2. What is “White Privilege?”
WhitePrivilege is an invisible package
of unearned assets that we can count
on cashing in each day.*
*Mostlecture material based on the work
of Peggy McIntosh, 1988
3. Some Painful Realizations
about How We Whites are
Conditioned…
We are carefully taught NOT to
recognize white privilege…we are not
“bad people” because we don‟t
automatically recognize that we are as
protected as the Boy in the Bubble!
4. Whites are taught to think of
their lives as…
Morallyneutral
Normative
Average
Ideal:
When we work to benefit others, this is
seen as work that will allow “them” to be
more like “us”….and that‟s a good
thing….AIN‟T IT???!!!
5. And here are some of the
conditions of white privilege:
Be in company of people of my race
most of the time,
Can avoid spending time with people
I‟ve been trained to mistrust or who
mistrust me and my kind,
If I move, I can be pretty sure of getting
a house in an area where I want to live,
6. And some more…
I can be sure that my neighbors will be
at least civil, if not friendly, to me,
I can go shopping alone without fear of
being followed by store clerks or
harassed by store detectives,
I can turn on the TV or read the paper
and see people of my race being widely
and positively represented,
7. And some more…
When I‟m told about our national
heritage, I am shown that people of MY
color made this country what it is today,
I can be sure that my children will be
given curricular materials that testify to
the existence of their race,
I can easily find a publisher for my
white-written works,
8. And some more…
I am fairly sure of having my voice
heard in a group where I‟m the only
member of my race,
I can be casual about whether or not to
listen to someone else‟s voice in a
group in which that person is the only
member of his or her race,
9. And some more…
I can go into a book store and find the
writing of my race represented,
I can go into a supermarket and find the
staple foods that fit with my cultural
tradition,
I can go to a hairdresser‟s and find
someone who knows how to handle my
type of hair,
10. And some more…
Whether I use checks or credit cards, I
can count on my skin color not to work
against the appearance that I am
financially reliable,
I can be sure that my worries about how
my kids are treated by teachers have
nothing to do with their race or racism,
11. And some more…
I don‟t have to teach my kids about
systematic racism to make them aware
for their own protection,
My kids don‟t have to answer questions
about why I live with my partner,
I can travel or be seen with my partner
(of the same race) and not have to face
stares or overt harassment,
12. And some more…
I can talk with my mouth full and not
have people put this down to my color,
I can swear, dress in secondhand
clothes, or not answer letters, without
having people attribute these choices to
the bad morals, the poverty, or the
illiteracy of my race,
13. And some more…
I can speak in public as an individual
without putting my entire race on trial or
being considered a representative for
my entire race,
I can do well in a challenging situation
without being called “a credit to my
race,”
14. And some more…
I can ignore the languages and cultures
of other people of the world and my
country, without feeling the same sense
of oblivion, invisibility, or “ignorability”
for my language and culture,
I can criticize the government without
being considered a cultural outsider,
15. And some more…
I can be reasonably sure that if I ask to talk to
“the person in charge,” I will be talking to a
member of my own race,
If a traffic cop pulls me over or the IRS audits
me, I can be assured that it has nothing to do
with my race,
I am not made acutely aware that my shape,
bearing, or body odor will be taken as a
reflection on my race,
16. And some more…
I can take a job with an affirmative
action employer without having my co-
workers on the job suspect that I got it
because of my race,
If I‟m having a bad day, I don‟t need to
ask myself if the negative stuff has
racial overtones,
17. And some more…
I can be late to a meeting without
having the lateness reflect on my race,
I can be sure that if I need legal or
medical help, my race won‟t work
against me,
I can expect figurative language and
imagery in all of the arts to testify to
experiences of my race,
18. And some more…
I can rest assured that there are not
ugly terms used to describe my race,
I can be assured that no sports team
will trivialize my race by using a
grotesque caricature as their mascot,
I can choose blemish cover and
bandages in “flesh” color and have them
more or less match my skin color,
19. And finally…
If I‟m good at a sport, no one will say
“those white people are just built to run,”
If I‟m a good dancer, no one will say “all
those white people have rhythm,”
If I‟m seen kissing my boyfriend/
girlfriend in public, no one will say,
“those white people are all sex-crazed.”
20. Here are some signs that
we‟re operating from a
position of privilege:
We “tolerate” others and feel good
about it,
We say we‟re „color blind.” Color
blindness is possible only from a
position of privilege!
21. More signs…
We say that we take each person based
only on his or her individuality, and that
we ignore his or her race…
This stance is not ours to take. Each
person must indeed be treated as an
individual—some individuals DO want their
race to be factored out of the equation—
and some are adamantly proud of their
race and wish it to be always present in the
minds of others! It‟s THEIR choice!
22. More signs…
If we feel free to say, “Oh, they should
just get over it…all that stuff happened
100 years ago…”
If we feel free to say, “This has nothing
to do with me…I‟m not responsible for
what my ancestors may or may not
have done…”
23. Having described White
Privilege, what will I do to
lessen or end it?
Examine myself daily in the same way
that people of color have to,
Listen carefully to language, and work
to eradicate negative racial uses of it,
Be willing to interrupt and explain why
certain words or stereotypes are hurtful
and false,
24. More ways to lessen negative
effects of white privilege…
Read more, listen more, think more,
Don‟t bog yourself down in guilt…
awareness of history is NOT the same as
guilt…guilt makes us powerless,
Stand up for the marginalized peoples:
When their viewpoint, worldview, or very
existence is ignored, speak up!
We are not the best or “the normal ones.”
We are One of Many!
