On the Journey: When We LEARN More…..We DO Better

by Sandy Wehling

"White privilege" seem to be the words white people dread hearing when there is a discussion about racial justice. Do we resent those words?  Do they make us feel guilty, ashamed?  Do they make us feel we are to blame for the injustices of the world?

Here are some of the things I’ve learned about those words:

• I was born with white privilege;unearned and invisible to those who have it. 
• I have been raised in a country whose history is built upon this privilege and where white is the dominant group. 
• It doesn’t mean wealth or a big fancy home or being the head of a company.
• White privilege means that I was born with advantages and benefits because my skin is white. 
• When I benefit from a system simply because I am white, it dehumanizes those whose skin is not white and myself in the process.  
• I can’t change my white skin; I can become aware of how this country has made “white” the norm and how people with white skin have the positions of power and are making decisions for people of color.

Acknowledging white privilege is about white people understanding that we have “access” to housing, jobs, education, health care and being willing to open up that access to everyone, no matter the color of their skin. The disparities in these areas are real.  Here are a couple of questions I have answered during my learning:

• Have I ever been followed as I shopped in a store?  No
• Have I ever worried that I wouldn’t be served at a restaurant or other business? No
• Am I ever asked to speak for all white people? No

Through my reading and discussing with people of color, I have learned that a person of color may answer those questions very differently. I am taken aback by how people

of color struggle with teaching black male children how to react to police so that they won’t be jailed or harmed for no reason. I have listened to stories of black people in jobs where promotions were only given to white people. They also talk about being followed in stores or being ignored when they needed to be waited on. 

We can all grow in our understanding of white privilege by reading, attending seminars or talking with people of color. We can re-examine the history of this country in light of white privilege and begin to understand the sacrifices that people of color have made in the growth of our nation; Chinese immigrants built our railroads, African people toiled to raise the white man’s cotton and tobacco and Latino immigrants even today pick our fruit and vegetables. They all had a huge part in building this country but white people have reaped the benefits while they are still the victims of injustice in many forms.  Only when we realize what “white privilege” has done to people of color will we begin to understand the need to work toward racial justice. Only when each of God’s children lives in his/her full humanity will there be a truly just society. When we learn more, we do better!