Essays on White Privilege

Part 1

Privileges refer to benefits, immunity, or a right enjoyed only a person or a particular group of people. White privilege encompasses unearned power that has been systematically conferred to whites over the years (Rothenberg, 2011). What other people, consider as privileges, some whites consider being normal daily experience conditions that are available to all people. Some of the earned entitlements include free speech, feeling safe in places that are considered public spaces, being valued for the contributions one can make in the society and being able work in places that enable them to fulfill their potential. For an individual ...

The essay is based on the studies of McIntosh, Wise, Shams, DiAngelo, Graham, and Dyson. According to the studies of these authors, privilege is considered as a communal theory which states that exceptional rights or compensations are obtainable only to a group of people. Furthermore, privilege is regularly used in the framework of social inequity, mainly in regard to ethnic, gender, and racial category. 1. White Privilege According to authors, the practices that make white privilege is that the political sector including healthcare organizations and school gives more source of pride to the Native Americans. The authors in their ...

Racial inequality has always been rampant in many societies, as it is reflected in white privilege seen not only in the United States but also in Canada, Australia, Israel, and in many countries in Asia and Africa. In white privilege, there is racial advantage on the benefits of the Whites, as they enjoy greater earnings, life expectancies, and access to high-quality education and healthcare services, as compared to the Blacks. This is the effect of what is called stigma—a sociological concept that Erving Goffman developed in his book in the year 1963. Kowal (2011) repeated the words of ...

Racial inequality has always been rampant in many societies, as it is reflected in white privilege seen not only in the United States but also in Canada, Australia, Israel, and in many countries in Asia and Africa. In white privilege, there is racial advantage on the benefits of the Whites, as they enjoy greater earnings, life expectancies, and access to high-quality education and healthcare services, as compared to the Blacks. This is the effect of what is called stigma—a sociological concept that Erving Goffman developed in his book in the year 1963. Kowal (2011) repeated the words of ...

Discussion Board Posts

Published in 1984, Audre Lorde’s article argues in favor of a unified feminist movement, which does not ignore the differences among the experiences of women belonging to different groups, but rather, it uses those differences to examine the different ways in which women are oppressed, and the ways in which those differences contribute to enriched creativity. The author explains that, right now, the feminist movement is divided by the same forces that create human differences in general, which oppose dominant groups to minority groups, thus creating simplistic patterns of difference, where the characteristics of the dominant groups are ...

Diversity is one of the most evident and fundamental aspects of the human experience. In spite of this, there have been many attempts to erase these divisions, trying to instate a pretended normality by force. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer movement arises from this attempt to erase the differences within people, yet it sometimes encounters a privilege inherent in this group as well: people of color have routinely been left out of the LGBTQ conversations. It is important for this movement to be intersectional, as the experience of non-whites is routinely different than those of the normative ...

Introduction

When growing up, my mother always insisted that I should always THINK before speaking. You may think that I have poor grammar due to the fact that I have capitalized every word in ‘think’ but far from it, it is correct. I am grammatically correct. You see THINK is an acronym. My mother always insisted that my words should always inspire and motivate and not discourage people. She therefore used the acronym THINK to gauge my sentiments. Are my words truthful, helpful, inspiring, necessary and kind? However, it seems that very people have forgotten this acronym as most of ...

The concept of “whiteness” is, of course, silly on its face. “Pinkness,” or perhaps, “very light tanness” would be more accurate. Nevertheless, the term is deeply embedded into cultural discourse. “White privilege” is the phrase of the day. “White Man’s Burden” was the public face of the reasoning for British imperialism. White men (no women need apply in those bygone days) not only “could” govern their poor, benighted “colored” brethren better than they could govern themselves, it was an affirmative duty to bring superior culture and civilization to the savages. In the history of the United States the ...

Abstract

White privilege is a hidden aspect of American life that is often discussed and identified, but it still gets avoided by the white people. White privilege in prevalent in the American society; and racial minorities such as African Americans experience its negative aspects. There are many examples of white privilege that has been provided and discussed with examples. Also, the article also covers the impact white privilege has on the society and how it limits the position of African Americans in the society. The worst part of white privilege is that even though many whites have enjoyed its benefits, ...

White privilege is a notion that describes how White people are given the upper hand, when it comes to jobs, education, and social opportunities over those within the same society who are dark skinned. Colorism is a term that is used to describe how people with light skin are given preferential treatment to those within the same group who have darker skin tones within Western societies. Both are different forms of racism that occur within the same ethnic group, and outside of it. White privilege is not something that is earned because of class, or education. It is something ...

