White Privileges refer to benefits enjoyed only by white-skinned people in western nations. These privileges are withheld from non-white people under the same, economic, societal and civil settings. A privilege is defined as a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others. White privileges to the white people exist as concealed and unwarranted packages. As a result, most whites cannot feel the power they have over non-whites. In many instances, they think that the privileges they have are enjoyed universally. Thus, white privilege is like an unjustified supremacy that is given out selectively. White people seldom see the error through their own eyes, but the non-whites view them as a cult of glorified people. There is also a silent culture of overruling legislations and putting whites at a higher place than people of other races. In support of this, Kendall (2002) argues that ‘White privilege is an institutional (rather than personal) set of benefits granted to those of us who, by race, resemble the people who dominate the powerful positions in our institutions.’ This essay will, therefore, emphasize Kendall’s assertion by supporting the notion that white privilege exists. Likewise, it will express existing views on race and the systemized supremacy enjoyed by white people.
White people are a glorified race. We enjoy privileges lavished on us by the system of rule. History is brimming with systemized, purposeful privileges given to white people while denied to non-whites (Kendall, 2002). Additionally, the decisions made by white power holders have impacted people of color differently from the way they have affected whites. ‘McIntosh's (1992) article traces how she came to realize her own unexamined, unearned ‘invisible knapsack' of privilege conferred by her (white) race in relation to her African American colleagues in a women's studies department at a US college. She lists over forty instances of how she experiences privilege in her life' (Swartz, 2014). The white privileges do not come to us by obeying or disobeying legislations. Rather, we can be unlawful, and still enjoy the privileges. The non-whites, on the other hand, can be morally upright and lawful but still lack the white privileges (Kendall, 2002).
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This illustration of white privileges came out clearly from a personal experience a few years ago. I was still in high school then and was driving off of Pine Island. A police officer had pulled someone off the road due to some situation that may have occurred such as drinking, or over-speeding. I was driving ten under the speed limit but was unaware of the law that when you drive by a police officer, you have to drive 20 miles under . Unfortunately, there was a police car behind me. He flashed his lights, and I pulled over immediately. In my senses, I felt that I had some privilege to get out of the situation. Given that I’m a white woman, I have always interacted with police politely, and as a result, all situations lead to a positive outcome on my side. Likewise, in this particular incident, no major issues arose between the officers and I. Informed by this personal experience, I concur with the notion that whites expect to be treated better compared to non-whites.
White people see themselves, though subtly, as belonging to a particular class that is destined to enjoy special privileges no matter what. The syndrome of white privilege is also rampant in public institutions. In most instances, white people receive privileges the institutions they interact with because of our race, not because we are merited as individuals. Most of the things we receive are because we belong to the white race. In this regard, the status quo has favored us above the non-whites. In some learning institutions, new students are accepted on the basis of their parents being alumni of the schools even when their grades do not merit them. This locks out those that may have better scores (Kendall, 2002). The dominance of racism in learning institutions has thrived for a long time. About this, Boatright-Horowitz et al. (2013) say that ‘The existence of racism, (e.g. Brewster and Rusche 2012), particularly as it occurs on predominantly white college campuses, is unequivocal. McCarthy (1993) described incidences of overt racism on college campuses, including physical beating of black individuals, cross-burnings, mock slave auctions with the ‘slaves' wearing afro wigs, ‘jungle parties' in which white fraternity brothers wore black body paint and rings in their noses.'
White Privilege has placed white people above other races. People with colored skins often succumb to lack of some privileges only meant for whites. According to Stewart et al. (2012), ‘prejudice and discrimination continue to be social problems on a global scale. Understanding the mechanisms through which intergroup biases are perpetuated , and the means by which they might be reduced therefore remains a central focus of both social psychologists and diversity training practitioners.’ Furthermore, it is important to notice the historical ills subjected to others in favor of the white race. One strategy that was used to appraise white dominance and suppress others was the use of ‘affirmative action to promote opportunities for white women rather that for people of color.' (Kendall, 2002). These patterns continue to dominate even today and have been supported throughout history. This dominance is not only in the continuous, systematic disregard for the people of color in healthcare, housing, education and judicial systems but also in distinct ways where people of color are excluded from the daily consciousness of white people. Even most of our media features are dominated by white people. We also have a noiseless White Privilege of not knowing most of the colored heroes (Kendall, 2002).
White people live in absentia of the experiences faced by people of color. The knowledge we have about racism or white dominance is at most intellectual, something we can study rigorously and then throw it away from the center of our lives. For our learning to be efficient , service learning was incorporated, but the removal of the views of white students towards racism and white privilege renders learning ineffective. To drive this point home, Reed-Bouley & Kyle (2015) observes that ‘As Seider’s study shows, service-learning in theology courses can effectively transform students’ understanding of the structural dimensions of poverty and social inequality in the United States. Faculty also often aims to challenge students’ views on racial issues. Transforming white students’ views about racism and white privilege has been shown to be extremely difficult .’
Research has been done to establish the link between racism and religion. Christians also need to understand the gap between racial equality and the ills bestowed upon others by the white privilege. The premise upon which this approach is based is the fact that Christians need to open their eyes and see what other races and religions are doing. One such study was carried out by Todd et al. (2014) who cites that ‘The current study provides such a contribution by investigating the intersection of race and religion to understand how attitudes toward White privilege and religious beliefs predict social justice interest and commitment for White Christian students.’
In conclusion, white people are ‘privileged from conception.’ For instance, we proudly make decisions that will affect other people without taking their needs and aspirations into consideration. In everyday conversations, when someone raises the issue of race, we feel that we are being called racists. Thus, we believe that whiteness is normal and non-whiteness abnormal. To address the rampant challenges against social justice, we first need to undo the unwillingness to understand the actual patterns of injustice. We must admit our failure to concern ourselves with the issues affecting the non-whites. We must also question our quest to be treated in a certain way even when we do not adhere or meet particular requirements. Therefore, as white people, we can either continue to use our undeserved privilege to oppress others or choose to do away with this vice so as to live justly and differently.
References
Boatright-Horowitz, S. L., Frazier, S., Harps-Logan, Y., & Crockett, N. (2013). Difficult times for college students of color: teaching white students about White Privilege provides hope for change. Teaching in Higher Education , 18 (7), 698-708.
Kendall, F. E. (2002). Understanding the White Privilege. 960 Tulare Ave., Albany.
Reed ‐ Bouley, J., & Kyle, E. (2015). Challenging Racism and White Privilege in Undergraduate Theology Contexts: Teaching and Learning Strategies for Maximizing the Promise of Community Service ‐ Learning. Teaching Theology & Religion , 18 (1), 20-36.
Stewart, T. L., Latu, I. M., Branscombe, N. R., Phillips, N. L., & Ted Denney, H. (2012). White privilege awareness and efficacy to reduce racial inequality improve White Americans’ attitudes toward African Americans. Journal of Social Issues , 68 (1), 11-27.
Swartz, S., Arogundade, E., & Davis, D. (2014). Unpacking (white) privilege in a South African university classroom: A neglected element in multicultural educational contexts. Journal of Moral Education , 43 (3), 345-361.
Todd, N. R., McConnell, E. A., & Suffrin, R. L. (2014). The role of attitudes toward White privilege and religious beliefs in predicting social justice interest and commitment. American journal of community psychology , 53 (1-2), 109-121.
