Fighting the System
In the Ore readings on race and privilege there are some powerful ideas that are hard for people to not only comprehend but also to accept. Through Karen Brodkin’s “How the Jews Became White Folks…� We were provided a lot of specific stories in an attempt to help us empathize and understand. Historically in the case of the Jewish race in the United States we can see the evolution of white privilege in a sense. One question that is brought up relates to the interconnectedness of economics and privilege. She asks, “did money whiten� (63), or was it that with “whiteness� came economic opportunity and success? The system though could not be unraveled with such simplicity nor would it go down that easily. The system has been set up since before we can remember. There have always been plans that start somewhere that almost seems unrelated, but when it gets enacted just as the GI bill did in 1944, it is suddenly clear today that there was a lot more behind the bill than giving access to college. Education is one of the biggest contributors to inequality in my opinion, and when you give one group (i.e. white males) that much of a head start on it, especially right at the time that college begins to really equate to prestige and success, it is clear that the system came in pretty handy for the power holders of that day and of the future.
The most important stuff in these readings was the information on white privilege and white supremacy. Through my work in Social Justice I see white privilege issues at the forefront of discussion. White activists more than anyone need to get with it on this issue because we have never had to experience the other side of it and in many cases never really know what we are benefiting from. It is essential to understand inequality as a system and how it works but for white people the extra step comes in realizing and admitting to the fact that we are the system. Privilege is invisible and deceitful. Just like Wildman and Davis say, something as seemingly futile as what language we have been taught our whole lives is what hides and protects the system of white supremacy. The phrase “white supremacy� alone has always been hidden as something that just the extremist white folk practice, but when you look at what white supremacy actually entails it is pretty clear to see that if you are a benefactor of white privilege, which ever white skinned person in the U.S. is, then you are also a benefactor of white supremacy.
We, as white people, need to face the truth. We are the system of inequality. One difficult issue for me as I picture my future in social activism and justice is, as a white woman, figuring out where I fit in and where I can make a difference. I realized that because of my race alone, I will need to step back many times and simply be an ally to the movements for equality that I am so passionately supportive of. As hard as it may be to create sentences that contain your name, followed by a powerful and defining phrase such as white supremacy, it is just the necessary means to starting to fight the system. Change in our systems of equality comes with empathy and brutal honesty about what really goes on in our world. As a white woman, I feel very passionately about the importance of understanding that what and where I am today, what and how I got the things I have today, and what I will do and have done too me tomorrow are all direct benefits of my privilege.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you agree with Wildman and Davis that "all whates are racist in this use of the term, becuase we benefit from sytemic white privilege?" Why or why not?
2. Do you think that the "Dozen Demons" exerpt by Ellis Cose is a good example of many of the dimensions that have resulted from the system of privilege?
3. What ideas do you have for successfully facilitating a discussion about white supremacy to people who do not understand?