In Chapter 1 of The Wilmington Ten, Janken wrote about how students from all-white high schools could have been dispersed into all-black high schools in Wilmington, North Carolina in order to help integrate the school system. Instead, only students from the all black high school were dispersed into two different all-white high schools because the community good was defined by what was acceptable to whites. This is relevant to the course theme of critically assessing the significance of events in North Carolina’s African American history because “white privilege” is very prominent in today’s time. For example, Americans of color are far more likely to be victims of law enforcement officers than white Americans. There has been a plethora of killings of African Americans by police …show more content…
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
“’Can You Be BLACK and Look at This’: Reading the Rodney King Video(s)” by Elizabeth Alexander is a powerful analysis into the deep rooted sense of community felt by people who identify as Black, with specific regards to the videotaped police beating of Rodney King; and also examines the deep rooted White stereotypes surrounding people of color in America, more notably in the judicial system. This essay details the unity and solidarity seen in the times, not only surrounding the Rodney King videos, but also surrounding other notable stories about Black violence, such as the murder of Emmett Till, and the stories of Fredrick Douglass, to name a few. It describes in detail the horrible acts committed on Black bodies, and references numerous movements
On August 26, 1935, I witnessed Maycomb County Court turn the United States Court System into a monstrosity. Thomas Robinson, 25, was accused for the alleged rape and molestation of Mayella Violet Ewell, a white woman (citizen of Maycomb, Alabama). As I entered the courtroom, I realized that Maycomb had been inundated with racism and supported the segregation of public facilities, as do most Southern states. This was my first trip to Alabama, but I have never seen so many people at a trial before. I’d say 80% of the courtroom was Caucasian, with the minority making up the convict’s family or friends.
White privilege negatively impacts social justice which can lead to irreversible actions. Hillary Clinton once said, “If a country doesn't recognize minority rights and human rights, including women's rights, you will not have the kind of stability and prosperity that is possible.” We are all equals, whether we are woman, have a disability or are coloured. We all deserve the same rights. Without social injustice, life would be made fair.
Hardly any lynchings led to mass expulsions of African Americans from their communities, until the Forsyth County Race Riots of 1912. The Forsyth County Race Riots of 1912 were a tragic manifestation of deep-seated racial tensions, fueled by white supremacist ideology and a desire to maintain racial segregation. Through an analysis of the cause, event,
The violent and tragic Wilmington Coup of 1898 not only resulted in the overthrow of the city's elected biracial government and the placement of a white supremacist government, but it also indicated the start of a period of violent repression of African Americans in North Carolina and established the foundation for the rise of Jim Crow laws and other forms of segregation in the South (Smith, 2021). Even though the circumstances leading up to the coup were complex, they ultimately had their roots in the long history of racial conflict and tension in the American South. The location of the 1898 Coup on Market Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a significant location in state history. The city's African American community, which had developed
Acknowledging white privilege is admitting advantage in society over minorities. Although times are changing, there are two examples of white privilege I have witnessed first-hand. Driving through Albuquerque, New Mexico I was pulled over with my brother who looks like hippy from the woods for an expired tag. I was taken out of the car and back to the officer when he asked if there were drugs in the car because he could smell them, shortly after he questioned my brother who handed him two joints and HTC pills. The officer gave my brother back his marijuana and continued with how they were looking for people who were smuggling drugs into the country from Mexico.
And not only are Black people the only ones seeing the effects of America's discrimination, but almost all races that land in America are seeing this racism when compared to white people. While many people acknowledge the existence of racism, there is often resistance to the concept of white privilege. White privilege refers to the advantages and benefits that white people receive due to their skin color, such as easier access to education, employment, housing, and healthcare among many other examples. These benefits are often unconsciously bestowed upon white people, which makes it difficult for them to acknowledge their existence. White privilege is not about individual experiences or choices, but rather about systemic advantages that have been built up over time and have yet to fall.
Whites are privileged because we are seen as the average American. We do not get second glances, because nobody suspects we are doing anything but living our lives. Though since we are not subject to this intense scrutiny we do not realize that we in turn do this to African Americans, just simply living their daily lives as well. McIntosh (1988) points out that she repeatedly forgot each of the realizations on this list until I wrote it down. For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject.
Over the past decade the term white privilege has emerged in our American history. White privilege is the concept that one particular group is benefited which is typically identified as white people. Most of the victims experiencing harsh conditions are non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances of mistreatment. A conversation took place with a few people about white privilege whose race is identified as white. An interviewer started that “the belief that being white comes with unearned advantages and everyday perks”.
We've all heard the saying "White Privilege" used loosely in society. Well folks, it exists as a factual privilege given at birth to those of the Anglo-Saxon race of people, not only in America, but worldwide. Believe me folks, it comes with its perks and self proclaimed righteousness that creates its own preconceived path to success. On the other end of the spectrum, Charlamagne Tha God introduces "Black Privilege" in the book. Yes, it is indeed a privilege to be Black, African American.
There are still factors that have only been erased on the surface but still play a large role in the way that people of color are treated in America, and dictate to a certain extent, compromise the “freedom” that people have. On the other hand, we have white America, who have heightened chances of achieving anything that they please. This does not apply to every white American, as there are also white Americans who are living on or below the poverty line, and much like everybody else must put in a lot of effort to reach certain heights, however they have an advantage over all other denomination of people known as “white privilege” which are the societal benefits that people who can be categorized as “white” enjoy over the rest of the population and in the end, have a higher social status. Ultimately, people of color must work harder, and face many more setbacks in their climb to success than white Americans do, which is not fair,
The media is illuminating racial relations in the South and they are showing how people in the North are being treated. When people in the North sees how the segregationists are treating African Americans in the South, they support the side of integration. In “A Mighty Long Way”, Carlotta said that, “Finally one of them delivered a crushing blow to the back of Wilson”s head with an heavy object believed to be a brick” (pg.85 Lanier). People are seeing how white racists are attacking African-Americans.
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.
For the next few months, the African American students attended school under armed supervision. Even so, they faced physical and verbal abuse from their white peers’’(Source B).This demonstrates how people got together and protested along with the African American students on how the segregationists were being racist and treating them like they were nonexistent. This also shows how the segregationists were ignoring the fact that others were disagreeing with them, but they were mainly focused on being inconsiderate and treating the ‘’Little Rock Nine’’ poorly because they were Negros. After All, the Little Rock Showdown displayed how the segregationists treated the Negro students unequally because they were just as qualified to go to school with white
If you can take a moment to think to yourself, how many times have you been treated differently just because of your race? Maybe not at all, or maybe a lot. Understanding systematic racism may help you understand why. Systematic racism affects people’s lives greatly or just a little. If you want to learn about what Jim Crow started systematic racism and what it is, then read this essay.