White Privilege Research Paper

Racism continues to be an issue that causes a great deal of tension in the United States. While some believe that we are living in a post-racial society, others are aware that racism can take different forms in this day and age. In White Bound: Nationalists, Antiracists, and the Shared Meanings of Race, author Matthew Hughey tackles the topic of racism in a unique way. Hughey focuses on how the members of the two groups that he conducted the study on conceptualize their whiteness and how that relates to racism. Hughey spend a little over one year conducting his research for this project. He attended meetings that these two organizations held and interview individual members in order to gauge how they think about their whiteness in relation to other races.

“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” Bringham Young (GoodReads, 2015) Women have a tendency of starting a new view or a new idea. It is from women’s beliefs and values that changing times have come for more values and more beliefs. From looking at Women’s Suffrage, White supremacy, and stereotypes, you can see how women have impacted today’s society and my life.

New York, New York - Who ever said; "When Opportunity knocks, open the door?" Whomever uttered that statement should be shot and gagged. That's the problem we face in this egotistical society! Opportunity is a fundamental gift that reserves itself for those who take and embrace a situation by exherating effort to make it happen. Charlamagne Tha God, the co-host of Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club explains in his new book Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It, how embracing one's truths is the fundamental key to success and happiness.

Conclusion: white privilege was a thing in the past, but now it is not. In reality it seems like you get more set back from being white in certain situations. White Privilege and racism is not about what race you are but more about the culture you live in. People see privilege in their own way. People are born in a various cultures and to different poverty or wealth levels. You cannot change where and who you are born too. You however can change what you do with your life no matter the circumstances you were born

Even after the emergence of the US constitution, rights were not granted equally. I believe that it is quite hypocritical from the US to possess a constitution, which is addressed to everyone, but not applied to everyone. For example, the fourteenth amendment, which clearly tackles the equal protection of the laws, only truly applies to the whites rather than all peoples in the United States. Therefore, I believe that the latter aspect confirms Harris’s claims of the privilege of being white.

As part of my ongoing quest to understand the intersectional and multi-faceted world we live in, I was drawn to the McIntosh reading “White Privilege:Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” and its powerful commentary on racial biases affecting women in our modern world. I loved the way she spoke about the many simple things that she as a white person doesn’t need to worry about as a default, which non-white people wouldn’t,like the assumption that her tax audits would be executed fairly and without ludicrous scrutiny.This reading inspired me to venture out into my home town and look for an event that spoke to the same issues.I found myself in a small art gallery which was featuring various pieces by indigenous women. The exhibit had a particular focus on the

At the heart of whiteness studies is the invisibility of whiteness and white privilege (Ahmed, 2004). Whiteness is thought of as the hidden criterion to which every other race is measured against. Through the lens of whiteness, the “other” is seen as deviant (Ahmed, 2004). The invisibility of whiteness, however, is only from the perspective of those who are white (Matthews, 2012). To people who are not white, it is pervasive and blatant. People see whiteness because they experience its effects. A useful comparison can be drawn between the unrecognised privileges of males, and those of white people (McIntosh, 1988). It is not unusual for men to acknowledge that women are disadvantaged. With that said, McIntosh (1988) argues that white privilege is in the same manner without recognition and thus preserved. McIntosh (1988) views white privilege as an invisible collection of unearned assets that is of benefit to white people on a daily basis.

White privilege is defined as “…………..” After reading this and comparing it to my life and experiences I can recognize the resemblance. As a white person in my society, I hold copious privileges and forms of power that I have not earned, but has been handed. Although, I cannot speak for my entire race when I state this, I believe that any Caucasian person living in Canada, who would be willing to take the time to stop and think about their lives, would realize that they hold power over other racial minorities. This power is acquired solely due to the fact that they have a different colour of skin. This is not to imply that white people cannot be oppressed in other aspects of their lives, as a cause of the other social identities with which they

Historically, from America to central Europe the whites race have always had the preference socially, educationally and politically whilst other ethnic groups found it difficult to climb up the ladder or fully express or gain their rights to self determination. This is described concisely by (Jeyasingham 2011) referring to white privilege as a variety of unjustified social advantage that is gained by white people even though they mostly don’t notice it. White privilege is something that could said to be a birth right, where a white Caucasian chances to succeed in life are bigger than a black or someone from other ethnic minorities despite the fact that they were all born in the same hospital, lived in same town and attended the same schools. As (Lavalette and Penketh 2014 page ix) highlighted that this has “no scientific valid reality” but constructed by the sects with most institutional might and power to determine where different races end up in the social and institutional hierarchy. Finally, (Kendal 2002) defined white privilege in a different way in comparisons to other which buttresses the points made above as he links white privilege along with male privilege as something difficult for people who are born with rights to wealth and power but easy to see to those that

