A Lesson in Privilege.
7:56 PM Posted In race Edit This 6 Comments »"I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools , and blank checks. "
As I have previously shared with you, my loyal blog readers, I am writing my Masters paper on Racial Identity Development AND I am taking a class entitled "Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality in Education" this semester. So, to say that I have spent some time thinking about race is a bit of an understatement. Plus, with this little adoption we've got going on...
So, all of this is not to say that the only thing we are thinking about in terms of the adoption is race, BUT it has definitely been a big hotspot. I can say that this is one of the ways that adoption is making me a better person in a way that pregnancy and bio kids probably wouldn't have. I have had to seriously wrestle with racial issues in the U.S. and globally--Why is my child available for adoption? Why does it take double the time to adopt a White or Asian child as it does to adopt a child of African descent?
Anyways, one article that has been simmering at the back of my mind for a couple of years now was written by Peggy McIntosh and was first presented in 1986. I first read the article at a Cultural Competence training given through my work a couple of years ago. It was very salient for me... maybe one of the beginning seeds of my current state. The quote above is from her article, as is the list below. The list below are 26 of her observations of White Privilege in her life.
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
6. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
10. Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
11. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
12. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals,the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
14. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
16. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
17. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
18. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge," I will be facing a person of my race.
19. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
21. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, out numbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.
22. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers
on the job suspect that I got it because of race.
23. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
24. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
25. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.
26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in flesh color and have them more or less match my skin.
Are any of these particularly salient for you? Can you think of any others? (The bandaid one always gets me... )
2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
6. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
10. Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
11. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
12. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals,the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
14. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
16. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
17. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
18. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge," I will be facing a person of my race.
19. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
21. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, out numbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.
22. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers
on the job suspect that I got it because of race.23. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
24. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
25. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.
26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in flesh color and have them more or less match my skin.
Are any of these particularly salient for you? Can you think of any others? (The bandaid one always gets me... )
McIntosh, P. (1989). White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, July/August, 10-12.
link in Google Scholar: https://teach.lanecc.edu/harrism/a_luta_continua/files/PegMcIntoshWhitePrivblrb.doc
6 comments:
That is an interesting list, I'm ashamed to say that most of those things are probably true. I do, however, take issue with numbers 1-4. I think those are due to middle-class privilege rather than white privilege. I also disagree with # 21. That depends on many factors besides race, although perhaps race might play a part. Now for 22, I understand that this one holds true most of the time, but I was actually hired once due to race. I worked at a video store that was completely staffed by "minorities" (although in that neighborhood being white was a minority) and I was hired so they would have a white person on staff.
This post reminds me of a talk I went to last spring by Tim Wise, the author of White Like Me. It was a sometimes shocking and much needed introduction to white privilege. One thing he said that I will always remember is this: If you want to know if a school or institution is accessible to disabled people, don't ask the able-bodied. Too often we discount the insight and experience of minority groups because the majority is oblivious.
I'd love to read your thesis when you're finished. It's important stuff.
That was an interesting list. We lived in Memphis for three years ministering in the inner city there and then I spent a year and a half teaching in Memphis City Schools. None of my students were white. I remember the struggle to find materials like books and posters with pictures of people that the children could relate to. I felt as if to some very very very small degree I could understand what it was they experienced in life. I struggle with what I can do to change the world those children live in but I never find any answer. I guess the best I can do now is be informed and aware and live accordingly. Just some thoughts:)
Jamie
Steven--
I think you're overlooking the point on numbers 1-4. The claim, if I understand it correctly, is that people who are black don’t have those privileges even if they’re quite wealthy. So for example, a black man could be CEO of a corporation, but if he happens to dress down to go to the 7-Eleven (like most people do), he's liable to get followed around by the staff there to make sure he doesn't steal anything.
That's why white folks need to read lists like this, because our privilege, built into a white society for us, keeps us from having those experiences.
Kathryn, thanks so much for this post. It's a topic I had given zero thought to until living in the Northeast. Now that I'm back in the south where even some of the most enlightened people do not hold truck with the idea of white privilege, your blog is like a bit of water in the desert.
Blessings in all your endeavors,
Beth Heffington
What a great post, and how very true. It makes me sad that so many people that are choosing to adopt trans racially are not educating themselves about the importance and the effect of race and privilage, and especially how it will effect their children. This long wait is so hard, and its so hard that the wait is getting longer. We are in a similiar boat, although our list date was 3/07. So glad to have come upon your blog!
-Anna
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