Race identity definitely has a role in ideas of privilege here in America. Race will always be a big issue in America because there are so many different people that identify with other people in so many different ways. It is hard to compare African Americans and whites in terms of privilege because in all honesty, whites have a majority of power and authority and outnumber African Americans by a large amount. I think a good example of this is white and black schools, there are so many differences that are apparent every time, and like it has been mentioned, it comes down to resources. White privilege has a huge effect on my daily encounters. For example, being the only black male in a vast majority of my classes makes me stick out more than people of other races, and is something that I must deal with here at UT. I feel that many white people have problems identifying with blacks and people of color because they do not understand the basis of white privilege and how people of color understand racial and ethnic identity in comparison to whites. I feel like information about this (and specifically white privilege) should be taught to all Americans so we can all have a better understanding of each others race. One ethnic identity that we do not speak about much is immigrants, who are also of color but have a different identity than African Americans, of which non-immigrants usually do not have an understanding of. For the service learning group project, my identity and stage of race awareness has a huge role. Speaking to African American students in high school, they do not have a complete understanding of their ethnic and racial identity. When I was a high school student, I understood how my racial and ethnic identity existed, but I did not understand the implications on the macro-level. Also, I did not understand my connection with my race in terms of what I felt like I wanted to do for it long term. White privilege was also not understood, and I did not realize the role it had in my life. I feel like the majority of the high school students that I speak to at LBJ do not understand some of these concepts completely, but I hope to increase their understanding of how the University of Texas does accept African-American and minority students, but it requires work that is nowhere near the same level as high school. I hope to encourage the students to attend any school that they like, including out-of-state schools, HBCU's, and community colleges. I feel like the students will benefit from me speaking because I am an African American male, and it is rare that people see students like me attending UT.
I agree with your comment about white people not understanding or recognizing their privilege.. taking a class (not necessarily about white privilege) but about african american culture and history would help integrate the idea that their lives are completely different and that privilege is present in the major race.
ReplyDeleteI agree that White Americans don't know what it means to have white privilege, which causes some of the ignorant situations and statements on their part. I want to a Hoodie March, yesterday, and as we were waiting, they decided to spark up a conversation. The focus became a blurr because people start to debate on whether whites could feel our pain because of white privilege. Though this is true, it became a barrier for what we were all there for, Justice. So it affects us negatively in more than just the obvious way. Them not knowing they have it AND us not putting it to the side when we have a specific cause at hand and "they" are trying to help.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you touched on White vs. Black schools and the notion of privilege in that alone. Oftentimes funds are not allocated to schools on poorer communities, therefore education at a lower pace or even not on the same level as schools in other areas of town. With that being said, in Austin alone many schools are not as segregated as they should be and this causes a divide in education and values. Access to better resources and the same level of education seems like a simple goal for this, but it takes much more. In identity development White privilege is something Whites may not even know exists, but other races are more than aware. This was a very interesting read.
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