Dear Reader,

Since the beginning of the modern civil rights movement we are a part of
(#BlackLivesMatter, etc.), a passion for social justice and the fight for
equality has grown deep inside of me. It is very clear that an educated mind
is a powerful weapon and it is my hope that with my paper, I can educate
those who might not shine light on such a taboo subject very often and help
them to turn their own minds into weapons for equality as well. White
privilege is a touchy subject and explaining it can easily offend, so I hope I
could tread lightly enough to educate without offending. I have a big hope for
a future of our world and more closely, our nation. My generation has proven
to be a generation of thinkers who arent afraid to voice their stances on
problems such as police brutality, inequality, and discrimination and with my
paper, I hope to push us forward towards a future with less hate and less
seeing in black and white.

In writing about white privilege, I have found that one must rely on their own
views, stances, and opinions to create a full body of work on it. With that
being said, I hope that my paper does not come off as too biased or too
angry towards my audience. The main point of my writing and my proposal is
to educate and to open the eyes of the accidentally ignorant.
Sincerely,
Cameron Robare

Cameron Robare
Professor Erin Lebacqz
English 120
17 November 2016

White Privilege in America: Slapping People of Color in the Face Without

Lifting a Finger

Since the beginning of our great nation, our North American culture has been
shaped and influenced by people from all over the world. Characteristics from
cultures of color are everywhere you look from the dominating and inescapable
Spanish/Mexican style influence here in New Mexico to the land we walk on that we
call our own. We owe many thanks to people of color and the cultures they come
from and in some cases, especially when it comes to our African American or Native
American people, even reparations for the damage we (white Americans) have
caused to their people on American soil. If these beautiful cultures have been kind
enough to loan the sacred teachings, influence, art, languages, and styles of their
ethnicities, why is it that the black American (or any American of Color) has life so
hard in 2016? Why is it that even though the melting pot of America should be
nothing but appreciate and grateful for the diversity within our population (given all
the ways diversity has benefitted us), the people of color in our nation still feel the
crushing weight of oppression? Why does it sometimes seem like all the steps weve
taken towards racial equality and equity seem like baby steps? The answer, though

a very simple concept, can be very hard to understand for most people. Its hard to
understand that without trying or noticing, we (as white Americans) are making our
people of color feel lesser, degraded, and almost illegitimate with a transparent
preference white people are born with that is known to us as the white privilege.

White privilege proves to be a difficult problem to address. Generally, its

even hard to explain to someone (especially someone with it) why it even is a
problem or poses a threat to our society. It is understandably hard to understand
how we (though here I am speaking for myself instead of the rest of white America),
though not racist, judgmental, or discriminatory, are putting down so many people
of color and crippling society by making the baby steps we take towards racial
equality even harder to take. White skin privilege is not something that white
people necessarily do, create or enjoy on purpose. (Holladay, 2016) White privilege
is instead something that if white, youre born with and cannot escape. Whether you
like it or not, if you are born with the white privilege, you will unfortunately benefit
from this the rest of your life while the rest of society, and especially those not so
privileged, sit back and suffer from the crippling weight of oppression. I understand
that statement might sound dramatized, but if the previous sentence inspires any
sort of eye roll or thoughts such as Oh please, its not that bad., it is my hope that
reading this people will necessarily educate and open the eyes of the ignorant.
Though most of the time you wont consciously feel the benefits, understanding that
theyre there is the first step in solving the issues white privilege pose.

White privilege can be very tricky because as mentioned before, America is a

melting pot of all kinds of different cultures and ethnicities. It is almost rare to come
across someone in our country that is full blooded Caucasian and its impossible to
come across someone that doesnt have some sort of foreign descent. With that
being said, we must identify the difference between ethnicity and race. In my
studies, I have concluded that though very closely related, we can relate ethnicity
more of whats in your blood and ancestry and race to more of the physical features
we see on the outside such as skin color. (Conley, 2003) Its a little harder to judge
someone on their ethnicity, but as we know as Americans, its very easy for some
people to judge someone based on race. It can be hard to judge someone based on
ethnicity because most of the time, it is hard to tell what ethnicity someone belongs
to. We can use me as an example. I am a five foot seven, one hundred and forty-five
pound young man with white skin. I have fine brown hair that falls flat around my
face and a small frame for someone of my age. If you saw me walking down the
street, I would look like a basic example of a white American young man. I do not
have obvious cultural physical features such as the almond shaped eyes of the
people of (and from) Asia or the curls and texture in my hair such as that of people
from African descent. I do not resemble many of the people from the bloodline I am
proud to have, but at the end of the day, I am not just white. My blood is Hispanic,
and I will always prefer to be looked at as Hispanic. While thats all good and well
and one should always be proud of where they or their ancestors come from, at the
end of the day, my skin is white and I, even without trying, reap the many unfair
benefits of being white in America.

