4-A-3+Group+B

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

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.

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.
 * Note:**

Summary
Brian Reinking's Comments:

The five points from McIntyre's list (as I've paraphrased them) that stand out to me are as follows:

1. When I move, I can be assured I will move into an area with people like me 2. When I--or my children--go to school, they will see my nation and culture's history represented in what they learn. 3. When I shop, I will see products for my race and my nationality represented on the shelves. 4. When I buy bandages, my skin tone will be the same as the skin tone on the bandage. 5. I can wear second-hand clothes, walk out unkempt or disheveled, maybe without showering, and I will not be judged as emblematic for my race.

These five stood out to me because they deal with the daily life activities and ongoing developmental activities for me and my children that reinforce the idea that my race and traditions are dominant in culture--the other side of this is that other races and cultures are not dominant and "normal." Living in a neighborhood is a huge part of life--moving is an upheaval in routine and scary enough in and of itself, but when it brings with it the idea that me and my family may not be comfortable in our new environment, then new pressures are added. I am reminded of the great play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorainne Hansberry, which deals with the Youngers, a black family, moving out of South Side, Chicago into a white neighborhood; their move is not welcomed by the white Welcoming Committee. Howard Zinn in //A People's History of the United States// and //Lies My Teacher Told Me// (another text by a sociology prof. out of Univ. of NH) deal with the idea that the main narrative in the US history books excludes the history of many of the nation's people. The fact that many stores do not carry hair care products or the foods for other cultures is an everyday reminder that those other cultures are kind of invisible--a key word in minority studies--in the U.S. white-dominated culture. The bandaids example is great. It's such a clear, blatant reminder of who is the dominant market in the US that I had to note it. Finally, since I sport a beard, wear old clothes, and go without showers sometimes, I thought McIntyre's point about that whites have the luxury of doing so without standing as symbols of their race was very incisive and true.

Brian Reinking

Dan Thomas’ comments: The five privileges from McIntosh’s list that stood out most to me


 * 1) I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
 * 2) I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
 * 3) I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
 * 4) 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.
 * 5) I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.

These stood out to me because I can think of examples in my life. We had an African American family move in next door several years ago. Our other neighbor said to my wife, “Can you believe what moved into our neighborhood?” My wife was mad and had a few choice words for her. Nobody else has ever made a comment like that for any other new neighbor. My wife also serves on a committee at our church. She needs to meet regularly with our minister for working lunches at a restaurant. Our minister is African American and my wife says their table constantly gets stares from other customers. My wife and I cannot imagine how it would feel to get stared at like that no matter where you go in town. I know an employee in another school district who was telling me how she knows a wonderful black student and wishes the other black students would use him as a role model because he is just a terrific credit to his race. I’m pretty sure I have always been judged for my own actions (good and bad) and never had someone use my choices as an example of someone being white. I don’t think anyone can look at the 4th privilege on my list and not think about the Trayvon Martin case. No matter what the legal system decides, the fact that so many African Americans have felt they have been victims of this should be a wakeup call to the rest of the country. Finally, I remember when my oldest son was little and watched Dora the Explorer. We were at a gathering and he mentioned something about Dora and someone told me that Nickelodeon was just trying to be politically correct by having a Hispanic children’s show. He was obviously threatened about having a children’s show not based on a white character and white culture

The interrelationship of Howard's Social Dominance Theory, the concept of a Color Blind perspective, and McIntyre's list of examples of White Privilege are--as we see them--as follows: According to Howard, cultures have in-groups and out-groups. Power is accorded to the dominant in-group in oftentimes subtle and at the same time systemic ways. In America, generally Whites are the dominant in-group. Out-groups are disenfranchised and not represented in the culture as fully as the In-group. A hierarchy is created, which may not be noticeable at first. Enter McIntyre's list of examples of white privilege--these are systemic cultural ways--nothing exactly in violation of Civil Rights laws--which show that a group, whites, are the in-group with the power. (I would add Brent Staples example of running into police, bouncers, security guards, neighborhood watch members, who are in place to detect trouble before it occurs to her list.) Whites don't have to worry about extra scrutiny before entering a restricted space; minorities do. Finally, the concept of Color Blindness enters into the discussion because whites are blind to the features of white privilege that minorities are very attuned to--because they have to be. The problems of moving, shopping for food, moving in public spaces, learning in educational institutions do not affect whites the same way they affect minority groups. As what happened to Dan's wife when she ate with an African American minister, whites are unaware of these problems unless they actually experience them. Even then, when Dan's wife left the restaurant she was able to reenter her comfortable white world while the African American minister has to permanently remain in his world and continue to be viewed suspiciously. The norm is white. The culture is white, so whites are blind to the differences that do indeed exist between the cultures. Everyone is equal and treated equitably in a in-group member's opinion because their culture is represented; however, differences do exist, need to exist, and deserve to exist because all of the cultures and races in the United States are a part of it and do not need to conform to the dominant social group. In sum, whites move seamlessly in a culture because of their white privilege when minorities move in the same culture with less ease; they bump up against limits, restrictions, and reminders that the white culture is dominant and theirs is somewhat tolerated but at the same time "othered" and not fully accepted.