By now you have certainly heard the words, “white privilege” and if you are like many, associated the phrase with socioeconomic status. Though it makes sense to make the assumption in a capitalist country where wealth gaps are astronomical, white privilege is actually more about being within the beneficiary group of oppressive systems that disproportionately have a negative impact on BIPOC and our communities. More specifically, it’s pointing out the ways policies of systemic oppression intended to benefit white folks are actively still working.
The tricky thing about systemic oppression is that it is so vast, it’s hard to know where to look first. Similar to standing on the edge of the ocean and struggling to find where the water ends and the sky begins, oppression tied to white supremacist ideology has trickled into everything we do from employment to voting since the founding of our country. Because that ideology has influenced our governing dating back to day one, we have to expand our imagination past what we’ve always known in order to begin to conceptualize institutions and systems which result in true liberty and justice for all.
It’s important to note that different from individual white supremacist acts of hatred, systemic oppression hides in plain sight until each law or policy slowly drifts into the “this is just always how we’ve done things” pile. Eventually we see statistics about how specific groups have fallen behind in areas such as education or wealth, and if enough time has passed we begin to make assumptions for patterns of short comings rather than seek to find previous decisions that still impact folks today.
As heavy as all that sounds, there is a red, white and blue coated silver lining: we can make it better. The term white privilege is used to point out where the system of white supremacist policy is working. Essentially, white privilege is a by-product of white supremacy. To admit a person benefits from white privilege is simply acknowledging a decades long paper trail of discriminatory policies exists. The goal of using the phrase is not to cast individual shame or blame, but rather to evoke acknowledgement and action for change.
It can’t be said enough that white privilege does not mean individuals do not face hardship or trauma, but instead the specific racial group is not systemically and intentionally disadvantaged based on their skin color alone. Rather than get caught up in uncomfortable phrases, the real work lies in using our collective power to disrupt white supremacist ideology and make advancements in our country that are long overdue.
What’s Next
Dive deeper: Pick an area you know a lot about, then learn more about policies governing that area and how they impact different groups of people.
Plug in: Once you begin to learn more about policies, if you discover areas that aren’t working search the ways you can advocate for change.
Spread knowledge: Educate others each time you uncover something new. One of the most effective ways to ally is spreading factual information.