ipl-logo

Examples Of White Privilege And Structural Racism In America

688 Words3 Pages

The Intersection of White Privilege and Structural Racism in American Society

Garrett Hamer
Sociology 3
Professor Akihiko Hirose
5/19/2023

Abstract
This paper will explore the concept of white privilege and its bindings to structural racism. White privilege refers to the societal advantages and benefits that white people receive due to their skin color, often unconsciously. Structural racism refers to the systematic ways in which racial inequality is embedded in institutions and policies. The paper will provide an example of how white privilege manifests not only, in the criminal justice system but in everyday life for all people in America. It will then discuss how this example relates to structural racism. Through this analysis, …show more content…

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. This paper will explain the concept of white privilege and its binding to structural …show more content…

But in America, that is rarely the case. White privilege runs rampant in this part of the world even though we are all considered equals. White privilege is a concept that refers to the unearned advantages that individuals who are perceived as white receive in society due to their skin color. Peggy McIntosh, an anti-racist activist, introduced the concept of white privilege in her 1988 essay "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." She says that white privilege is "an invisible weightless knapsack of assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks." White privilege manifests in various forms in society, including but not limited to, easier access to education, housing, employment, and healthcare. It also includes the advantage of not experiencing racism and discrimination in the same ways as people of color, not having to worry about being targeted by the police, and not having to worry about being judged based on racial stereotypes. White privilege is not necessarily something that white individuals actively seek or intend to benefit from, but it is an intrinsic perk that they have over people of color in America. According to McIntosh, white privilege is often unseen to those who have it, and they may not even be aware of it until it is pointed out to

Show More
Related

Summary Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

509 Words | 3 Pages

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack While reading this piece by Peggy McIntosh, I found myself as a white woman thinking, 'yes I can do these things,' and realized right there what white privilege looks like. Looking at the fifty points McIntosh discusses, it is clear that the predominance of white privilege affects her daily life. These daily effects McIntosh discusses range from who she wants to surround herself with, knowing and feeling financially secure and feeling welcomed in public life. While only choosing fifty instances where McIntosh feels her white privilege comes into contact, it is apparent that the instances are common when discussing primarily skin color compared to race, class, and religion. Without argument,

Read More

Peggy Mcintosh's 'White Privilege'

351 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Language Analysis

349 Words | 2 Pages

From the readings and the NPR podcast it gave me a lot to think about how I view race and specifically white privilege and how it affects the social constructs of our society. I believe that in order to understand white privilege you must know the role that race plays. Race is a social construct that was developed by people in order to distinguish between different groups based on physical characteristics but, also to maintain exclusiveness and social superiority (Conley, 2015, p. 344). In the second reading “Defining Racism” it acknowledges that even if someone is aware of their white privilege why would they want it give up because it plays in their favor. In Peggy McIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” she argues that white people

Read More

Wilmington Ten Summary And Analysis

537 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Examples Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

636 Words | 3 Pages

America is a diverse melting pot of various ethnicities and heritages all blended together to create the American society. As beautiful as that is, America as a population is mired in fear of addressing issues such as white privilege which is the product of discrimination and racism. White privilege is viewed by those opposed to it that those who are privilege received unwarranted success as a result of status, luck and privilege rather than putting in hard work or using their brain to earn their success. The existence of discrimination from white privilege comes from the privilege attained by a certain as well as oppression and social prejudice facing certain other groups or races. Individuals who are privileged in one society seldomly are unaware of their privilege, not because of their own doing, but simply because it is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege when you have never seen its adverse effect from the other side.

Read More

Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

759 Words | 4 Pages

In the McIntosh article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” my overview of this article for the reading assignment is that “white privilege,” as McIntosh states, is “an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was meant to remain oblivious.” This revelation came as she was writing an observation article on white male privilege in America. Her reviews in this area began in her discoveries of men’s unwillingness to recognize their over-advantage status, however they would concede the impediment condition of women. These denials protected male privilege from being acknowledged, diminished, or abridged. Her findings concerning unattended white privilege may be key to bigotry.

Read More

Jennifer Cramblett White Privilege Essay Examples

1430 Words | 6 Pages

White privilege is a form of embedded racism wherein “white” people are granted greater power, or access to resources as opposed to other races (Robbins et al. 2014: 99). White privilege is demonstrated in the case of Jennifer Cramblett, a white lesbian woman who decided to undergo artificial insemination. This resulted in a problematic situation as the sperm bank sent the wrong specimen to her (Mystal 2014). This was discovered well into her pregnancy, but she went ahead and delivered the baby. Two years after the baby girl was born, Cramblett decided to sue the sperm bank even after they gave her a refund because she was forced to make changes to accommodate her black child (Mystal 2014).

Read More

White Privilege In The Burning Times

1040 Words | 5 Pages

It might not be seen but still operating. White privilege, is often rendered invisible but is one of the most common forms of racism and racialism. Most successful businesses and companies are often (96%) run by men (Power, SWLF-3446-FA501_2015 (Women and Social Welfare ( BRACE )), 2015). After analyzing Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” I realize how many of these quotes and statements that I did not realize as a white female I either felt or was surprised people have to deal with. For example “I can chose blemish cover or bandages in flesh color that more or less matches my skin.”

Read More

Tim Wise Definition Of Privilege Essay

548 Words | 3 Pages

Privilege especially white privilege is hard to see for those who are born with it but it is very visible for those to whom privilege was not granted according to Mr. Wise. This subject is extremely difficult to talk about for some including myself because we are afraid of offending others. Tim Wise is an anti-racism activist and writer that given

Read More

White Privilege Research Paper

1422 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

White Privilege: Inequality Between Men And Women

1741 Words | 7 Pages

The term white privilege has become a bad term, just like the word feminism. Society has found a way to distort and change the definition of terms like these to avoid the actual issue that the term is bringing up. By definition feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, but the word has come to carry a negative connotation (Webster). Many who believe in the principle would not call themselves feminists or participate in trying to reach equality to avoid that connotation placed on them. Their silence only aids the continuation of inequality between men and women.

Read More

Essay On Invisibility Of Whiteness

1788 Words | 8 Pages

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.

Read More

The Detrimental Effects Of European Colonization Of American Indians

1144 Words | 5 Pages

White people constantly desire to be the dominant group in the United States, so they fear that one day, minorities will become the majority group. In order to maintain their place at the top of society, they must obscure white privilege by denying the existence of white supremacy. Without ideas of white superiority, White people may lose power and no longer be the dominant group in society. This country was founded on beliefs of freedom and equality, yet minority groups exist who are underrepresented in society due to racism and feelings of white supremacy. Over time, white supremacy has certainly dialed down with the emergence of the civil rights movement and more mindful individuals; however, it is still prevalent in modern America since racial discrimination is still an

Read More

Racial Inequality Research Paper

657 Words | 3 Pages

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,

Read More

Personal Essay: My White Privilege

881 Words | 4 Pages

White people who believe in White privilege affirm much of the same things White racists do, except they feel guilty about it. White privilege essentially suggests that Black people are inferior to White people. It suggests that if only Black people were granted special provisions by the government, then maybe they might be stand on equal footing with White people. It’s the soft bigotry of low expectations, and they congratulate themselves for it. And perhaps that is why many of them use racial slurs like “coon” and “Uncle Tom” against

Read More

More about Examples Of White Privilege And Structural Racism In America

Related Topics

Open Document