White Privilege

…and how it affects us all.

Uh oh. Here I go. I’m going to make you uncomfortable for a minute, but I would love it if you stayed with me.

If you made it past the title of this blog post then you are doing great so far. Keep it up!

Let’s start with the basics.

Privilege:

(noun) a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.

White Privilege:

the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.

Okay, so now that we have the literal definition of these words out of the way, let’s talk about them in-depth.

This term (white privilege) has roots in European colonialism and the Atlantic slave trade. America has a nasty history. This is not to say that every single white person that was alive between the years of 1619 and 1865 were horrible people that did nothing to contribute to the wonderful things that America has to offer, but it is to say that many of them (specifically the ones who owned slaves) collectively created the injustices and rampant violence that black people and other P.O.Cs faced daily then and now.

Now let’s pause.

I know that this is a hard read. Especially if you don’t agree with the BLM movement and you recoil anytime someone points out the fact that you happen to be white. Let me tell you why I think that is.

White people specifically have done some messed up stuff in this country based on historic fact…(although many people would just rather “keep race out of it” and say that there were evil people of all colors doing evil things) it is fact that white messed up. Because of this wide knowledge of the sins of white people, it is hard to accept anyone personally connecting you to being “white”.

*It is true that evil is everywhere and that it wasn’t only white people who enslaved black people, I know all of these things. I have heard all of the arguments. But let’s try to stay on topic.

The topic right now is White Privilege specifically how it applies to Americans.

I understand why you might feel weird when someone points out the fact that you are white and that you are benefiting every day from a system that was set in place by people that were problematic humans. That can feel like people are connecting you to racists. It can feel like people are calling you a racist and that stings and can be offensive and harmful. I get it. No one wants to be called a racist…not even racists.

Are you still with me? Cool. Proud of you. Let’s jump back in.

Because this country was founded and based on racism it set us up to be in a really difficult situation.

White privilege does not mean that you never struggled and it certainly does not mean that you didn’t work hard to get to where you are in your job, education, etc. It means that your SKIN COLOR probably didn’t have anything to do with you being discouraged or not succeeded in your education/career etc.

*there are obvious exceptions to this rule, but being able to acknowledge a widespread problem and naming it helps humans be able to dismantle injustices and grow together as a cohesive unit.* Here are some examples of White Privilege:

1. Being asked what you want to be when you grow up and seeing multiple successful people that look like you in that occupation.
2. Not needing a store employee to come and unlock your shampoo and conditioner from a locked case in the beauty department.
3. Hardly ever being the only white person in the room.
4. Having options when it comes to the color “nude” *this goes for bandaids, stockings, lipstick, heels, etc.* and being able to find your shade almost every time.
5. People don’t come up and touch your hair.
6. When you were a child you always had a doll that matched you, looked like you. They were readily available.
7. Being able to wear your hair how it grows out of your head without the fear of being sent home/fired from your job because of it.

I could go on and on but I will stop there. Hopefully, you get the point. These are not things that are your fault. These are not things that you should feel bad about. I don’t want you to feel bad about the skin that you were born in. But I do want you to acknowledge the fact that this country was established to benefit the straight white men.

That was a tough one, huh? Let me say it again. America was set up to benefit the STRAIGHT WHITE MAN.

I hope you haven’t stopped reading.

I am not trying to hurt your feelings.

I am trying to educate you.

I am trying to help you.

White privilege is a real thing. It is real because until the first civil rights movement (yes, I am calling the current events the second) there was a clear divide in what was for whites and what was for blacks and the things that were for the whites were exponentially better than what was for the blacks.

Talking about privilege can be tough because a lot of the time privilege is something that we are born into.

So you might be wondering:

“Miki, you just said I was born into privilege. What the heck am I supposed to do about it? It’s not my fault that I am white! I kinda like being white!”

Okay, I am so glad that you asked this question. Here is what you can do.

1. Acknowledge your privilege. Like really, go back to the top of the page and read the definition of what privilege is. Journal about it if you have to. Go deep in your self-reflection. Be honest with yourself. Where does Privilege show up in your life?
2. Understand that you benefit from a system that is not set up for everyone to succeed. Even if it is not your fault. You are still benefitting from it. It’s important to be aware of that.
3. Think of ways that you can use the privilege you were born with to help those who do not benefit from that same privilege. Can you help magnify their voices? Can open the door for them in a room that they are not represented in?

Accepting, acknowledging, and using your privilege for good is all people are asking for. The sooner you realize that things are not equal the sooner we will be able to do something about reaching that goal of

TRUE EQUALITY.

Injustices are out there and they aren’t going anywhere just because we pretend they don’t exist.

Here’s the thing, we are all learning things as we go along and it can be hard to imagine a world without racism and prejudice. It can almost seem impossible. But you know what else seemed impossible? Airplanes, humans on the moon, women getting the right to vote, the emancipation proclamation, cellphones, Donald Trump becoming president.

Things happen every day that are impossible. I want to encourage you all to be on the right side of history on this. I want to encourage you to do your part.

I believe in us.

Let’s do it.

Originally published at https://citscoaching.com on July 6, 2020.