If one is struggling with the question of whether they have the white
privilege, you can ask yourself the following questions:

When pulled over for a routine traffic stop, do you feel as if youre

being immediately racially profiled?

When in the market for anything nude colored whether it be clothes

or make up, does it match your nude skin tone?

Do your band aids match your skin tone?
Do you feel as if police officers, security personnel, or other officials in
positions of authority follow you around or keep an extra eye on you

because of your race?

Do the textbooks you read in school talk about the progress of your
people or their contributions to society? Are they celebrated?

As it is clear now, one does not choose to have the white privilege. White privilege
is given to us by society, we do not take it upon ourselves to have it. Once you have
it (and by that, I mean once you are born white), you obviously cannot get rid of it
whether you like it or not. I understand that thats unfortunate, but, if youre able to
recognize it and all the benefits/disadvantages it comes with, you have the power to
use it for good. (Holladay, 2000)
One problem I believe our society faces is not wanting to own up to the
possession of white privilege. Too many times a white person (and I, too, am guilty
of this at time) will be so adamant about not being considered white that in order to
try to seem as ethnic as possible, you will be given a broad list of multiple European
percentages and half this, quarter that just so at the end of the day, they wont be
stereotyped as pumpkin spice latte drinking white people. In order to fix the societal
problems and social unrest white privilege causes, you just have to analyze and be

honest with yourself. Its okay to be a white person and in fact, you should definitely
consider yourself lucky with the way America treats those who dont have it.
Brock Turner is not an Ex-Stanford Swimmer in my eyes as the headlines
portray him. He raped a girl and left her behind a dumpster, therefore he is a rapist.
Anytime his name comes up in the news, though, it is almost always either lead or
followed by the title Ex-Stanford Swimmer. Even when talking about the fact that
he raped a girl mercilessly, the media is still trying to humanize him, alleviate the
situation the best they can, and subliminally remind you of all the good Mr. Turner
has done to distract you from the fact that he is 1. A rapist and 2. Benefitted
extremely from the legal system due to his and his families white privilege. Now, if
you google the name Corey Batey right now, also a young man convicted of rape,
there is not one single headline on the first page of search results that doesnt
contain the word rape. I hope I am not being misunderstood and coming off as
defending rapists or the act of rape, but it should come as no surprise that Corey
Batey, an African American rapist that ruined the life of a young woman in the same
way Brock Turner did, is currently serving 15 years in prison while Turner is back at
home going on with business as usual after his unjust few month sentence.
(Barchenger, 2016)
Society notices these things and people are starting to say enough is enough.
This unfair treatment and this constant justification of white peoples poor actions
and constant demonizing of people of color is the reason Ferguson, Missouri is in
pieces. Its the reason #BlackLivesMatter has been a huge part of the last 5 years.
Its the reason Barack Obamas presidency is constantly negativity critiqued while
we replaced him with a man who believes he has the power to grab a womans
sexual organs just because of his name. The reaping of white privilege doesnt just

benefit white people, but it slaps people of color in the face. It makes them feel
unsafe in their own country and it makes them feel as if the people who are
supposed to protect them (such as police officers) are out to get them as well. We,
as white people, must ourselves how that must feel. We must put ourselves in their
shoes, understand their frustration, and educate ourselves so we can use our
privilege to join the fight for equality.
Using white privilege for good is no easy task. From what has been
mentioned about the privilege above, it is clear that in having white privilege,
society will take you seriously. Your words, your thoughts, your pleas, your defenses,
and your contributions are the ones written about and celebrated in the history
books. Though people of color have helped shape our nation into what it is today
and have fought hard to break down boundary after boundary, why does my politics
textbook have a whole chapter on Franklin D. Roosevelt but a few pages on Martin
Luther King Jr.? In a survey I took myself of ten random college students, why did
only 4 know what Malcolm X did for America? If you have the white privilege you
must realize that even though it is unfair and disgusting, people will stop to listen
you. Realize the power you have in your voice and use it to educate. To stop the
social unrest caused by the abuse of white privilege, lets start telling our kids about
it at a young age so we can dissolve it. White privilege does not just positively affect
white people, but look what it tells our people of color. I got pulled over not too long
ago because of speeding and I got away with a warning. Philando Castile, a black
man, was also pulled over but instead was shot in front of his family by the officer at
the window for reaching into his pocket for his ID. (Peralta, 2016) While there are
different factors that play into different situations, it is my opinion that if the same

