Introduction: Dealing With Identity and Privilege

White privilege. Sometimes seen as a buzzword, even a hoax, white privilege is something of a hot topic in our society today. In her book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together?, author Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD.,  discusses issues of race, including white privilege. Most white people have a lot of discomfort at the idea that they are receiving benefits in society that have nothing to do with merit and everything to do with the lightness of their skin. Many white people don't have difficulty understanding the concept of racism as individual acts of oppression on a day to day basis, like hate crimes and racial violence or slurs, perhaps. These types of discrimination can be extremely visible and more easily viewed by people outside the marginalized race. It can be difficult for white people to see that racism exists deeper below this surface-level prejudice. Tatum writes "...racism, like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals" (87). Racism should be viewed not just as dirty words hurled at people of color but also as a poison that permeates deeper than the eye may originally perceive. 

White privilege refers to the concept that white people will never have to struggle with things that people of color must, on account of their skin color. It is something that every white person is born with, regardless of how they may experience oppression in other areas of their identity, such as gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and ableness. One thing that can be frustrating to white people when grappling with white privilege is that white people can indeed be oppressed despite their status as white. Poor people, LGBTQ people, women, and disabled people experience oppression that can be very similar to oppression that people of color experience. However, white people will always have at least some privilege due to their skin color.

I, as a white person, experience white privilege. I have never personally experienced racism. When I get pulled over by a police officer, I don't have to worry about being murdered for my race. When I go to a store, I can find skin and hair products for my skin and hair type and I am never followed by store employees due to the assumption that I am stealing. I also have other types of privilege in that I am able and upper-middle-class. I am able to exist without handicaps and I have never had to worry excessively about finances. As someone attempting to be conscious of social justice, it has been somewhat difficult to come to terms with these privileges I receive. Why do I deserve the wealth I have? Why do I deserve to be able or more privileged than someone else? 

The answer is that there just isn't a reason why I deserve these things. However, privilege is not at all about who deserves what. It is instead an innate part of our identities, something we can't control. We do have control over how we deal with our privilege. The best way to deal with privilege in a socially conscious manner is to use it to remove oppressive systems. In cases where it can be fatal for people of color to respond to discrimination, white privilege can come in handy. Tatum acknowledges that "it can be tempting to think that the need for such strategies disappeared with Jim Crow laws" (106). This is something that white people often argue—that racism and institutionalized violence is a thing of the past, that America has fully recovered from its racist past. Without a doubt, the conditions for people of color have drastically improved over time. However, institutionalized racism "lives on in the frequent and sometimes fatal harassment Black men and women experience at the hands of White police officers" (106). As long as white voices do not silence or invade people of color, white people can use their privilege to assist in dismantling racism. From protests and political activity to everyday awareness of racism, white people are not helpless in our experience of privilege.

Without likening sexism and homophobia to racism—as they are all very different forms of discrimination with different histories—I have personally experienced oppression in that I am a woman, queer, and mentally ill. I have experienced sexual harassment and homophobia in numerous instances. I have dealt with my diagnosed mental illnesses for years. In my struggle to understand my privilege, I have also had to struggle to understand the ways in which I face oppression. In her discussion of identity and oppression, Tatum writes "just as a group identity for people of color unfolds over the life span, so do gender, sexual, and religious identities" (179). For many people, the relationship between the different aspects of their identity and the privilege and oppression they are born with is complicated and requires deep exploration in order to feel at peace and happy. The exploration of identity for marginalized groups isn't necessarily a burden, however. Exploration is important and can be an extremely positive and fulfilling experience. Having begun my own exploration of my identity, I am excited to learn more about myself, other people, and obtain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a woman and LGBT. I also intend to deepen my understanding of the privilege I have and the systems that benefit me and harm others based on race. Education is a part of this exploration. I hope to be able to apply information from Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together? to experiences with my own oppression and the oppression of others.