Black privilege is far from having white privilege. White privilege is having an easy way out of most situations and having everything almost granted to you. I would consider black privilege is having not a dime handed to you, but the odds stacked against you. When people look at me, I always wonder what is the first thing that comes to their mind? A female or a black person, or both? What amazes me is the fact that most white people know that they have white privilege and will even admit it. Some are arrogant, while others are aware of their white power privilege, but try and let it not be known to the world. Tim Wise wrote a book talking about his experience as a white man with white privilege. The book is a true eye opener for not only blacks, but whites as well. “When you’re a member of the privileged group, you don’t take kindly to someone telling you that you can’t do something” (Wise, 2008). Tim openly admitted what your average black person already knew. Minority groups are so used to doors beings slammed in their face or being told no. What’s difficult is when your privileged group of people can get away with acts, that if a minority group committed the consequences would be horridness. I work at Zaxby’s in Bainbridge, and I witness a lot of racial injustices unfold right in front of my eyes. I’ve witnessed young white boys fight in my drive through while the police were present and neither boy was arrested, nor told to leave the premises via the police. I’ve also witnessed a young black boy who was clearly mentally unstable come into Zaxby’s, and ask to use the phone. When we told him we did not have a public phone he cussed; causing the officers to come to the counter and escort him out. Which happened to be same officers who did not remove the two young white boys off of the premises for fighting. Which crime was worse? The

There is one particular example that I can think of in my personal life that goes along with this theme of ‘white privilege.’ I attended Northeast Guilford High School, which is a primarily African American high school. Therefore, I was the minority. Right before I transitioned from middle school to high school, the district lines in my county were ‘redrawn’ and many of the black students who used to attend Eastern Guilford that lived in the lower income housing were now being sent to Northeast. It was almost as if they wanted to pull as many of the African American students into one school because they didn’t want those students of color to be attending the same school as the rich, white students. I truly don’t believe it was just a coincidence that the district lines were redrawn to bring the few black students from a primarily white school to the primarily black school. In addition to the district lines being redrawn, my primarily black high school is treated unfairly compared to the primarily white high school next door, Northern Guilford High

“Why don’t we have “White history Month?” Because white history month is every month other than February. The culture of power determines which version of history is told and retold.” Mr. Hanson, my high school social studies teacher always told us, “The winners get to decide how history is told.” I mean, prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were stuck in the home while men went to work and supported them, but then women were liberated and able to get jobs working outside of the home, right? That’s what they taught us in school. WRONG. White, middle to upper class women were “stuck in the home.” Woman of color have ALWAYS “worked out of the home.” In fact, the women of color were probably working in the homes of white women about which

In Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege”, she talks about how white privilege is “like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” (1). What she meant by this, was that light-skinned/white people are at an automatic advantage over dark-skinned people, whom in turn, become the disadvantaged. She claims that being white protected her from danger and violence and freed her to do many things that she realized other people of color could not. She believes she can get away with doing more things and that more doors are open to her especially due to the color of her skin. When relating this to the movie, “The Hangover”, it is easy to point out these concepts of white privilege.

The racial inequality that we have in modern day blossomed from the historic oppression and comprehensive prejudice of minority groups. From the very beginning of “American” history, other groups of people who were not of European decent were discriminated against and treated inhumanely and without the smallest regard for their lives. Native American populations were decimated by diseases brought oversea by Europeans and forced from their ancestral lands by settlers to make room for their expanding populations. African people were enslaved by the millions and were used as tools of labor, and weren’t even regarded as humans,

When it comes to white people understanding their privilege, I am more upset that people don’t educate themselves about it. For example, the whole movement and organization of “Black Lives Matter” is to bring awareness of how blacks are being treated by police and how the justice system is failing to protect us. Somehow, ignorant white people felt entitled to bring “All lives Matter” as if all lives share the same struggle as blacks. They don’t understand that it is the exact system of whiteness that shelters them from the challenges black Americans face. Instead of scrutinizing the system that protects their privilege, they would rather add more distress towards the people facing the system.