Part A

Dear Members of the School Board, Thank you for having me here today. I am here to address the concerns that some parents have raised about my assignment of the book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is my understanding that one parent in particular has expressed concern about their daughter’s aggressive and passionate response to the book, disapproving heartily of the decision. While I truly understand their plight, I am here before you to defend my assignment of that book to the class, and to even explain and respect the student’s reaction to ...

The movie Rosewood portrays how African Americans were terrorized by white people of the town. One part of the movie relates to a boy who is white, and his best friend he plays with is black. The father of the white boy teaches him to be racist, and forbids him to play with the African American boy. The father tries to instill his racial beliefs onto his child, and wants him to dislike the black people of the community. There was a few witnesses who saw what really happened to the white women, but the witnesses kept quiet in ...

White privilege exists in situations in which the white group has an issue of value that is not given to people from other races just because they do not belong to the whites. The white enjoy these opportunities over the other races that are not considered whites. The whites, in this case, include the Americans, the Europeans and the South Americans with the white origin. The groups that are not considered whites are the Indians, Asians, and black. The white privileges are therefore the benefits that the whites enjoy over the Indians, blacks and Asians. Such privileges may be ...

White attitude privilege and religion

‘White privilege: A history of the concept’ by Jacob Bennett is a paper that discusses in detail the emergence and spread of the term ‘white privilege.’ Originally the term was coined in the 20th century by Peggy McIntosh. The paper basically explores how the term white privilege evolved in American history and how the meaning has changed from its original context. Also, the research in the paper is aimed at understanding the use and popular conception of the term in all academic fields as well as popular culture. The meaning of the phrase has changed drastically from what the ...

Reaction Paper

The concept of white privilege is one of the most divisive in the history of social equality in the US. While some people believe that white privilege exists, others view the concept as untrue and one meant to portray the white middle class in bad light. One of the more common arguments used to protest existence of white privilege in the US involves the notion that majority of African Americans who are poor are so because they have little desire to work and be successful. While this view has been strongly condemned in the past, it is critical to ...

Q.1) White privilege can be defined as the societal privileges accorded to the white men beyond what is commonly experienced with the other people of different races (non-whites) in the same political or socio-economic circumstances. The implications of the white privilege have been experienced in all sectors as many non-whites have obstacles to make it economically or in education. Lyles noted that she attended a low quality school that was poorly equipped and most teachers spoke racial undertones. Almustafa, on the other hand, faced stereotypes as his guidance and counseling teacher always thought that he could not achieve much. In ...

White privilege is also known as White ‘skin’ privilege. It is a term that refers to the privileges that are enjoyed by people of western countries whose skin colour is white. These privileges are provided in the social, political as well as economic contexts. However, such a privilege is mainly witnessed in the American society. White privilege was not only experienced by the Whites in the 1900s but it is also experienced by them today. I have found many examples that make me realise that we, the Whites, still enjoy a lot of privileges and that prejudice still exists in our ...

Whitewashing is a term that means to have black culture, such as rap or hip-hop, invaded and taken over by the white population. Today, many black artists are angry that white rappers are becoming famous, acting like they are black while singing and representing a false black cultural heritage. This can diminish the social importance of the messages of popular black artists by making them look like a joke. Whitewashing can have a positive side. White rappers can draw audiences to the genre of rap and black artists, introducing white people to an entire new experience with black culture. However, getting those in ...

A Critique of Peggy McIntosh Article

Peggy McIntosh in his article White Privilege, Color, and Crime: A Personal Account narrates his personal experiences in the United States of America based on white privilege, color, and crime. She explores the issue of unearned privileges of white people because of their color with regards to issues of crime in the United States. That the Whites have the privileges given to them by the society while other people such as Euro-Americans and African-Americans are under pressure from the same society to be unmindful and unconscious of those privileges. She argues that this is very oblivion or unawareness flowing ...

In the article from 1988 titled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, the associate director of the Wellesley Center for Research on Women Peggy McIntosh argues about the white privilege in modern society and compares it to other forms of privilege in terms of race, gender and social status. She begins her article with stating that all of the privileges that occur in our society are of the same origin. By addressing the issue of gender and social status, she claims “Denials that amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages that men gain from women's disadvantages.” She goes ...

The issue of racism remains highly sensitive in the society. People are not yet aware of the critical elements that define the ill virtue in the society. Therefore, incidences will always come up trying to define the issue. Racism is the segregation of a group of people or individual as a result of his color difference. It is a major concern for the world since it may encourage improper livelihood in a society. Recent cases such as that of shooting of Michael Brown and existence of racism cases in Ferguson state are proper definitions of the problems that surround racism. There were massive ...

