Anti-Racism Resources: White Privilege

Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin Di Angelo from GCORR on Vimeo.

White Privilege
In the U.S., white privilege is the lived experience of greater social/political access, representation and entitlement, and material and economic security that people considered white have as a result of white supremacy. It's important to note that while many white people are oppressed on the basis of class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, culture, ethnicity, etc, it is still true that ALL white people benefit from white privilege in various ways.

Further Readings

• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack 
• Whiteness and White Privilege
• Product Review: The Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege from L.L. Bean
• White Privilege: A History of the Concept
• What White Privilege Really Means — and How to Work on It
• How To Explain White Privilege Exists: 7 Common Arguments, Debunked
• So you say you’ve got white privilege. Now what?
• Liabilities Of White Privilege: How White Privilege Hurts White People
• White Privilege and Native American
• A Definitive Guide to White Privilege

Reverse Racism is a term created and used by white people to deny white privilege. Those in denial use the term "reverse racism" to refer to hostile behavior by people of color toward whites and to affirmative action policies which allegedly give ‘preferential treatment’ to people of color over whites. However, while people of color can certainly exhibit prejudice against white people, in North America that prejudice is not supported by a system of institutional power. And despite some public opinion to the contrary, studies show the largest group to benefit from affirmative action policies is white women. (adapted from "Definitions & Descriptions of Racism") 

Adapted from Simmons University Library. (2020). Anti-Oppression: Anti-Racism. https://simmons.libguides.com/anti-oppression/anti-racism

White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as tears, argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. 

White people in North America live in a social environment that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. This insulated environment of racial protection builds white expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering the ability to tolerate racial stress, leading to...White Fragility. (from DiAngelo, White Fragility)

Further Readings

• White Fragility
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Race by Robin DiAngelo
• What’s Missing From “White Fragility”: Robin DiAngelo’s idea changed how white progressives talk about themselves—and little else.
• On White Fragility
• White Fragility is Real: 4 Questions White People Should Ask Themselves During Discussions About Race
• Stop Your White Fragility – It’s Racial Violence and Here’s Why
• Settler Fragility: Why Settler Privilege Is So Hard to Talk About
• The Sugarcoated Language of White Fragility

Adapted from Simmons University Library. (2020). Anti-Oppression: Anti-Racism. https://simmons.libguides.com/anti-oppression/anti-racism