Topic #17: White Privilege 101- This Is Not Your Grandmother’s Racism

When people are asked to describe themselves, very few white folks mention their race while people who belong to other racial categories usually do. Why is this? Researchers who study identity, race and ethnicity suspect that it comes from white folks' perception that their race is the norm. Normalizing whiteness and considering anything else “different” is just one of the clever mechanisms of White Privilege.

I know, you've already heard all about it. A lot. But knowing about White Privilege doesn't give any of us a pass. No matter how educated we are about racial injustice, us white folks need to examine our privilege constantly, resisting the temptation to believe that being an ally is an achievement rather than a daily process. Here's today's refresher course on privilege, in case it's been a while:

White privilege is a set of benefits and advantages afforded to white people, originally based on invented social and legal contracts that established white as the dominant race hundreds of years ago when white European explorers stole land from indigenous people and then utilized human chattel slavery to help them prosper in their stolen territories. Despite some progress toward racial equality in recent years, the inequalities designed to help white people dominate in North America (and many other stolen lands) are still ingrained in the beliefs, behaviors, policies and practices of our modern society.

White privilege is an elusive phenomenon because it's almost impossible to see it if you have it. Many years ago author Peggy McIntosh developed a checklist for white people to help shine a spotlight on the various privileges we experience due to our race, and it's still widely used today. Here is a small sample of items from her White Privilege Checklist:

• I can go shopping alone, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
• I can be in the company of people of my same race most of the time.
• I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
• I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
• I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
• 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.
• I can earn a prestigious position without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
• When a product is labeled “flesh” color it matches the color of my skin.

Striving to constantly learn more about White Privilege can help us understand the shape-shifting nature of racism that allows it to continue right under our noses. I drafted the following table to describe various forms of racism in both interpersonal and institutional contexts, ranging from obvious and overt forms to those that are more subtle and covert:

	Interpersonal	Institutional
Overt	Race-based violence	More frequent police stops for people of color/racial profiling
↓	Racist slurs, epithets	Mostly white main characters and authors in all forms of media, and/or constant depiction of racial stereotypes
↓	Racist jokes	Official celebrations of and monuments dedicated to known racists
↓	Racist symbols: mascots, flags, etc.	Curriculum in schools focusing on historical contributions of  white Americans and erasure of contributions by people of color
↓	Staring at, commenting on, or touching the hair or skin of people of color	Greater likelihood of conviction for a crime and longer prison sentences for people of color
↓	Questioning the lived experience reported by targets of racism	Poorer quality of schools in neighborhoods inhabited mostly by people of color
↓	Denial of White Privilege, or requiring visual/tangible evidence of racism	Higher rates of school expulsion for children of color starting in preschool, i.e.,  the “school to prison pipeline”
Covert	Color blindness/ “I don’t see race”	Greater likelihood of whites inheriting wealth and land/perpetuation of wealth gap

Of course, this list is ever-changing because once a certain type of racism becomes unacceptable (such as slavery) a new form emerges (such as mass incarceration). Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, explains:

“Any candid observer of American racial history must acknowledge that racism is highly adaptable. The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are challenged.” (p.21)

If you happen to be white, this information can be hard to digest because it may create feelings of guilt that generate defensiveness instead of understanding. In fact, defensive responses to learning about White Privilege are so predictable that Johnson, Rich, and Cargile wrote a fascinating paper in 2008 categorizing the typical responses they hear in their classes when teaching about White Privilege. Here is an abbreviated summary of the defense strategies, many of which you may recognize:

Acknowledgement: Acknowledgement responses agree that racism exists ‘‘out there’’ and is mostly committed by overt and self-proclaimed racists such as the Ku Klux Klan and Skinheads.  Users of this strategy lack the information and experience to comprehend that racism exists in a variety of forms, some overt but many subtle, and in its subtle forms is most often perpetuated by well-meaning white people. Acknowledgement approaches are comprised of three subcategories:

1) “Things won’t/can’t change.’’

Users of this strategy do not show any real commitment to personal development or greater social change, and sometimes even choose to participate in overtly racist behaviors (jokes) without acknowledging that this is racism. These users take a laissez fair approach to the chronic disease of racism.

2) ‘‘I feel so bad about it.’’

Users of this strategy acknowledge that racism is a problem, and express guilt over their dominant position in society, but they focus on their guilty emotions. They are especially guilty about their associations with racist white people. This approach seeks sympathy for the experiences of guilty feeling white people, and therefore re-centers attention away from the problem of oppression and back to the problems of the privileged.

3) ‘‘I’m a victim, too.’’

