As a white woman growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood, I have always been aware of white privilege. I’ve always lived in the same house just up the street from the housing projects. Because of where we lived, most of my mom’s friends weren’t white which meant a large portion of the children I grew up around weren’t white. Even though it was normal for me to be seen playing outside with black kids, I didn’t belong there. There were several occasions where kids I had been playing with said, “You know you don’t belong here, right?” Even as young as six, we all knew I didn’t belong there. When I left the projects, I went home to a large yard, a dog, lots of toys, and a place where I felt safe. Now I’m not saying that all people who aren’t white grow up in bad neighborhoods, but the fact that the majority of the residents who were in the projects growing up weren’t white was my first experience with white privilege.
The fact that as a child I could notice this, and in my heart know that there was something innately wrong makes me question why the majority of people in our society, more obviously the majority of white people in our society choose to ignore it. It’s not as if signs of white privilege aren’t staring us directly in the face on a daily basis. You see it every day in the news, in the media, in the workplace, and in the classroom. As a white person, as the majority, I know that I tend not to worry about being the only person of my race in the room, unless I intentionally put myself in that situation. I know that when I apply for a job, someone isn’t going to see my name and possibly not hire me due to my race, or the fact that I have an “ethnic” sounding name that can be deemed “unprofessional.” My parents never had to teach me how to deal with systematic racism for my well-being nor have I even been afraid that my actions (other than going to Starbucks) or anything I say could be viewed as standing for my whole culture. Mainly, I have never been afraid that living my life and doing normal everyday tasks could make me a target or endanger my life just because of my race. Every single one of these things that we don’t tend to pay attention to or don’t worry about on a day to day basis is thanks to white privilege. These are things that not just black, but all minorities have to worry about on a daily basis because they don’t have the privilege of ignoring it. My entire life, my friend groups have been racially diverse and I am extremely thankful for that. If I had been sheltered, and only had friends like me, I would have never been able to see what it is like from their perspective. Then, maybe I would be one of the white, privileged people denying that white privilege existed and ignoring the experiences of those around me.
White privilege isn’t something you notice from always being on the inside because it feels like nothing more than being a citizen of the United States. We keep our freedom of speech, our right to bear arms, our peaceful protests, our right to a trial by our peers, and in most cases being innocent until proven guilty. Don’t those sound like rights given to us by the U.S. constitution? Those are rights that aren’t equally granted to minorities in the U.S. In media, when a white person commits a crime they usually only talk about the crime and only topics relevant to that crime like their personal criminal history. When a minority does the same thing, they can talk about their family’s criminal history, the fact that their neighborhood had a gang in it, or anything else that makes them look like a “thug” because it is used to dehumanize them due to a lack of respect. This is inequality due to white privilege.
When minorities begin standing up for themselves and standing against this inequality, this injustice, that’s when white people tend to get angry. Can someone explain to me why a culture standing up for themselves angers you? If white privilege doesn’t exist, then what are they taking from you? No one is blaming anyone in particular, they are blaming society and the people who chose to ignore what is being done to them. I’ve always believed that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. This is one of those times. People hate being part of the problem, but instead of being part of the solution, many people try to place the blame back at the minorities. They get accused of hurting their own cause, being entitled, asking for things they don’t deserve, and hating white people and because it’s the majority saying it, that is how they get viewed when they are only trying to get what they deserve.
I know not all white people are like that, obviously I am on the side of equality for all people, but I want to address some things for those of us with white privilege who get offended when others try to take it away. White privilege exists and it isn’t your fault initially, but if you refuse to do anything about it then it becomes your fault because you become part of the problem. When you say “I don’t see color,” you don’t sound honorable, you sound ignorant because race has always been a factor in this nation and by saying you don’t see it you are basically saying that you are choosing to ignore the suffering of half the country who are fighting for rights that they don’t have based on their race. The “Black Lives Mattes” movement isn’t against white people. It is against injustice, inequality, racism, and being treated as lesser due to your skin color. When you say “All Lives Matter,” you are essentially saying your life matters more. If you believed all lives mattered you would be marching with them. You would be saying something, because obviously some people are acting like black lives matter less and if you believed “All Lives Mattered” wouldn’t you have a problem with that?
You may think that the battle against white privilege isn’t your battle, that since you don’t suffer at its hands it’s not your problem. It may not be your direct problem, but it is your neighbor’s problem, your friend’s problem, your classmate’s problem. It's a problem for almost half the people in America. If you cannot openly admit that it is a problem, that if you don’t work towards a more equal future you are part of the problem, and don’t speak out against this problem, how are you supposed to expect any support from any minority when you never supported them? The only way for a truly equal society is for those of us with white privilege to help those without experience some of that privilege.
