4-A-3+Group+A

Home > Activity 4-A-3: White Privilege > Group A

Instructions:

 * 1) Click the **Edit** tab in the upper-right corner.
 * 2) Use the Summary area below to collaborate with your group to create your summary of the connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and social dominance theory.
 * 3) Press **Save** on the Editor bar.


 * Note:** You don't need to sign your work or indicate which sections you contributed; your facilitator can see your contributions in the history of the page. Your group summary should demonstrate your collaboration rather than being a collection of unconnected individual ideas. When your group decides that the summary is finished, have one group member remove "(Draft)" below so your facilitator will know that it is ready for review.

__**Five Privileges That Stand Out To Me (DP):**__
 * 1. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.**
 * Reason:** This stands out to me because it really adds an element of immense pressure to know that doing well as a person of color is a credit to the entire race, but not doing well is what is expected. This is a very disheartening thought for me. If roles were reversed I am not sure how I would handle this concept. It creates an internal dilemma to either break the mold or just fall in line with what the dominant societal view is. Furthermore, if I do break the mold is that going to alienate me and cause people of the same race to single me out as trying to be like the dominant society. As a white person, this dilemma does not tend to arise, at least not on the scale as representing my entire race. I am usually judged more against my own family and if I do well, or poorly, it only reflects on myself and my family, not my entire race. This is why this privilege stands out in my mind


 * 2. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.**
 * Reason:** This particular privilege stands out for me because I know that most of my coworkers would assume that I took a job or was hired based on my resume. I feel strongly that my coworkers would not associate my race as being a deciding factor in my being hired for employment. Instead, instead I know they would accept, without question, that I was chosen based solely my abilities, knowledge and experience. The idea of race being a deciding factor for employment and then being judged based on that knowledge is an issue that I have never even had to contemplate as a Caucasian. Thus, this is why this privilege resonates strongly with me.


 * 3. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my race.**
 * Reason:** This is a privilege that puts my own mind at ease. Knowing that my opinions, thoughts, feelings and emotions about particular topics of conversation represent me and me alone. To speak your mind, or to be asked to weigh in on a topic and then have your words carry the weight of an entire race of people is mind blowing. I could not fathom the idea of speaking for myself but having others use my words to create their own judgements about my entire race based on my own individual ideals.
 * 4. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.**
 * Reason:** This is a privilege that I have recognized prior to taking this course. I have had a number of friends of color who would bring this issue up on different occasions. The sense that I got from them is that they felt it was just another way for the "White Man" to diminish the black race. It would be very discouraging and frustrating to know that every time I needed a bandage it would not match the color of my skin. Additionally, my friends of color would explain that it made them feel they were insignificant, as though they were second class citizens. In the moment it seemed so insignificant to be distraught over a bandage, but that is because I was once again on the outside looking in. I was just a causal observer from the dominant group trying to comprehend the significance of a "flesh" colored bandage. I believe now that the bandages were just another piece of the racism puzzle and a part of his daily existence that I was blind to. A feeling of insignificance that I have never had to endure because of the color of my skin that he dealt with daily. To me it was just a box of band-aids, to him it was a reminder of what he and his race had been denied in the past and the uncertainty of what he (and his race) could be denied in the future.

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 * 5. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.**
 * Reason:** This stuck out because this is one that is maid painfully clear in television shows, movies and comedy routines. All races in the United States have been made aware of the issue of law enforcement pulling over black drivers regularly, not because they are speeding or involved in any other traffic violations. People of color are often stopped because of the stereotypes associated with their race. This is something that white Americans do not have to struggle with on a daily basis. We make our commutes without any fear that we are going to be stopped by the police, and possible harassed because of the color of our skin. To me, this is just another example of categorizing all people of color as criminals because of the actions of a select few.

Five of the privileges that Peggy McIntosh list:

 * I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
 * If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area, which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
 * I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
 * I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help my race will not work against me.
 * I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.

Equality over Equity || more concerned with social equilibrium and stability than with achievement of equity and social justice || Erin's top 5 privileges that stand out: 1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. I think we all strive to fit in, be a part of the group, and feel a sense of belonging. This is something that we, as whites, take for granted. 2. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me. Having moved a few times in my life, this really stood out to me. It made a big difference when my new neighbors were welcoming and helpful as opposed to some that I have had who never really interacted with me. I can only imagine how much that may have been amplified if I were of another race. 3. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is. I have mentioned before, textbooks are clearly told from a white man's perspective. Other races are not adequately represented in textbook history and certainly not given any credit for our national heritage or civilization. 4. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared. Even though we have all been in meetings where we leave feeling discouraged or unheard, we also consider that to be an exception to the rule. Most of the time, whites are heard and their opinions valued in meetings or organizations. We all want to have a sense of importance and value and minorities are often not given that opportunity as much as whites. 5. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin. We, as whites, think nothing of cosmetics or bandages being labeled as "flesh" color. Again, in a white dominant society, that becomes the "norm." Those with darker skin tones are then made to feel inferior or an outcast because their "flesh" color is not that of the bandages made to blend in with your skin. They have greater difficulty finding cosmetics that will match their skin tone because the darker shades are not as easy to find as the lighter ones.
 * Table of similarities that we can use to write the summary** (OK, I thought this table might help us to see connections and line things up, but I'm not seeing it right now. will have to try again tomorrow. )|
 * ~ White Privilege || **Colorblind perspective** || **Social dominance theory** ||
 * I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial. ||  || disproportionately male ||
 * I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. || Individualism over group identification, and
 * I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. || Individualism over group identification, and
 * If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race. i.e. Police are on side of Whites and suspicious of non-Whites || Many people of color have to teach their children about race for their own protection. || Social hierarchy is a survival strategy, which means those on the outside don't have the protection, are are under suspicion ||
 * I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin. || Race is only invisible if you are white ||  ||

Group,

Please take a look at the following and let me know if you think this makes sense and would help with the chart and final summary. Thanks.

