Hey, White People, You Are Born Privileged
"Why must we always talk about race anyway? Can't we just be human beings? And professor Hunk replied that is exactly what white privilege is, that you can say that. Race doesn't really exist for you because it has never been a barrier. Black folks don't have that choice." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
If you haven't noticed before, every time "white privilege" is slipped into a conversation, it is immediately met with an impenetrable wall. For some white people, the words bring on this feeling of discomfort. Because, for them, the words are accusatory without any specifics.
However, white privilege is real.
Firstly, let's break the words down. The word white creates discomfort amongst those who aren't used to identifying themselves as such. While the term privilege, especially towards poor or rural white people, sounds like a word that doesn't belong to them. In other words, the word privilege (to them) might suggest that they have never struggled. I am not saying that everything a white person has ever done is unaccomplished. I am saying that white people have more of a built in-advantage. Meaning the system is built on your side, you were born with this privilege I will never have.
White person, if you wake up in the morning without feeling fearful of your life, then you walk in this world with a privilege that a black person doesn't have. White people have the privilege of having a positive relationship with the police, generally. On the other hand, black people don't.
From personal experience, I learned that the concept of white privilege refers to white people benefiting from the fact that they aren't a racial minority. The idea of white privilege is that the social and cultural privileges that accompany whiteness go unnoticed by those who benefit from them.
According to the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), white privilege is the unearned access, resources and social status systematically given to white people at the expense of people of color. The organization also shared some white privilege statistics. For example, in New York City, 80 percent of police stops were made towards Blacks and Latinos, and 85 percent were frisked. And that statistic was compared to 8 percent of Whites. The organization also concluded that African Americans are 33 percent more likely to be detained than Whites and being faced with felony charges.
If you have read through this article and still remain unsure about whether you have the privilege or not, think about this. The entire history of the United States as a 500-year-old relay race, where whites began running as soon as the gun sounded, but blacks had to stay in the starting blocks until they were allowed to run. If the finish line is the same for everyone, then the time and distance advantage between the two runners is white privilege.
Do I have your attention now?
