10 Brutal Truths About White Privilege That We All Need to Know

All Black Folks Experience Racism Yes, all Black people experience racism — both in subtle and overt ways and regardless of whether or not they are conscious of it or whether or not they openly discuss it. Black people encounter multiple anti-Black indignities on a regular basis, no matter how rich, educated or powerful they are. The singular success of a Black man or woman (for example, media proprietor Oprah Winfrey, golfer Tiger Woods or President Barack Obama) is never a valid argument against the existence of racism. Using that logic, it could be said that the success of Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became a social reformer, a great orator and a statesman, and Amanda America Dickson, the child of a slave and her owner who became one of the wealthiest Black women of her time, during the 19th century would be grounds for disproving slavery existed. Racism is White Supremacy Racism, at its very root, is a system of supremacy — white supremacy. Not all white people are racists. But we’re talking about a system, not individuals. First and foremost, racism historically and continually uses whiteness and proximity to whiteness as a means to control resources and access to institutional and social power in American society, often at the expense of Blacks and people of color. Even when whiteness intersects with other marginalized social categories such as class, sexuality, gender, ability and nationality, white identity and perceived whiteness (via whiter-looking skin) often affords an individual a better chance of moving through life much easier than their counterparts. What Reverse Racism? Reverse racism does not exist today. Until people of color colonize, dominate and enslave the populations of the planet in the name of “colored superiority,” create beauty standards based on their own definition and force whiter-skinned people to adhere to it, enact a system where only people of color benefit on a large-scale and finally pretend like this system of privilege no longer exists, there is no such thing as reverse racism. Prejudice, however, is real, and it is in all of us. But prejudice employed as a governing structure is a different thing entirely. Black People Own the Conversation on Racism Black people know better than Webster’s Dictionary what racism actually means. We’re living it. We don’t need it to be whitesplained to us. Webster’s and Oxford English dictionaries are largely white-controlled purveyors of language. Black people tend to take issue with whites dictating how we should talk about racism, instead of taking our lead in the conversation. If it's uncomfortable to talk about racism, imagine just how uncomfortable it is to live it. Why should Blacks have to navigate emotional policing, silencing and derailing when attempting to speak up in a public forum, in a classroom, to their friends or even in news articles and columns about the racism they experience? There is No Such Thing as a Post-Racial Society In American history class, teachers and books tried to close the race chapter on a high note, despite the ongoing systemic racism. The entire 400-year history of oppression, discrimination and segregation in America cannot be simply wrapped up and decorated with a “now we all are equal” bow. We still remain vastly underrepresented in Congress, in the police force, in corporate leadership, at colleges and universities, in school curriculums and in the media, including newsrooms, TV shows and movies. Also, we find it harder to gain employment, which is represented by the Black unemployment rate remaining approximately double the average for whites and the general population. In addition to this, Black people continue to encounter barriers to equal housing opportunities. Let's not mention the struggle against corporate dress codes, advertisements and even romantic partners with Eurocentric ideals of beauty, such as chemically straightened hair or close-cropped haircuts. Today, Black men especially have to be worried about being targeted for incarceration or even taking a simple stroll down the street since a trip to the store could mean a deadly encounter with racial profiling. Black People Are Punished for Being Themselves Around White Folks Black people have to often racially code switch as a method of survival and getting ahead because our authentic expressions are seen as inferior to whites. Research has shown that white people have preferences for people of color who have weak racial identity. As Cheryl Kaiser, a University of Washington assistant psychology professor who led a 2009 study on the topic, said: “Research has shown that the more minorities identify with their group, the more prejudice they report experiencing.” She added, “Our studies provide an alternative explanation, by showing that whites react more negatively toward strongly identified minorities than weakly identified ones.” The Hype About Black-on-Black Crime Black-on-Black crime is regularly singled out as if white-on-white crime does not exist. There are a plethora of white people committing crimes against other white people, but “white-on-white crime” is strangely absent from the rhetoric when reporting everything from elementary school shootings to world wars. Why should crimes committed by and against people of color be labeled any differently? Whites Recruit Honorary Whites But Always Exclude Blacks White people will not become the minority in America in the next 20 years. “Whites” were originally white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). The definition of “white,” as a racial classification, has evolved to include “whiter-skinned” minority groups who were historically discriminated against, barred from “whiteness” and thus had little access to opportunity. Some examples: Italians and the Irish (who were frequently referred to as n***ers in the 1800s), Jewish people and more recently Hispanic (George Zimmerman, acquitted last year of murdering a Black teen) and Armenian minority groups. Such evolutions, however, always exclude Blacks. The Existence of Poor White People Doesn't Negate the Reality of Racism There are poor white people, but racism and discrimination still exist. The plight of the poor whites often makes a convenient appearance to deflect any perceived accusation of privilege or to derail conversations of racism. Racist American policy was never about securing the success of all white people, but rather about legalizing the disenfranchisement of Blacks and other people of color. So What if Black People Are Angry Black people are angry about racism, and they have every right to be. Anger is a legitimate and justified response to years of injustice and invisibility.

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