything for Black peoples’ civil rights, such as Rosa Parks, who refused to give her seat to a white man in a segregated bus and
In her 16 January 2016 The Washington Post editorial, “What is White Privilege?”, Christine Emba asserts white privilege is a societal advantage inherent in people who are white, irrespective of their “wealth, gender, or other factors.” According to Emba, white privilege makes life smoother and is an entity that is hidden or unknown until the privilege is taken away. Although racism is still a rampant issue in society today, white privilege is a concept created by the progressive left in order to brand whites as a scapegoat for issues and adversities that non-whites face. This concept of privilege ultimately causes further dissension between whites and non-whites.
White privilege is a term used to refer to societal privileges granted to people identified as white in western countries. These privileges are beyond what is experienced by non-white or people of color living under the same economic, political and social environments. These privileges could be obvious or less obvious that white people may not realize they have. These include cultural affirmations of one 's own worth, presumed greater social status, and the freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely (McIntosh, 1990). The effects of these privileges can also be seen in personal, educational and professional contexts. In both Tim Wise’s, ‘White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son’ and Ta-Nehisi
McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," in Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, ed. Paula S. Rothenberg. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
Most Caucasians look at white privilege and institutional racism as the past, and they are painfully unaware of how it still exists today. Peggy McIntosh took a deeper look into this in her article “White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack.” In this article she lists many basic privileges that white people experience, many being basic rights that many would never think of. White privilege and institutional racism has managed to sneak its way into this time period, practically going unnoticed by white people. White people cannot see the disadvantages that are placed on other races in everyday life, unless they are made aware of it.
White privilege is a concept that many people are unfamiliar with, but not because they do not benefit from it. In the paper “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh argues that white people have an advantage over those of other races, though most are completely unaware of it or simply take it for granted. Her recognition of white privilege came from the concept of male privilege. She says that she looked at that concept and realized there was certainly something similar to it in regards to race (McIntosh, 1988, 11). This paper has great importance to the function of society. Because many white people do not recognize their unfair and disproportionate advantage in society, racial tensions can rise even more because there is a major wall blocking people from fixing the current issues.
Have you ever heard of the term white privilege? In case you haven’t, or if you’re not sure what it is exactly, white privilege is all of the societal privileges that benefit white people and that non-white people do not experience. If you are white, your first thought might be to say, “Well, that’s not real. I don’t experience any special benefits that non-white people do not.” But it is real and you do. When you get a paper cut and you go to grab one of your “flesh colored” bandages, it will actually match your skin color because apparently light beige is the “normal” skin color for everyone. When you are watching a film, you are able to relate more to the people you are watching because you will share the same characteristics as most of them, such as having the same skin color. (It’s true. A recent study showed that, out of 100 films made in 2012, white people accounted for about 76% of all speaking characters while people of color, put together, only accounted for about 23%.) When you fail at something in life, like getting a job or getting into college, you don’t stop and think, “Is it because of my race?” White privilege isn’t something that you enjoy having, or that you can necessarily control, but it is important to understand what white privilege is because it most definitely comes into play in our everyday life, including, and especially, news and other forms of media.
Growing up I never witnessed any white privilege. However, I was told to judge someone not by their skin but their behavior and action rather. Although, now that I know that the recognition of white privilege it definitely makes it better for me to understand my life here in the United States. It helps me understand the social life and the discrimination going on here better. I did experience lot of white privilege when I moved to America. Getting through the airport security, the workers always smiled at the white people and white people did not have to wait in line. However, my family and I had to wait in a long time at the Boston Logan Airport when we first moved
The Ku Klux Klan has existed since the mid nineteenth century. The Klan has had periods membership numbered in the millions, whereas nowadays they do not have as much influence as in the past.What has ceased to change is the media depicting the Ku Klux Klan as a hateful group of bigots wanting to solely wipe out any non-white race. However, the media has not only surfaced many misconception but they fail to realize that the Klan is actually within US Constitutional rights. Because the Bill of Rights guarantees American citizens the freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble, the Ku Klux Klan has the right to continue their practices. With that being said, excluding some violent outburst conducted by Klan subgroups, no one has the right to stop the KKK from protesting, speaking their beliefs, or celebrating their heritage.
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 is very complex and there is no unique formula that would solve it. There are general patterns in a white supremacist culture, that all white people have privilege, whether or not they are racist themselves.
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 in this article are as follows. One, “A white skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us…the silence and denials surrounding privilege are the key political tools here” (P. 104). The second and even more important point is that “the obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all…props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already” (105).
White privilege is a term used to describe the ease at which white Americans have while integrating into society. Being part of the majority takes away the challenges of fitting in and does not require acknowledging what it means to be white, but rather, it acknowledges that being white is the norm. Living each day with a sense of normality and without the constant reminders for concern of the color of your skin allows for the benefit of being able to focus on personal aspirations without the fear of being hindered by society for being a racial minority. As discussed in the previous paragraph, members of the black community have been the target of unequal treatment within American history since the founding of the America. With the 2008 election seeing the first African American man reach the highest position in American society, it has been argued that racism has finally been eradicated. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and racism is still prevalent in America. The fight for African Americans to have equal rights to obtain their own American dream has yet to be