White Privilege

White privilege refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits and choices that people have simply because they are white.

This privilege occurs on every level of society and is often unseen by white people because it’s the experience they know.

The phrase “white privilege” often results in pushback from white people because the two-word term describes them in ways they might not be used to. The word “white” can be uncomfortable because many white people are not used to being described by their race. And for white people who have experienced poverty or other disadvantages, the word “privilege” sounds like a word that doesn’t belong to them – a suggestion that they have never struggled.

It is often helpful to begin with what white privilege is not instead of what it is. White privilege does not mean that white people have never struggled. Many white people do not enjoy the privileges that come with wealth and access, like access to healthy food, stable housing, health care and higher education.

It isn’t in the absence of hardship, but the absence of racism.

White privilege does not mean that everything a white person has accomplished is unearned; most white people who have accomplished a lot have done so by working extremely hard. Instead, white privilege should be viewed as a built-in advantage separate from one’s income or effort. It isn’t in the absence of hardship, but the absence of racism. That is where white people experience their privilege.

LET’S LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES

The first example is a simple, everyday convenience that white people aren’t forced to think about: shopping for hair care products. The products white people need for their hair are found in an aisle labeled “hair care” rather than in a smaller, separate section of “ethnic hair products.”

Similar conveniences like “flesh-colored” bandages that only match white skin tones or grocery stores stocking food options that mainly reflect the cultural traditions of white people are symbols of what is considered “normal.” White people move through the world and have come to assume that their daily needs will be met, which perpetuates the idea that white is normal, dominant, or right. Meanwhile, people of color know that their needs are on the margins and may not be met at all.

For instance, a 2012 study from Princeton University shows that “80% of the life expectancy gap between Black and White men could be attributed to factors [like] education, occupation, unemployment, marital status, and home ownership.”

The second example of white privilege goes beyond the convenience of “normal.” White people are more likely to be seen as individuals, to be given compassion and to survive mistakes, while people of color are more likely to be seen as representatives of a stereotyped racial identity. White people are usually given the benefit of the doubt, while people of color are consistently targeted based on their race. One example of this privilege is that white people are less likely to be followed, interrogated or searched by law enforcement because they look “suspicious.”

White people are usually given the benefit of the doubt, while people of color are consistently targeted based on their race.

To be given the benefit of the doubt seems completely reasonable to white people. It seems logical that a person should have the chance to prove themselves individually before they are judged. But it’s a privilege that people of color don’t regularly enjoy—often with horrible consequences.

White privilege is not just about easily finding what you need at the store. It’s not just about going through your day without your race defining your interactions. It’s also the power to remain silent when facing racial inequality. It’s the ability to choose whether to willfully step into discomfort to protest. It’s getting to choose when to take a stand. It’s knowing that because you are white, you can be safe.