Question 1

McIntosh emerges as one of the great writers to write about what their people do to others despite she is an American. In her essay, white privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack, she has come out clearly giving details of the white privileges she gets that other people of other skin colors might not have access to. These privileges have seen the Americans view life differently from the way other colored skins can view it. With the privileges, they see that things are normal and this has been used to maintain the myth of meritocracy where everyone is seen as ...

Race and racism in America is one topic that most educators would wish they never encountered in the teaching and learning process. It is sad to think of race privilege in school when education is supposed to create an enabling environment that gives learners an insight into what equality is in all aspects of life. White privilege is alive and real because some people feel more advantaged than others and end up treating them as inferior to them (McIntosh, 1). Racial impartialities exist in the way learners interact on racial lines and this fact is evidence that this affects ...

The white privilege

In several situations, people have found or felt that they were inferior to other people contrary to the reality. As a result, they have felt discriminated by such people. In a society, some people benefit from unearned advantages that are equally unacknowledged amounting to the feeling they are superior to others. In simple terms, the idea of such people feeling they have such advantages over others is what constitutes privilege. In his study, Johnson (2001) describes a privilege as what allows people to assume a certain level of acceptance, inclusion and respect, therefore, operating in a relatively wide comfort zone (p.117). According to McIntosh ( ...

‘Name’

“Course #/Assignment” Culture, constructs and shapes a person’s beliefs and moral values. Cultural identities are not just based on ethnicity or religion, but on many other factors such as age group, class, nationality, education, gender, etc. As LeBaron states, culture is the lens through which a person views the society around him. (LeBaron para 4) Cultural conflicts arise due to the differences in perception, of an incident or idea, which exists between people belonging to different cultural groups. LeBaron opines that, the important thing to understand about culture is that it is always changing, and it is detrimental to ...

In the entitled “white privilege: Unpacking the invisible Knapsack”, Maclntosh identifies the invisible advantages that the social system confers to the white population and other groups in the hierarchies. She likens this form of inequality in privileges to the kind of discrimination and inequality that exist between the male and female gender. According to Maclntosh, discrimination against women by men is a result of both individual denial by men to recognize the fact they are over privileged and the cultural setting in which the society teaches men not to recognize such inequalities and discrimination. Maclntosh points out that through ...

Book Review - Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation

In Derald Wing Sue's Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation, the author mostly examines sociological and cultural factors that lead to ingrained racism in all individuals, no matter their personal perception of their tolerance. Written for a white audience, the overall goal of the book is to get people to understand the concepts of white privilege and to comprehend their role in the continued oppression of minorities, regardless of their level of involvement with racial politics. The result is an eye-opening and well researched book of sociology, psychology and counseling that allows for an honest look at American society, ...

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Question 1

These passages from the article means that in reality, men are oppressing women and whites are oppressing other races specially blacks. However, this type of oppression is not recognized, since society has accepted that these are dominant groups in a society and their actions are considered as the standards. For men and for whites, there are just doing what society is expected them to do, but if different races or women do exactly what they have been doing, a different view point will exist. Although, there are no written laws that distinguish what women or men do in a society ...

The difference between men and women was established at the beginning of human history, at least according to Old Testament lore, as one of the ribs inside the first man was taken out and made into the first woman. Her dependence on and apparent obedience to him is suggested in her title: “helpmeet” (at least according to the King James Version). And so the tense and occasionally contradictory relationship between men and women began, and gender analysis likely began soon after. Consider the role of Helen of Troy – a woman of extraordinary beauty was able to lead a life of luxury ...

1) Smithfield Farms did not follow Donaldson's three principles. First, the respect for core human values was not adhered to, especially when Smithfield made farmers take out loans from them to start their swine-raising, allowing Smithfield to make them indentured servants. Respecting local traditions was also nonexistent, due to the environment changes (the odd smell) that desecrated people's own territory. Also, they violated the position that context is important when making decisions; regardless of the consequences, they were still disruptive. In terms of relativism, Smithfield's policies would be seen as acceptable. Given that the theory of relativism states ...

White Privilege in America

Despite it being an apparent long-standing marvel to individuals of color and as well white individuals, most people stereotypically and strongly oppose the issue of white privilege. Many a times, the situation becomes difficult when it involves individuals holding divergent views that are diametrically opposed to one party. Picture a situation where the individual or individuals in the discussion oppose even the most rudimentary elements of the discussion. At this moment, it is emphatically crucial to acknowledge that the theory of white privilege is indeed practical in the United States. Even at the best of circumstances, opposers of white privilege will ...