officer that pulled over Mr. Castile pulled me over, I would not even have to fear
being shot.
I propose that we start admitting it to ourselves. I propose that instead of
shrugging our shoulders and saying thats just how things are to the fact that a
black man and I would probably be tried much different for the same crime, we
speak up against it. Call people out on their unfairness. Make them know that we
know and if need be, scare them with your knowledge. The realization of your
privilege is the biggest start you can make into changing it for good. Realize that as
a privileged person, your words are looked over a couple more times than the words
of others. You have the power to more easily make a positive change in society than
those who are not so lucky. In any theories, you read about the downfall of great
civilizations, one of the causes is always social unrest. (Marlon, 2015) More and
more, we hear more instances of people revolting against racial inequality and
racism and sometimes, America feels like it mustve in the 1960s. This nation is
becoming more and more divided and the riots dont seem to be slowing down
anytime soon. Though there are many more factors that play into the current state
of frustration our nation is in in regards to race, the use of white privilege is a main
cause and one that can easily be made into something positive and it all starts with
you.
Owning up to white privilege is the first step, but we also need to start taking
measures to more accurately represent the accomplishments of people of color in
our nation. Stop giving white rappers the Grammy for their mediocre debut album
while the more credible and clearly more talented rappers of color walk away empty
handed. Stop wearing headdresses, painting your face black as apart of a Halloween
costume, and wearing bindis to music festivals. The signs are everywhere, but this

nation does not appreciate our diverse cultures enough to pick and choose the parts
of them we celebrate. Lets stop writing about the astounding accomplishments of
Christopher Columbus and emphasize the fact that he stole land and killed a vast
amount of Native Americans as part of his accomplishments. Lets stop fearing all
Islamic people and lets start recognizing them for showing us astrology and
contributing to our knowledge of health care.
We have a norm in America that before formal events, sporting events, or the
start of the school day at our elementary-high schools, we all respectfully stand up,
put our hands on our hearts, and recite the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. At the
end of the pledge, a sentence that has always stuck out to me reads One nation,
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The internets definition of
the world liberty states The state of being free within society from oppressive
restrictions by authority on ones way of life, behavior, or political views. If liberty
and justice is for all, then were far too enabling of oppressive restrictions to be
standing for that pledge with a clear conscience. We, in our current state, are also
clearly not indivisible. I propose that we put integrity into our word and empathy
into our hearts. I propose that instead of making America great again or bringing
back the values of the passed, we work to become a nation weve never seen
before. A nation that does not celebrate one man over the other for the same deed,
but a nation that truly offers liberty and justice for all.

Bibliography for White Privilege in America

1. Conley, Dalton, and John Cheng. "RACE - The Power of an Illusion." PBS. PBS,
2003. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
2. Holladay, Jennifer. "On Racism and White Privilege." On Racism and White
Privilege | Teaching Tolerance - Diversity, Equity and Justice. N.p., 2000. Web.
27 Nov. 2016.
3. Barchenger, Stacey. "Cory Batey Sentenced to 15 Years in Vanderbilt Rape
Case." The Tennessean. N.p., 14 July 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
4. Peralta, Eyder, and Cheryl Corley. "The Driving Life And Death Of Philando
Castile." NPR. NPR, 15 July 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
5. Marlon, Brandon. "The Decline and Fall of Modern Civilization: 8 Simple Steps
to Squandering It All." Algemeiner.com. N.p., 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Nov.
2016.

INDIVIDUALIZED RUBRIC FOR PAPER # __________

NAME: _________________________________
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Subpoints

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& Addresses
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delineated in the assignment sheet.
Purpose: Writing decisions help forward
your purpose and achieve desired results
from your audience.
Audience: Writing decisions reflect an
awareness of audience values, biases, and
needs.
Genre: Your project works within the
conventions and goals of the chosen genre.

What will this loo

Your project will reflect re

including topic, purpose,
writing goals.
Purpose:

Audience:

Genre:

In the next three rows, paste the three areas youre focusing on most those you would like to
points each with the two subpoints youve chosen for each, and a bullet describing what each
your paper.
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clarity

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