White Privilege and White Supremacy

White Supremacy…

Affects all our lives. Every predominantly white organization has a well-established system, often both overt and covert, that protects their white supremacy. It’s important to understand the history of white supremacy because learning who we were, tells us the unconscious aspect of who we are.

Its all to easy to silo the issues facing us today. Climate change in one corner, abortion issues in another. We react to each as they surface in a whack-a mole sort of Sisyphus type experience. White, (male, oligarch class) supremacy and racism tie them all together.

Racism produce signifucant economic inequities. This leads to a lack of assess to new developement and technologies. White supremacy makes this an intended outcome as well as provides a vehicle for covet and overt discrimination.

How AI could perpetuate racism, sexism and other biases in society

What is used to determine these kinds of predictive AIs are things like histories of arrests in a certain zip code. So if you live in a zip code that has been overpoliced historically, you are going to have overarresting.

How Artificial Intelligence Can Deepen Racial and Economic Inequities

There is ample evidence of the discriminatory harm that AI tools can cause to already marginalized groups… Bias is often baked into the outcomes the AI is asked to predict. Likewise, bias is in the data used to train the AI — data that is often discriminatory or unrepresentative for people of color, women, or other marginalized groups

Building Inclusive AI: Strategies for Training Against Racism

Recognizing and addressing bias in generative AI models is crucial to building inclusive technology which ensures diverse perspectives are factored, and that outcomes are both fair and equitable.

The Racist History of Abortion and Midwifery Bans

by Michele Goodwin | July 1, 2020

The full article is here…

Excerpt from the article…

“In 1851, Sojourner Truth delivered a speech best known as “Ain’t I A Woman?” to a crowded audience at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio. At the time, slavery remained in full force, a vibrant enterprise that fueled the American economy. …
Ms. Truth pleaded: “I have borne 13 children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?”

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in June Medical Services v. Russo this week, it is worth reflecting on the racist origins of the anti-abortion movement in the United States, which date back to the ideologies of slavery. Just like slavery, anti-abortion efforts are rooted in white supremacy, the exploitation of Black women, and placing women’s bodies in service to men. Just like slavery, maximizing wealth and consolidating power motivated the anti-abortion enterprise. Then, just as now, anti-abortion efforts have nothing to do with saving women’s lives or protecting the interests of children. Today, a person is 14 times more likely to die by carrying a pregnancy to term than by having an abortion, and medical evidence has shown for decades that an abortion is as safe as a penicillin shot—and yet abortion remains heavily restricted in states across the country.

Prior to the Civil War, abortion and contraceptives were legal in the U.S., used by Indigenous women as well as those who sailed to these lands from Europe. For the most part, the persons who performed all manner of reproductive health care were women — female midwives. Midwifery was interracial; half of the women who provided reproductive health care were Black women. Other midwives were Indigenous and white.

However, in the wake of slavery’s end, skilled Black midwives represented both real competition for white men …

TAGS: [2020’s] [Asian] [Black Lives Matter] [Civil War] [Collective Action] [History] [Indigenous] [Politics] [Slavery] [White Culture] [White Supremacy] [Health Disparities]

Click for more information on white supremacy

White Privilege…

Also affects all our lives. If we are of European descent, we benefit from advantages from very large to very small and everything in between. Our hope is that this section will help white people examine the racial barriers that separate us and increase the potential of creating deep, honest and meaningful relationships. Beyond guilt, shame, blame, denial, and resistance, we examine how to take responsibility for challenging specific forms of white privilege that are built around issues of decision making processes, unmasking hidden issues of hierarchy and self-identity. We also examine ways in which white privilege has been woven seamlessly into our personal and community lives so that what some would identify as privilege, others would say is just the way things are.

That said, it is important to acknowledge that there is a wide range of opinion among people of color about the usefulness of working on white privilege. In order to do this work effectively we recommend that you read and deeply consider the other sections of the Healing Racism Toolkit where we examine some of the invisible wounds of oppression that are part of our inner landscape and relationships with each other and people of color and ultimately Creator.

Black man gets prison for toy gun – white woman gets probation for theft

Black man gets prison for pointing toy gun while white woman gets probation for bank theft. The 33 year old male was taken into custody for pointing a toy at commuter. Meanwhile the bank contacted the police after an audit showed it was missing $75,990.

Why Does the World Reward Mediocre White Men?

Inspired by identity politics in the US, focusing on critiques about race and the oppression of Black women in contemporary culture, Ijeoma Oluo, the best-selling author behind So You Want to Talk About Race, explores the dominance of white men in her insightful new book.

Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person

“I, maybe more than most people, can completely understand why broke white folks get pissed when the word “privilege” is thrown around. …Recognizing privilege simply means being aware that some people have to work much harder …”

The Legacy of Jim Crow

This video was produced soon after President Barack Obama was elected. “The legacy of Jim Crow will not be over with the election of a man of color who is the best and the brightest. It will only end when average people of color have the same access, opportunities and privileges as average white person.

Ten Things Everyone Should Know about White Privilege

Thinking about privilege — the unearned benefits that we enjoy in society as a result of being White — may not seem crucial, but the potential payoff is the ability to make sense of our relationships …these ten observations should feed your growing awareness.

WhatAboutism

Racism is bad, but what about classism? That’s bad too.
“What about…” questions often derail conversations about race and racism.

