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White Privilege In American History

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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”. However, a white retiree disagreed that white privilege does not exist but shortly afterwards he stated that black privilege does. Many people were confused by his comment and asked him to further elaborate on what exactly black …show more content…

Also, if a White History Month was created that would be considered unlawfully wrong to society. Some white people feel like they struggle as far as race mistreatment due to the color of their skin. Books have even been written and published addressing this issue such as “Black Skin Privilege and the American Dream” and “Its Past Time to acknowledge black privilege”. In a 2011 survey whites said they suffer from radical discrimination more than blacks. One thing that stood out the most to me was when a white commentator described our modern day society as “White is becoming the new black” because many people want to pass as black and that’s when they began to discuss Rachel Dolezal. Racheal Dolezal was a Spokane for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) pretending to be black. In reference to the NAACP many whites feel like it’s an unfair advantage that African Americans can belong to a club or organization that caters to the specific needs of that particular

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This week we were assigned to read to different articles. The first article was written by Peggy McIntosh titled, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. Throughout the article, Peggy showed the readers what it means to have white privilege. She showed the readers 50 different types of “advantages” that whites get over other races, such as African Americans. This is the biggest theme throughout her entire piece.

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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

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“Behind every success, large or small, there is a story, and it isn't always told by sex or skin color” (page 2, par. 15), Fortgang, T (2014). Some people base their success on their racial background. “Checking My Privilege” by Tal Fotrtgang was written in an effort to voice his opinion on this matter. In his essay, Tal Fortgang says, “I actually went and checked the origins of my privileged existence, to empathize with those whose underdog stories I can’t possibly comprehend. I have unearthed some examples of the privilege with which my family was blessed, and now I think I better understand those who assure me that skin color allowed my family and I to flourish today”

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Clearly violence was out broken when a community had too much of what they thought to be unjust behavior. Two New York City police officers were shot execution style in retaliation. White privilege clearly affects the colored community, but I think that it affects whites as well. We are unknowingly for some, knowingly for others, oppressing a race and accomplishing goals at the expense of someone else. Personally, I am not okay with only getting accomplishments and achievements because the color of my skin.

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In chapter one, "Privilege, Oppression, and Difference, Allan Johnson begins his argument that "difference is not the problem"( Johnson, pg 5 ). The author goes on to explain that difference by itself is not the problem, rather difference in conjunction with our ideas that cause fear. That being said, discrimination was a bigger problem in the past and it still is today. We starts with talking about Rodney King and racism he had received from police officers in Los Angeles. Johnson continues on with the idea that people are judged not for who they are or the things they have accomplished, but how they are perceived by others.

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White privilege is the societal privilege that benefits individuals whom society recognizes as white in some countries, beyond what is generally experienced by non-white individuals under a similar social, political, or financial conditions. Peggy Mcintosh explains white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets. White privilege denotes the subtle or sometimes obvious passive advantages that white people may not notice that they receive, which originates from overt bias and prejudice. These incorporates cultural affirmations of one’s own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. A lot of the time people feel guilty about being the beneficiaries of some form of privilege, but a lot of the time they do not understand that having privileges is not the result of what we have done as an individual but should be seen more like a membership given upon birth.

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Any attempt to suggest that whiteness has an invisible power or a privilege may be viewed as attempting to rehash the discussion of slavery, discrimination or injustice. For many this dialogue by those that wish to

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During the documentary I felt largely uncomfortable. Primarily because it is the first time I have really questioned being white. I know my race, I have filled out multiple questionnaires but I have never sat down and thought what it meant to be white. White privilege does exist, and it is not uncommon.

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We got turned into White people by assimilation. It is because of the added colour of other nationalities that we ended up being called the whites. But there is no need for the privilege too. Europeans changed themselves completely, angloconformity, conforming to this dominant white culture. White people don’t see ourselves as a white person but other people and other cultures see us as white people.

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1) White privilege is an ongoing societal issue that benefits white people, giving them an upper hand in situations where non-white people would not get the same treatment. For example, when walking down the street, a white person walks freely without concern of being stopped. Someone who is not white doesn’t have the same luxury. Authority stops them just because of their appearance. Tim Wise asked law enforcement what they thought of a black male driving a nice car in a nice neighborhood versus a white male in the same situation.

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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

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Pick up a history book, flip through its pages, and find a section(s) dedicated to African Americans. There will be a supercut of slavery and a few inventors, enough to count on one’s hand. Ultimately, only the historical characters that are considered salient are provided, which are white educators, Presidents, legislators, advocates, inventors, etc. This issue engenders the remaining reason to advocate Black History Month. “Carter G. Woodson was the sole individual responsible for creating Negro History Week in Washington, D.C., in February 1926” (Edmondson).

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The first article Critical Race Theory, could elaborate more on how exactly CRT was influenced by other philosophers and previous moments. This can help the reader further understand the important ideas CRT got from others. Additionally, Peggy McIntosh’s article lacked the male prospective in her 46 conditions. By providing male experiences, it would offer the reader further understanding of how white privilege affects the male and female African Americans and whites. To understand white privilege, one needs to understand and hear every parties point of view and experience.

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One of the people said white privilege was a fluffy academic term that you learn about in university and does not exist in the real world. Another person compared the concept of white privilege to “Asian Privilege” or “Muslim privilege” and compared it to Chinese restaurants being primarily staffed by Chinese people. Which is

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In the article, Understanding White Privilege, by Francis Kendall, two comments that stand out as related to this are; “Most of us go through our days unaware that we are white or that it matters.” (Kendall, 2) “We participate, intentionally or not, in the purposeful construction of a system that deflates the value of one people’s culture while inflating the value of another’s.” (Kendall, 3) When I observe the terrible state of the world most of this is due to the dominant culture, capitalist culture, the Business as Usual, largely white-centric culture that is rapidly taking over the whole planet. Many of the healing systems and cultures that for centuries lived in harmony with the earth are being oppressed and eliminated. Learning to listen and provide space for the voices of these other cultures to be heard and acknowledged is extremely important at this time.

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