It's not about you: lessons in White Privilege
You’ll often hear the term ‘White Privilege’, but who really understands and recognises the context behind the statement? You may believe that by not ‘being racist’, that you don’t display any behaviours of White Privilege, but more often than not, this is not the case. White privilege is the inherent advantage that a white person has, as a result of their race in a society that recognises and celebrates white as the norm, when in fact, white populations often make up minority populations. These experiences happen all around us each day. From entering social spaces and not feeling marginalised, to finding beauty and healthcare products that are made for white skin, to not experiencing barriers. It’s small everyday experiences that white folk don’t have to think about – that’s the privilege. White Privilege is hard to see for those of us who were born with access to power and resources, but very visible for those who experience injustice and marginalisation.
To put it simply, White Privilege is the result of white supremacy – the system of racism that privileges people with light skin over all other people, when white skin is valued and considered ‘supreme’ over all else. White Privilege is not something we choose to partake in, such as making racial slurs, but it is something we, as a society, have grown to normalise.
It's not personal, its systemic. But that doesn’t mean we can’t act at an interpersonal level. White Privilege has been around for centuries, first through systemic legal inequality and recognition, and today often through more subtle acts. For most, recognising your White Privilege can be uncomfortable, so instead of diving into your own discomfort, imagine how uncomfortable people of colour must feel living in our society. Exercises like the privilege walk can be helpful for white folk to consider all of the privileges that they experience, but it can also revictimize and retraumatize those who experience in justice.
When conversations of, or racism arise, rather than acknowledging that structural inequality exists, you will often find white folk moving the conversation away from addressing racism, because of their own privilege and fragility. They will use this opportunity to focus on their own hurt feelings or the fact they aren’t a racist, to ease their own discomfort – which is another perfect example of underlying white privilege.
Original Source: @iamrebeccawalker, instagram.com, June 2020
It is important to remember that privilege is not about what you’ve been through, it’s about what you haven’t been through, and recognising that there are people of colour or other backgrounds and ethnicity who have not been granted this privilege to live in a safe, welcoming environment. Your family may have been a lower or middle class when growing up, but how often were you denied access to a premise, to a service, because of the colour of your skin?
We will all experience our own privileges. These can change over time, but the one thing that remains stagnant is the discrimination that people experience because of the colour of their skin. So, what we can we do?
Own your own education. The most important step in this journey, is ensuring you are educating yourself with the most accurate information to further your understanding and knowledge on the topic. It’s not for people of colour to educate us. By all means learn from those who are sharing their experiences and speaking openly, but do not rely on other people sharing their trauma for you to become more ‘woke’. Your education is exactly that, it's up to you. Your education journey will enable you to understand how you can speak up and act as an ally. Not the calvary that will come in and ‘fix racism’ to the exclusion of those who have fought, advocate and championed this work. But instead, you’ll learn when it’s appropriate to speak up, and what the practice of allyship is. Understanding white privilege is an ongoing journey that requires strong self-reflection, empathy towards others, and a commitment to social justice. If we wish to foster a more inclusive, more welcoming, more loving society, we must lean into the discomfort of White Privilege and be a source of knowledge/ active ally to those around us.
As a Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner, I haven’t got everything right. But this is an ongoing journey for me and my practice. But often when conversations of social justice and inequality arise, we centre our own experiences, often ignoring what we take for granted and focus on where we have lost out. We all have our own privileges, but none of this negates the simple human principles that we all deserve love, respect and to be treated as equals under the law. But not all of us start from the same position, some of us are provided with advantages, and that’s where equity comes in. Equity recognises that we need to address those who aren’t in the same position of advantage. Whether that be based on our age, gender, disability or race and ethnicity. Our background, our culture, our gender, and even our morals, make us who we are, they should not make us feel like we don’t belong, or fit in, and they are NOT something that should be used against us to discriminate or make others uncomfortable.
We are all wonderfully unique, and these characteristics should be celebrated, irrespective of our background. So, the next time you hear the term white privilege, racism, or white fragility. Lean into it and embrace the opportunity to learn.
