White Privilege in America Essay - 710 Words

What is privilege? What does it mean? Is privilege inherited or is it earned? As an American resident of color I’ve learned that privilege in this country is something that is innate and inherited. The privilege that I speak of is that of White privilege. There are two prominent writer/scholars who have taken the issue of white privilege to heart and have shared their expert analysis on the subject; these authors/writer-scholars are Peggy McIntosh, a white feminist, and Beverly Tatum, an African American Psychologist. McIntosh, in her article Coming to See Correspondences, makes excellent observations about the privilege that she has experienced just by being a white female in America. The two most significant points made by McIntosh†¦show more content†¦The concept of white privilege helps to highlight the hypocritical nature of the American ideologies of democracy and meritocracy. Ask yourself: Do we live truly in a democratic system if the voices of our nation’s disenfranchised people are not heard? Or are we truly a nation that functions on a meritocratic system if every person-- regardless of socioeconomic background or race-- is not given the same opportunities for development? The concepts of white privilege and male privilege, as used by McIntosh, are meant to unveil the hidden schemes of American ideology. Beverly Tatum incorporates the concept of White privilege into her writing to address the fundamental issues surrounding racism. In Defining Racism, a chapter in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, Tatum defines racism as â€Å"a system of advantage based on race† (P.6) In an accurate and inoffensive way she illustrates racism and extends it beyond the individual, placing blame on the greater American social structure. Throughout the development of her definition she places great emphasis on the fact that racism, like sexism, is something exhibited by the dominant group (whites/men) upon the subordinate group (people of color/women). She does this to demonstrate the structured aspect of racism as an institutional norm and not necessarily something that is actively practiced by individuals. This approach is less offensive to whites and creates a context for self awarenessShow MoreRelatedWhite Privilege : A Crime America Pays For1635 Words   |  7 Pa gesWhite Privilege: A Crime America Pays for Being Privilege is something many of us do not realize we have on an everyday basis. Privilege is something you can get over time, but others are born with the natural ability to be privileged. Anybody who is â€Å"white† descent is born with what is known as white privilege. Many of us do not recognize this the privilege that comes with being white in society. We go on everyday taking advantage of other races by being white without even knowing it. Read MoreWhite Privilege During The Colonization Of America1531 Words   |  7 Pageshave nots. Those who come from privilege tend not to recognize those privileges, while those who fall into the marginalized groups have an uphill battle. White privilege is a set of institutional beliefs granted to those based on their skin color. These individuals have better access to privilege and resources. Much of these privileges are seen through types of employment, amount of compensation, quality of schools, and racial profiling. Among these few privileges one can see daily how the peopleRead MoreWhite Privilege : An Integral Part Of America s Declaration Of Independence Essay1414 Words   |  6 Pages White Privilege Our country was founded on the notion that â€Å"all men are created equal,† while this concept is an integral part of America’s Declaration of Independence, the fundamental idea has never genuinely been practiced. Our country established a white supremacy culture in its founding days, and has accepted the concept since. White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of all other races. Although there have been valiant efforts, the inequality of the races has neverRead MoreWhite Privilege And Black Privilege1389 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"White privilege refers to the fact that in many societies, â€Å"white† people have access to greater power, authority, and privileges, than non-white people† (Robbins et al. 2013:81). 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Dyson put forward the idea that racism is not just calling a black person the â€Å"n† word, blatant discrimination, or cops unjustly shooting and killing blacks, but is also the lack of whites to doRead MoreThe Article Unpacking The Invisible Backpack 936 Words   |  4 PagesInvisible Backpack, McIntosh states â€Å"I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege† I think that statement is true since people can become a part of situations related to privilege unintentionally and cannot help how they were born. I believe McIntosh explore of white privilege is all about and how power is established in the everyday life of all people in America. She says White privilege is stated to consist of an invisibleRead MoreWhite Privilege On Social Media994 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction In today’s society when white privilege is discussed one might think of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), white supremacy, Black Lives Matter Movement, and maybe even presidential hopeful Donald Trump. The idea of this ingrained privilege that was once overt and now presents itself more subtly seems absurd. Many people, no matter their race or ethnicity, do not see this privilege that others hold. Whether it is ignorance or they are oblivious depends on the individual, but looking at statisticsRead MoreWhite Privilege956 Words   |  4 PagesWhite Privilege 2 WHITE PRIVILEGE: Founded in Racial Preference What is white privilege? It is important that white privilege be defined because the majority of whites want to deny that it exists at all, especially in response to assertions of people of color that it exists unjustly and should be dismantled. The denial of its existence by whites is racialized. People of color say white people enjoy white privilege while white people deny, as often as possible, that they