by Larry Adelman, California Newsreel | Month Unknown 2003
Many middle-class white people, especially those of us who grew up in the suburbs, like to think that we got to where we are today by virtue of our merit – hard work, intelligence, pluck, and maybe a little luck. And while we may be sympathetic to the plight of others, we close down when we hear the words “affirmative action” or “racial preferences.” We worked hard, we made it on our own, the thinking goes, why don’t ‘they’? After all, it’s been almost 40 years now since the Civil Rights Act was passed. What we don’t readily acknowledge is that racial preferences have a long, institutional history in this country – a white history. Here are a few ways in which government programs and practices have channeled wealth and opportunities to white people at the expense of others.
TAGS: [Racial Terrorism] [2000’s] [Slavery] [White Privilege] [History] [Systemic Racism] [White Supremacy] [Colorblindness] [Racial Covenants]
by Amy Traub, Laura Sullivan, Tatjana Meschede, Thomas Shapiro | February 2017
Issues of racial inequity are increasingly at the forefront of America’s public debate. In addition to urgent concerns about racial bias in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, activists highlight deeply connected issues of economic exclusion and inequality. No metric more powerfully captures the persistence and growth of economic inequality along racial and ethnic lines than the racial wealth gap. According to data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, the median white household possessed $13 in net wealth for every dollar held by the median black household in 2013. That same year, median white households possessed $10 for each dollar held by the median Latino/a household.
TAGS: [Racial Terrorism] [2010’s] [Colorblindness] [Economics] [White Privilege] [Systemic Racism] [Myths] [Racial Covenants]
by Joan Olsson | Date Unknown
Below is a list of 28 common racist attitudes and behaviors that indicate a detour or wrong turn into white guilt, denial or defensiveness. Each is followed by a statement that is a reality check and consequence for harboring such attitudes.
TAGS: [Assumptions] [2010’s] [Colorblindness] [“Reverse Racism”] [White Privilege] [White Fragility/Tears] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts]
by Robin DiAngelo | August 2015
I am white. I write and teach about what it means to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless, yet remains deeply divided by race. A fundamental, but very challenging part of my work is moving white people from an individual understanding of racism — i.e. only some people are racist and those people are bad — to a structural understanding.
TAGS: [Assumptions] [2010’s] [White Fragility/Tears] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Accountability]
by Eloise Farthwargle | July 2016
I can only remember feeling loved by my nanny, Thelma. At 3 years of age you don’t question the sociopolitical implications of a black woman leaving her own child alone and crossing town by bus in order to come to your home and nurture you. My mother, however, did. When she left my father, that same year, and went to live with my nana – she took Thelma too. Thelma brought Gregory to work with her at my Nana’s house.
TAGS: [Assumptions] [2010’s] [White Privilege] [Systemic Racism] [Individual Change] [Accountability] [Colorblindness]
by Danni Roseman | July 2016
I’m a black American from the South Side of Chicago, and as traveled as I am, I will always view the world through this cultural lens to some extent. On the other hand, my partner is not black, nor is he American. And, naturally, he lacks the context and certain vocabulary to talk about issues that affect me and other minorities on a daily basis.
TAGS: [Assumptions] [2010’s] [Implicit Bias] [Individual Change] [Microaggressions]
