My Privileged Day

After moving to the East Coast from the Midwest six months ago I was astonished by people telling me that racism as I saw it was no longer a reality. Unconvinced, especially after being told by many individuals that Affirmative Action was an outdated form of reverse racism, and that confederate flags were innocent displays of Southern Pride, I decided to examine my own life, and the privileges I continued to reap as a white woman. Here is what I observed:

I woke up this morning to my alarm clock made in a Chinese sweatshop by people whose skin is darker than mine, tuned to the news that was told to me by one of the 90% of newscasters in the nation who are white, talking about the axis of evil that does not look like me, being killed by the 30% of American infantry who are of color who entered the military in order to pay for school. These young people are taking orders from the 93% of officers who are white, who are responding to the commands of the US administration who are mostly white. They were talking about profiling people of color, which causes black people to make up 48% of people in jail serving sentences that are on average 47% longer than whites for committing the same crime, even though white people commit a significant majority of crime (FBI statistics).

I then took a shower, and put on my made-by-dark-people-in-sweatshops-in-Taiwan clothes that were fashioned for people with my body shape, and followed that up by putting on makeup that was easily purchased anywhere in this country to match my skin tones.

I then drove to work in the car I received from a legacy of benefits my white family has received for centuries, filled with gas being stolen from someone-darker-than-me’s sand, which, when I drive I do not need to fear being unjustly pulled over, forced to get out of my car, and padded down on the side of the road, in the rain, in my business suit, although I see it frequently happen to men of color.

I got to work, and sat down in a conference room filled with a mostly white staff, in a building being cleaned by people whose skin was darker than my own. While in this meeting I reflected on my college experience where I was similarly surrounded by people whose skin reflected my own, and taught by a person who looked like me about all of the contributions white people have made. I remembered how, in this setting, I was never singled out to speak for all white people, nor were my correct answers ignored because people have been taught that folk of my race are innately unintelligent, something which I had frequently seen happen to my classmates of color.

I was then late to another meeting with my white graduate school admissions counselor, but this tardiness was not reinforcing stereotypes of my race. We discussed my future which is unlimited because I do not need to worry that I will not receive a job because I am white, I do not need to worry about difficulty renting to someone based on my race, nor will I need to worry about being victimized, harassed, or unwanted in my neighborhood because of my race, something that happens to professors of color all of the time. In this future I will safely be able to raise my children without needing to talk to them about why people hate them because of their race, nor will I need to worry that they will not be accepted by their teachers and peers, and I am guaranteed that they will be pushed to their highest potential in class. I will also be able to travel anywhere in the country and purchase dolls to match the skin tone of my children, books with characters of their skin tones, and Band-Aids to match their skin.

After meeting with my advisor I went to chapel where I was taught about a divine beings that are white, even though they, in reality, came from an area of the world in which people have darker skin than I do.

I then met a friend of mine for lunch. As I walked to the restaurant, I was able to safely pull my wallet out of my pocket without fear of having 41 shots fired through my body like Amadu Diallo, one of many black people murdered “accidentally” by white police officers. At lunch I was able to criticize the government without fearing harassment and danger, and was able to talk about race and racism without having my opinion dismissed or requiring validation from someone of the dominant race. I was able to pick up my food without my order number, sit down, act rowdy while I ate, and leave my garbage on the table, all without it being attributed to my racial makeup. I also used the bathroom that was cleaned by people of color because of a history of oppression in education and employment - people who are assumed to exploit welfare even though a significant number of people on welfare are white (Census 2000).

By this time it was only noon, and people tell me that white privilege no longer exists.

Krissy at Graduation from Luther