What is "White Privilege?" A White Man Begins to Learn.

What is "White Privilege?"

What is “white privilege,” and why is it so hard for White people to see it? 

As a White man, I have thought about this question, and here is a part of the answer I have arrived at. There is undoubtedly more to this question than I can see now, but this is where my thinking as arrived at this moment, and I hope that what I have to say will help others to see the reality of white privilege.

As I see it now, white privilege is the privilege of not having to deal with the dangers, barriers and inconveniences that Black people in the United States have to deal with all the time. It is hard for us White people to see white privilege because we have nothing to contrast it with. We have never had to deal with the dangers, barriers and inconveniences that Black people face. So, we don’t think about them. We don't feel privileged, and we are surprised when we are spoken of as if we were. 

However, it is certainly true that Black people face dangers, barriers and inconveniences that we White people do not have to face.

Dangers that Black People Face

Black people face real, physical dangers in our society.

• If they are stopped by the police, they are much more likely than White people to be killed or beaten.
• If they are not killed by the police, they may be killed by vigilantes just for walking through a neighborhood, as we saw in the case of Trayvon Martin.
• If they are accused of a crime, they are much more likely to be convicted. If they are convicted, they are more likely than white people to serve long prison sentences.

Barriers that Black People Face

Black people also face barriers to economic advancement that white people do not face.

• Because of racial prejudice, they are often the “last hired and first fired” from many jobs.
• On average, their families are poorer than White families, and so, on average, it is harder for them to pay for the education that would help them out of poverty.
• Because of discriminatory real estate and lending practices, Black people who own homes tend to live in areas where property values are lower than they are in White neighborhoods. As we know, a family home is the principal form of wealth for most Americans, and so, Black people have a harder time accumulating wealth than White people do.
• One of the legacies of past discrimination is that most of our public and private institutions are controlled by White people, and therefore, black people often lack the personal contacts that may facilitate success in our society.
• Because people tend to associate with other people who are “like them,” Black people in school and in the work place are often excluded from the groups that provide support and encouragement. Note that this exclusion is not intentional or consciously racist, but that does not prevent it from forming a barrier to a Black person’s advancement.

These are examples of what is often called "institutional racism." It is racism that is perpetuated not by the racist feelings or ideas of individuals but because of the ways that our institutions and social practices have developed historically.

Inconveniences that Make Life Difficult

Black people also suffer from a number of annoying inconveniences that become a drum-beat of irritation that is a constant feature of their lives. One of these is the “crime” of “driving while Black.” This refers to the fact that they are much more likely than White people to be stopped by the police for no obvious reason.  Several Black people have told me of such experiences. The experience of being stopped by the police in this way is also connected to Black people’s realistic fear of being killed by the police.  So, even those who have never been threatened personally in this way live with the fear of it.

Another inconvenience is that Black people who go into stores or restaurants are ignored by the staffs of those places more often than White people are. Fear of such treatment is one of the factors that lead middle class Black people to dress well.  They know that if they look respectable, they are less likely to be treated as if they were not.

Black people are angered and humiliated by such treatment, as anyone would be, and the anger and  humiliation embitter their lives. Naturally, they resent such treatment, and they struggle to make the rest of us work with them to build a society in which they do not have to be angry or humiliated. In this, they seem to me to be perfectly justified.

I Hope that this has Helped

The above examples are very far from a complete list of the dangers, barriers and inconveniences that Black people suffer from in our society, but I hope that they show a little of what Black people in our society have to deal with, and I hope that the reader can begin – as I have begun – to appreciate the reality of “White privilege.”