White Privilege and Education

If you were asked to write an essay of 1,000 words or less on White Privilege what would you write? That’s the assignment that was given to high school students in Westport, Conn., according to the New York Times.
The town is ranked the tenth wealthiest town in the U.S. with populations between 20,000 and 65,000, and second in the state according to Wikipedia. And 93% white too!
The good news is that the students were non plussed about the assignment unlike the adults in the community that chimed in.
The area is democratic in its politics and its residents and non residents spoke out. They seemed to have taken offense at the suggestion that they did not earn their success and benefited from racism. As one person said “this is race baiting…” and another “the idea of white privilege is just as racist as black privilege”.
This is a much a simplification as saying “All Lives Matter” in response to the “Black Lives Matter”. Seriously, this is a comment I heard as I was marching in the recent MLK Celebration in Long Beach, CA.
This is a case of limited exposure to this subject in the real world writ large. There are countless examples of white privilege exercised in covert and overt racism.
Continuing the theme of education, I must express my deep disappointment at the nomination of Betsy De Vos as Secretary of Education for the US administration. To clarify, I am astounded at her total lack of knowledge of schools and the laws that govern them.
She is a product of white privilege and the De Vos family is among the richest people not only in Michigan, but the world. But, Ms De Vos she supports voucher programs that leave out students whose families cannot afford to pay the part of tuition that is not covered by these vouchers.
In addition, since my husband teaches Special Education, I am deeply concerned that her policies will leave students with disabilities behind.
In conclusion I list below a few of the privileges that white folks enjoy.
I can be sure that my children will be given curriculum materials that testify to the existence of their race. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection. I can be pretty sure that my children’s teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race not work against me. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.
If you are a member or ally or friend of the NABWMT, support them in another 30 years of fighting homophobia and racism. Check out our website ________________________________________________________________ If you wish to read my earliest articles on White Privilege here are the links: bwmtsc.org/white-priviledge-list/ bwmtsc.org/privilege-part-3/ bwmtsc.org/privilege-part-3-2/