Dan

I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers on the job suspect that I got it because of race. I think that this privilege encompasses white privilege, colorblind perspective and social dominance very well. The ability to obtain employment without having race be brought into question or seen as the predominant reason for getting the position by the dominant social group connect the three concepts. White people expect to earn employment based solely on their abilities and do not concern themselves with their race when applying and interviewing for employment. The group conscience is often directed at dispelling the notion that people of the subordinate group could possibly be the better candidate for a position. Thus, the group will alienate the individual and base the sole reason for employment on the fact that they are a person of color and the employer had to turn down the "obviously" more qualified white candidate because of affirmative action. Thus, white privilege, colorblind perspective and social dominance all play the role in this privilege identified by Peggy Mcintosh

It seems as though we are all three thinking along the same lines as far as which ones stand out for us. I think that the initial draft paragraphs sound like a great start, but we obviously still need to add more to it in order to have a completed progject. If we can coordinate a chat that would be great, but I am not sure if that will work and want a back up plan just in case we cannot coordinate our efforts in that manner. How about if we each contribute some to the initial paragraphs written. I hope you are all in agreement that we should feel free to tweak things as we see fit. Then one of us will have to be the "leader" and wrap it up and submit it for final review. Who wants that task? Thanks, Erin

Dan and Alan,
I added an introductory paragraph and a little to the middle. I think it sounds good. My only concern is: Did we need to maintain 5 key points and elaborate on them or did we have the flexibility to narrow it down as we did? Erin

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In Peggy McIntosh's article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," there are numerous examples of "skin-color privilege," as she refers them. Several of them stand out in particular and are connected to the Colorblind Perspective and the Social Dominance Theory. Specifically outlined and expanded upon are the idea that whites can be assured they are not being targeted by law enforcement or other authority figures because of their race or conversely that when a white person does particularly well in a difficult situation, that is not considered to be an exception to the rule or a credit to his or her race. Also, McIntosh touches upon the often heated debate of affirmative action and the "privilege" afforded by whites that they do not have to be concerned with others wondering why or how they were hired and if it was due to qualifications or race.======

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 * 1) One of the clearest connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and Social Dominance Theory is in the area of protection under the law and not being automatically placed under suspicion by the enforcers of the law. For example the White privilege of not being stopped by the police based on one's race while driving, or when police first arrive at the scene of a crime not being assumed to be the perpetrator due to one's race, very clearly lines up with non-whites having to teach their children how to behave, move and, speak in these circumstances in order to escape suspicion or just survive; and in Social Dominance Theory, the hegemonic group, which is in charge of the legal system and its enforcers (i.e. the police), and in order to maintain its position of relative safety, has set the other aside for suspicion.======

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 * 1) Furthermore, being White and being able to do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to one's race lines up with the Colorblind Perspective in that individualism is prized over group identification and equality over equity. These fit in with Social Dominance Theory in the sense that it is more concerned with social equilibrium and stability than with any achievement of equity and social justice. There are certain expectations that need to be challenged in society in order to dispel this line of thinking.======

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 * 1) Lastly, McIntosh identified a white privilege regarding employment opportunities and how the white population does not have to recognize race as a factor when obtaining employment. For people of color, race and employment opportunities, or lack there of, go hand in hand. The dominant white group takes this advantage, or "white privilege" for granted. The ability to obtain employment without having race be brought into question or seen as the predominant reason for being given the position by the dominant social group connect the three concepts. White people expect to earn employment based solely on their abilities and do not concern themselves with their race when applying and interviewing for employment. The dominant group conscience is often directed at dispelling the notion that the subordinate group could possibly be the better candidate for a position; thus the group will alienate the individual and base the sole reason for employment on the fact that they are a person of color and the employer had to turn down the "obviously" more qualified white candidate because of affirmative action. Additionally, Affirmative Action is a strategy meant to provide equal opportunities for people of color to obtain such advantages as quality employment. However, some experts believe that colorblind affirmative action does nothing but ignore white privilege more than affirm people of color. In fact, some critics see colorblindness as a platform for racism because it weakens the disadvantaged race argument.======

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 * 1) Needless to say that all of the privileges that McIntosh identifies continue to increase the gap between the dominant and subordinate groups. If we are to appropriately address the issues we must understand the privileges of the dominant group. Furthermore, the dominant group must be willing to diminish the privileges afforded them and work towards a race-conscious, but not race-driven society.======

social dominance theory