White Privilege: The Invisible Knapsack

The seminal work, White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack By Peggy Mcintosh outlines “invisible systems” at work, as well as the main theme of an “invisible package of unearned assets”, examined in the form of a metaphorical knapsack.

My Name is Rachel and I’m a Racist

Hello, my name is Rachel and I’m a racist. No, I’m not a member of the KKK rather I have come to admit that my attitudes around race are unmanageable in a just society. … At a very early age, I was very carefully taught and conditioned

Examples of White Privilege

Examples of White Privilege: I can walk through certain neighborhoods without being stopped or asked questions. I can walk through a neighborhood without another culture giving me trouble. The first thing people see in me is not the color of my skin.

Photo: Shako Lui

How do White folks look at White Privilege??

“All Animals Are Equal / But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.” from Animal Farm, by George Orwell.

As white people looking at the vast array of privileges, is there a part of us that is happy, that delights or basks in thinking we are special, that we deserve our preferential, comfortable position?

Is this okay with you? Is this the type of society that we can be proud of, that we want to live in? Is that the kind of people we want to continue to be?

White Supremacy…

White supremacy, white supremacy culture and white supremacist are distinct terms with different meanings. This is similar to the difference between racism, institutionalized racism and a racist. White supremacy is the belief, even if unconscious, that white people are superior to those of all other races, especially the black race, and should therefore dominate society. White supremacy culture is the institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege. A white supremacist is an individual often associated with white nationalist groups, that espouse and often act on white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites. See Definitions for further information.

4 Myths About White Supremacy That Allow It To Continue

*Paywall Alert

by Janice Gassam Asare | Jan 14, 2021

The full article is here…

Excerpt from the article…

…“The insidious nature of white supremacy allows it to shapeshift often, which is part of the reason why it’s so difficult to eradicate. There are some common myths that demonstrate the public’s lack of understanding when it comes to white supremacy and how it permeates every facet of society. In an effort to close these gaps of misunderstanding, this article explores four commonly held misconceptions about white supremacy.”

It is always intentional…
It is only upheld by white people…
It is not common…
It disappears with a new leadership…

TAGS: [Assumptions] [2020’s] [Systemic Racism] [White Supremacy] [Myths] [Denial] [Employment] [Implicit Bias] [Black Lives Matter]

Your DAILY White Supremacy Culture Check-in

Date:

Which aspect(s) of White Supremacy Culture (WSC) were present in my life today? Put the appropriate number next to the bulleted characteristics of White Supremacy culture:

You witnessed,
Upheld or participated in,
You or someone you know interrupted

Defensiveness and deflection
Valuing quantity over quality
Perfectionism
Prioritizing the written word
Belief in only one right way
Paternalism
Either/or thinking
Power and resource hoarding
Fear of open conflict, valuing “politeness”
Individualism
Belief that I’m the only one (who can do this ‘right’)
The belief that progress means bigger and more
A belief in own objectivity
Claiming a right to comfort
A sense of urgency when it benefits white agenda over issues exclusive to POC

What can I do tomorrow to better intervene when I witness WSC and/or reduce the ways in which I perpetuate, uphold, and participate in WSC?

What resources and/or organizational support do I need, and/or what questions do I have?

To whom am I accountable?

To whom can I reach out for support?

What are my personal deadline(s) for next actions?

(adapted from material developed by Dismantling Racism Works)

Reckoning with White Supremacy: Five Fundamentals for White Folks

If you’re a “well-meaning” white person, feeling lost in your own self-actualization process, here are five basic ideas you must grasp: 1. White supremacy is not “just” racism… 2. Today’s police system is rooted in slavery… 3. The news has always been influenced to evoke sympathy towards cops and resentment towards protestors… 4. Yes, you are inherently part of the problem… 5. If you really care about what’s going on, you need to listen to people of color before doing anything else…

How White Supremacy Works

What is white supremacy? White supremacy is an ideology predicated on the idea that white people are superior to nonwhites and should retain cultural, economic, and political dominance. A guide for understanding how to identify and denounce it.

How White Feminists Oppress Black Women: When Feminism Functions as White Supremacy

True feminism has the power to transform society, but too often what is advanced as feminism is actually White supremacy in disguise – a counterfeit we sometimes call White Feminism. At its core, it is a racist ideology that claims to speak for all women while ignoring the needs of women of color and suppressing our voices when our agendas and priorities don’t align.

Look
At the stained clothes
At the old toys half broken
At the bits of unused spice
And the bruised fruit
Maybe to you they are nothing
just the debris of life
But there are those
For whom they are significant
Who don’t have spice or fruit
Who’s children have sticks for toys
And have no “nice” clothes
Look again at what you discard
See the value in each
Significance is determined by need
Not by privilege [or supremacy].

Poem by anonymous from Talmud Shabbat 47

Talmud Shabbat 47
And if you say: The bits are suitable for the poor. We will explain that the value of an object is determined not by its context, but by its intrinsic value. Wasn’t it taught that there is a difference with regard to the ritual impurity between garments belonging to poor people, which can become ritually impure even if they are very small, and garments belonging to the wealthy, which are not considered significant unless they contain a larger amount of fabric? Apparently, the significance of an object is determined by its context and its owner.