The Other Side Of Discrimination Research Paper

The Other Side of Discrimination
The United States of America has a long history in dealing with racism as both a main and underlying conflict in its society. This has led to the development of “White Privilege”, the concept that people considered “white” by American society get preferential treatment merely based on skin tone (Russo). Those that disregard the existence of “White Privilege” believe that civil behavior, academic achievement, and stable homes, not skin tone, bestow privileges upon individuals (O’Reilly). However, this is untrue, as a recent report from Young Invincibles, an advocacy group geared towards young adults, found it was easier for white college graduates to receive jobs when compared with colored college graduates.

In fact, most schools, public and private, are committed to ‘inclusion’, the idea of ‘no child being left behind’. Therefore, the teachers and administrators they hire must reflect their values in order to work towards this cause. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Greg Blackburn and Tim Wise of the National Association of Independent Schools believe that the hiring and applicant processes of schools are skewed. They contend, “If schools make hiring or admissions decisions on the basis of test scores, years of experience, or experience teaching in a school like the one to which the applicant is applying, they may inadvertently reinforce white privilege.” (Blackburn, Wise). In other words, schools hiring on such factors would unintentionally encourage the phenomena of white privilege because the teachers that would have had more experience in teaching would be white because of the opportunities they receive. Additionally, the applicants selected to attend such schools would most likely be white students, as they would have the most experience with standardized tests, compared with their colored counterparts. This selectivity then compromises the diversity component of the school’s

This can be exemplified in the famous Keri Blakinger case in 2010. At the time, Blakinger, daughter of two Ivy League graduates, accepted a plea deal of two-and-a-half years behind bars after being arrested and charged with criminal possession of a substance in the second degree (Morrongiello). Police found her carrying an estimated $50,000 worth of heroin, among other illicit drugs. She was simultaneously suspended from Cornell and banned from campus. However, she was able to go back after submitting letters of recommendation from her parents, parole officer, and former professors, as well as after convincing Cornell’s judicial administrator that she was a changed woman and would not regress (Morrongiello). Blakinger believes she ended up getting another shot at life because of white privilege. She states, “Second chances don’t come easily to people of color in the United States. When you are white, society offers routes to rebuild your life.” (Blakinger). In other words, she believes that white privilege enabled her to even have the opportunity to try and ‘get back on her feet’. A person of color may not have gotten the opportunity to attempt