The state of the world right now is less than inspiring. In the past weeks, we have seen innocent people of colour die at the hands of blatantly racist hate crimes. Many are learning that this kind of overt racism, while by far the most evil, is not the only form of racism that exists in the world today. The systematic, continual oppression of BIPOC in America, Australia and globally, is often how covert racism functions on a micro level daily.
White privilege is a loaded and highly nuanced topic, so much so that you can't unpack it in one article. And I won’t attempt to do so, there are people far more qualified to give your attention to. Those who have dedicated their work to unpacking privilege, so that white people can have a better understanding of the exact system that we benefit from. Writers such as Layla F. Saad (in her book, Me and White Supremacy), Robin Diangelo (in her book, White Fragility) and Ibram X. Kendi (in his book, How to Be an AntiRacist) are all doing substantial work to unpack what white privilege means for people in the 21st century and how to call it out even if we are the ones benefitting off of it.
If this sentiment confuses you - and you are unsure initially what white privilege actually means especially within your own context as a well-meaning white person - I would encourage you to begin with the work of these writers, and explore additional media to unpack the issue further (we can never stop learning). With all of the resources being posted on social media at the moment, it can be easy to miss things. There are so many resources that people are offering up so that we can either continue or begin tangible antiracist work, but it begins with understanding where we stand in a position of huge privilege to even attempt to comprehend how far we have to go.
A video was released on the Black Nation, a black-owned business discovery app, Instagram account recently. It displayed a simple breakdown of white privilege for those who need a crash course on how society is set up to benefit white folks. If you haven’t had a chance to watch yet or are looking for some resources to further your understanding, below is a top-line explanation.
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Image: ellerowley
