I've been thinking about this lately, after a discussion with Professor Calabrese. He was expressing concern that his Dominican students who read Peggy McIntosh's article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, were in denial of the realities of this concept.
McIntosh describes white privilege as "an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious...[it's] special provisions."
She lists a number of conditions which whites take for granted and people of color cannot generally count on, including:
-I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
-I can turn on the TV or open the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
-I can swear, or dress in secondhand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
-I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
-I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
-If a traffic cop pulls me over or the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
-I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having co-workers on the job suspect I got it because of my race.
-I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
-I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
-I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.
-I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
Reflecting Calabrese's thoughts on how his students received (or didn't receive so well) the White Privilege article, it goes without saying that I agree and it's quite hard for many people to realize or accept.
I haven't experienced much blatant racism over the course of my life, but I do notice the undertones.
"You speak like a white girl!" [I speak the way I speak.]
"You're smart; you're not like those typical blacks." [Blacks aren't generally smart?]
"You're very articulate." [So are a lot of white college students; why is it a special commodity that I 'possess'?]
I do have to go to makeup specialty stores like Sephora or purchase Iman's line of cosmetics to find items that complement my skin tone.
I do have to "be on my best behavior" or "put forth my best efforts," lest someone pigeonholes and marginalizes me. And I'm sure many would agree.
In my interactions with people in Chicago where I currently live, many black people (mostly men) tell me, "I like your accent. You're not from here, are you?" Um, as far as I'm concerned, I am from here; I speak in my normal voice without putting up pretenses. I grew up in the suburbs, yes, but there are plenty of black people from Palatine who speak in the urban vernacular. There are plenty of white people from Palatine (and everywhere) who do as well.
So what gives? Why do people of a certain skin tone have to be lumped together? Why are "positive" characteristics attributed to "whiteness"? These are just a few of the many implications that people may not realize are serious issues.
"Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the U.S. think that racism doesn't affect them because they are not people of color," McIntosh writes. "They do not see "whiteness" as a racial identity." She argues that in order to combat disproportionate privilege, it has to be acknowledged. "Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of dominance while denying that systems of dominance exist."
Thoughts?
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