Approaches claiming victimhood tend to be accompanied by expressions of anger and frustration at the labeling of whiteness and white power. Like the above approach, this one refocuses the discussion away from oppression and toward the discomfort of the privileged, and reassigns victimhood to the privileged.

White Self-Preservation: People using self-preservation approaches claim that they are not racists and that they are not responsible for past injustices against non-whites. Because they are not responsible for what happened in the past, they believe they are not accountable and therefore don't need to take responsibility for fixing it. There are four types of self-preservation narratives:

1) ‘‘I’m a good white’’

This approach is embodied by white people who consider themselves allies of non-whites, which they demonstrate by either having black friends, dating interracially, or showing interest in or travel to places where few white people live. The problem with this approach is that it is dualistic: it places the user on the “good” side versus the “bad” side, when in reality resistance to racism and perpetuation of racism can coexist. Just because a person appreciates and respects people of color does not mean he or she does not enjoy the benefits of white privilege.

2) Historical amnesia.

This strategy refuses to see the link between extreme atrocities of the past, such as slavery, and modern systematic racism. Users of this strategy focus on eliminating their accountability for things that were done “a hundred years ago” and only point to overt, and often violent forms of racism which ignores implicit and institutionalized forms of oppression.

3) Minimizing whiteness.

This strategy tries to reduce the importance of race, arguing that the user “doesn’t see color” or “doesn’t judge based on race.” Users of this strategy over-individualize the issue, assuming that because they are “colorblind,” there is no issue. In addition, they severely underestimate the role of race in social identity, and assume that because it doesn’t matter to them, it doesn’t or shouldn’t matter to others.

4) The blame game.

Similar to the guilt and victim strategies, users of this strategy often blame others for ‘‘making’’ them feel bad or claim to be victims of reverse racism. Again, strategy attempts to redirect focus, responsibility and accountability both for problems of the past and social change moving forward.

Diversion: Diversion attempts try to completely redirect the discussion away from racism and white privilege by giving examples that show an exception or point responsibility to the oppressed, or by bringing up other “more important” social issues. Diversionary responses are tempting because they trigger “band wagon” stories, and hook people into a separate debate, moving the discussions away from white privilege and power. Diversion approaches are comprised of these subcategories:

1) "They are racist, too."

While plenty of white people feel unfairly judged by people of color, their "oppression" is not connected to a legacy of white racial domination and the perpetuation of an unfair social system that rewards whites and punishes blacks disproportionately. Pointing out the human tendency to stereotype or discriminate does not address a legacy of oppression.

2) Blame the victim.

Many privileged people are so accustomed to choice that they cannot relate to a life with limited choices. They therefore argue that those who experience oppression ‘‘create their own realities.’ Users of this strategy may give examples of lazy or violent minority groups, totally disregarding the structural power context in which they have been forced to exist and the mindset that it creates.

3) ‘‘It's not fair.’’

This strategy assumes that if the user has ever been a recipient of “reverse racism” then his or her grievance has equal validity as systematic exclusion and power inequities.

4) “The real problem is not race, it’s. . .”

This strategy attempts to avoid discussing race by directing attention toward other forms of injustice and oppression that the user argues are “worse” or more serious.

5) Whites as outsiders.

These users focus on their own discomfort with being labeled and alienated, failing to acknowledge that discomfort is not oppression. However, discomfort talking about privileged status is indeed a sign of privilege.

Investment: Investment users cling to the belief that everyone is equal, they insist that with enough hard work anyone can succeed, and they assert that things are improving dramatically. There is a refusal to acknowledge that racism is prevalent as a fundamental social structure. Investment narratives include these subcategories:

1) ‘‘We are all equal.’’

This strategy asserts that humans are born equal and individual will is the determining factor of success. Structural racism that results in long-term disadvantages and an unequal playing field upon which to assert this free will is completely ignored. Think "All Lives Matter."

2) ‘‘Progress has been made.’’

By citing examples of small steps toward progress such as a black U.S President, users of this strategy suggest that the visibility of these small changes indicate changes in the deeper structures of inequality.

Staying aware of common strategies and calling them out when you see them will help de-normalize these reactions to and excuses for White Privilege. Also keep in mind that if this information creates some internal discomfort, that's a good thing because it means you're recognizing that your own privilege is being challenged. Thankfully there are more resources than ever to help us navigate the often uncomfortable process of discovering our own whiteness and exploring how it contributes to both interpersonal and institutional racism. Here is a partial list of anti-racism resources from Showing Up for Racial Justice, Santa Barbara, that may be helpful to your journey. If you have other resources to recommend to fellow aspiring allies please send me an email because like you, I'm always learning.

(Quote by David Gaider, image from this website).