As Americans, we are at a crossroad. A crossroad between democracy and tyranny. A crossroad between a white America and a diverse America. The main culprit in this chaos revolves around unearned white privilege. In this segment, white privilege will be defined, explained and discussed in the hope that white people understand their unearned white privilege and commit to ending said privilege.

What is White Privilege?

According to Meriam Webster, White Privilege is defined as “the set of social and economic advantages that white people have by virtue of their race in a culture characterized by racial inequality.” So what does this mean? In simple terms, it does not mean one did not have a rough life, it does not mean one was not poor, nor does it negate the personal socio-economic struggles of white people in our society. It does mean, as white people, we do not have to justify our existence or place in society. It means, the color of our skin does not impact us negatively. As Anglos, we have not had to deal with discrimination as a whole. We’ve not been denied a place to live, or refused service in a restaurant. We’ve not been told how to wear our hair or forced to get a haircut. Nor have our children ever been arrested or murdered for being “white.”

We learned about our history, White History, even though it was scattered with falsehoods, and told it was truth. Being white affords us with a sense of identity and belonging to society in general. The color of our skin provides us with an affluence that other ethnicities do not experience.

White Privilege, in America, was established as soon as white men touched the shores of this new world. The Native Americans were our first victims of our man-made superiority followed by the slave trade.

Anglos wrote American history. Anglos told the stories as experienced through their white eyes. Historically, whites have oppressed, enslaved, raped, stole, murdered, pillaged others who are non-white yet we always ended up the heroes of our books, stories and movies.

The birth of unearned white privilege

In order to understand white privilege, one must start with the social construct of, “Race.” Race has nothing to do with biology. Rather, it is a term created by society that either gives or denies benefits or privileges in a society. Race is a term which can be traced back to the 1500’s. The classifications by skin color are not unique to the US. For our purposes, though, the evolution of Race in America is the focus of this writing.

Upon our arrival and violent take overs of the new country, white people began categorizing indigenous peoples by skin color. This was a standard brought with them from Europe. In their insistence of being the superior group because of light skin, they developed categories that were positioned in a vertical manner instead of a horizonal manner. Horizonal categories would symbolize equality between skin colors, while vertical creates a hierarchy of superiority with whites at the top and darker skinned individuals were placed at the bottom and became the “lesser. Thus, the beginning of white supremacy in America.

The slave trade and the enslaving of innocent people was not only acceptable but expected in early America. It symbolized wealth and success. Because white people believed in this self-ordained superiority it was easy to enslave, murder, and abuse darker skinned people and in fact, it was a right bestowed on whites only because of their perceived superiority. This so-called superiority did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation. Instead, like a cancer, it seeped into the very fabric of America. White privilege infiltrated the minds and souls of white America. It permeated our systems and institutions as they were being established. For centuries, we have poisoned every aspect of our humanity with white privilege. Now is the time to end the inequalities and injustices of this disease.

Here we are, where to now?

Now that we have defined white privilege, understand how it has become an ingrained ideology in American culture and know that all Anglo people have white privilege by the mere fact of color of skin, how do we as white people combat this privilege and finally end this Great American Myth?

Attention: White folks!

As White people, we must first understand and acknowledge our unearned privilege. Even though white privilege has existed in our country since its birth, is not a reason for not ending said privilege. “It’s always been that way” is no excuse for privilege to continue thriving in the US. White privilege is a myth that we perpetrated to silence the voices of persons we deemed inferior.

So what can I do?

Step outside your comfort zone. Have those open and honest discussions about racism. Learn about how racism is detrimental to our society. Include People of Color in these discussions. Open your circle of friends to include People of Color. Don’t be afraid to voice your thoughts and ask questions even though they may sound racist or supportive of privilege. We learn through conversation.

Listen to what others are saying. Be open to hearing what you may not want to hear but always listen. Hear the voices who have been harmed by our white privilege. Listen to your soul. As adults, we know right from wrong, and we all know racism is wrong!

Educate YOURSELF! Do not expect People of Color to educate you on racism, slavery, discrimination, hate or white privilege. It is not their job! Anglos created this monster. Anglos must slay this monster! It is no one else’s job.

I will close this chapter by stating white privilege is a man-made social disease. Anglos hold the vaccine as we have the power. Let us inject our white society with a cure. Let us end white privilege, or just like plagues, it will destroy us. It is destroying us. It is not the lack of Christian values, women’s rights, our culture or legalization of gay marriage that is the root of societal problems. It is the hate, the greed, the power over whom we deemed the “lesser” of our society that is causing our demise. The White Plague of Privilege is slowly diminishing. Let us now crush it.

For your viewing pleasure and education, an excellent place to begin is by watching, “The Color of Fear” (1994). It can change what and how we see racism and privilege through our white lenses, or at least I hope it does. This movie may be hard to find but it is truly worth the search.

Please note that this writing only offers limited ways to combat white privilege. There is much more we can do if we put our hearts and heads together.

Until next time. Be kind to each other. Lift up each other. Respect each other. And always feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with me!