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White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Summary

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Recommended: Racial and social injustice

In society and religion you can either unite individuals for agreeable achievements or continue to focus on the mistreatment and enduring of other individuals. In this essay I will be providing a rhetorical analysis of an essay called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” By Peggy McIntosh. Also providing a secondary source by Tommie Shelby “Social, Identity and Group Solidarity, We Who Are Dark” explaining some of the similarities and differences of the two readings ,and the proper principles as to why I chose these two for my term paper. All throughout the beginning of my essay I will be identifying the particular strategies that the author McIntosh provides to appeal to her audience. The main purpose of her essay is to …show more content…

After that she provided several short organized statements regarding her proven thoughts of white privilege. They all provided minimum information to reflect on and be a helpful understanding to what white privilege is itself. As I said before these were advantages of her life and the things that she was proven granted as a white privilege. At this point McIntosh has gave multiple allegations of white privilege to her audience. For example some of the white privileges she stated she received things like: “I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.” (McIntosh), and I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me. These are just two that caught my attention the most because many people of different races can actually relate to having difficulties in getting good legal health help, and also perfect education opportunities. Over all looking at the principles of the topic that McIntosh makes to get us to understand that white privilege exist makes me think about a reading I had read once before called “We Who Are Dark” by Tommie

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As a result of her comprehensive definition on white privilege and endorsement to her academic background, McIntosh begins to persuade her audience that unearned white privilege does exist. The first couple of paragraphs of her essay she gives to define white privilege, so it is recognizable that this definition is necessary for her essay and her argument.

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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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In response to “Making kids read The Help is not the way to teach them about the civil rights struggle”, writer Jessica Roake informs the audience that she is giving facts about how kids shouldn’t read these books because it’s written by white authors in her article “Not Helpful.” Using several rhetorical strategies, Roake effectively builds her argument. One important rhetorical strategy Roake uses is Logos. She builds her argument by using facts about the Jim Crow laws. She establishes “Jim Crow was a time of systematic oppression, when an entire population was terrorized because of the color of their skin” (Roake, 2).

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The central them of White Privilege Knapsack is about how certain people have better advantages simply because of what they were born into. Whether it is being a specific race that is believed to be superior over others or being males versus a female. What was the article about?: Growing up children learn from an early age of what is acceptable and what is expected of them.

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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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After violating Virginia's Jim Crow laws, a short arrest, and fundraising for an unfair trial, she decided to apply to Howard University's School of Law-her subject of interest was civil rights law (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK). Mack described her allegiance to civil rights law as an extension of her quest for" personal autonomy" (2012, 208). Despite her academic successes, she was denied admission to Harvard, the graduate school of her choice, because of her gender. Career stability did not come to easy to Murray, she lived as "a minority within a minority" and suffered the consequences of being a marginalized member of society in all parts of her life. She instead continued her studies at Berkley, there she was exposed to more minorities and sympathized with them (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK).

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In her paper, I could relate to many arguments that she presented. For instance, number five on her list she mentioned that she can go into a store and shop without being harassed or followed by people in the store. I could relate to this argument, because I have gone into stores and I have been followed. Namely, my friend and I were in Las Vegas shopping and every store we went into security followed us and clerks stayed close by us at all times. McIntosh’s paper illustrates how white privilege allow Caucasians to be carefree, while minorities are constantly judged based on their race.

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I sometimes get irritated when people don’t agree on the same ideas that I have or when the other person says something that I don’t agree with. The objective of this chapter made me comprehend that based on an individual’s experiences and viewpoints impacts the person’s behavior. Some experience may deal with the oppressions and privileges a person has, the article “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person…” made me realize that I am more privilege than what I thought. The author didn’t think she was privilege until she read a book she got recommended and from her article she summarizes

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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.

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