A few years ago, during the protests on race relations in Ferguson, Missouri, Chris Rock, a very famous black comedian, was asked to comment on the social and political progress that black people have made in America. To that, he responded that it was not black people who have progressed in America, but rather the white people.

When you think about it, racial relations in America and the progress toward equality are heavily dependent on white people. Since slavery, racial relations in America have progressed greatly, but we still have a long way to go. This progress is a result of white people realizing that treating people of color less than human or inferior to them is immoral and kind of crazy. America elected a black president for the first time because he was clearly qualified to be the president. Even if some white people have strongly opposed the progress above, they were a result of the general progress of white people realizing their privilege and using it to reach toward equality for all.

Privilege and recognizing it in ourselves is a key part in striving towards equality in this country.

White Americans have so much privilege and so much power in this country that it can be used to create peaceful, respectful, and equal racial relations in this country.

In a social context, privilege is defined as refusing to identify a problem as such because it does not directly affect a person. A lesser version would be recognizing something as an issue but choosing not to do anything about it because, again, it does not affect them directly.

This is the problem when it comes to the lack of social progress toward positive racial relations.

The majority, white people, need to recognize that they have a great amount of privilege in this world.

If we can use that privilege in a positive light, we have the power to make a major change in this world and in the lives of so many people who have been discriminated against for so long.

If you know you have privilege in any way, as a white person, a man, a straight person, you have a choice.

We have the choice to either recognize inequalities throughout society as issues, even though it may not directly impact you, or we can go on the path we have been on for years, ignoring our privilege and allowing things in this country to stay stagnant. Change and growth to this country’s social and political injustices will only happen if the majority of social groups in this country chooses to use their power of privilege to make change in this world by addressing, confronting, and speaking out against these injustices. With privilege comes a platform to speak up and be heard.

It is up to us to use our privilege for good and really work toward addressing and solving the injustices that are happening in our homes, workplaces, and schools in order to make the progress we need to reach equality.