White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Picture a soldier.

Picture a doctor.

Picture a taxpaying American.

Were any of these images black people? Probably not...even if you are black yourself. In our society the presumption is that people are white unless they are specifically raced otherwise. This presumption of whiteness as "the norm" and everyone else as "the other" - and the immense societal costs of this presumption - is at the heart of this collection, explored in 16 accessible readings designed to allow educators at different levels to initiate conversations about whiteness and white privilege in courses in many disciplines. It's divided into four sections, each with discussion questions:

The Power of Invisibility exposes the hidden power of whiteness, and the advantages it provides to whites as a group without them ever having realize, much less acknowledge, that such advantages exist.

The Power of the Past traces how and why the definition of "whiteness" has evolved and changed over the years. For example, there was a time when the Irish, Jews and Eastern Europeans (among others) were not considered white. "The Possessive Investment in Whiteness" demonstrates that long after slavery ended, public policy (even that supposedly designed to help minorities, like Urban Renewal) has systematically and adversely effected African Americans' ability to amass net worth, enhancing the rewards of past discrimination. Meanwhile, when white people start to feel disadvantaged or inconvenienced, they blame "affirmative action." For example, in the Bakke case, where the plaintiff argued that medical school affirmative action programs disadvantaged white applicants like himself, neither Bakke nor the Court contested the legitimacy of medical school admissions standards that reserved five seats in each class for children of wealthy donors. Most universities give similar preference to the children of alumni, which again, compounds past discrimination.

The Power of Privilege examines and enumerates the kinds of benefits - large and small - that white people take for granted, perhaps because they never even have to think about them. For example, as Peggy MacIntosh writes, "I can go shopping pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed; I can swear, or dress in secondhand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choice to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race; I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge," I will be facing a person of my race."

The Power of Resistance attempts to answer the question: How can white people who do not wish to participate in the system find ways to use that privilege to combat racism and the system of privilege as a whole?

Unfortunately, many discussions of whiteness end with "but I never owned slaves." This accessible collection will go a long way towards trying to pry open such minds. Highly recommended!

(For those already familiar with the first edition, this revised second edition includes two new pieces, "The Roots of Racial Classification" and "Privilege as Paradox." )

In White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Race, Rothenberg has compiled and reduced some very important and complex discussions on whiteness from a variety of social contexts. In White Privilege, whiteness is traced from it's multiple origins and entry points giving a basic understanding on how whiteness developed as a social construct, what whiteness has meant to numerous people, how various Others have become white, and how whiteness is navigated and construed by people of color.

It should be noted that this is a primer - an entry-level text on whiteness. This book is highly recommended for those seeking a deeper understanding of what whiteness is, what it means, and to some degree what it costs. It's a valuable starting point with numerous references and further readings for those who seek a deeper, richer, understanding of whiteness.

This book is highly readable and the analysis is very good. The only reason people would be reacting so negatively is if they have an investment in perpetuating racism. If you do not, then you will appreciate this book and its contribution to helping us understand the dynamics of privilege and how we can unconsciously fuel racism. The first step to changing something is understanding it. Nothing is helped by sticking your head in the sand and denying a problem exists. I encourage everyone who cares about ending the racist (and sexist and classist) power structure in our society to read this book.