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RACISM
Why Poor White People Struggle to Understand Their White Privilege
Their struggles blind them to the struggle of others
If you grew up trying to "make a dollar out of fifteen cents," and you're wondering why Black people say that you benefit from "white privilege," this essay is for you. As a low-income White person, first and foremost, you may have endured difficulties in your home, community, and personal life. However, you should understand that those struggles resulted from the impoverished conditions you grew up in, not your skin color. Class privilege and race privilege are not mutually exclusive — they interact.
So, of course, compared to a wealthy or even middle-class White person, you have fewer opportunities and endure some of the same struggles as Black people and other minorities, but here's the critical part — your struggle isn't fastened to your race. Meaning that if you won the lottery, your woes would end, and your family could move out of the hood, and that would be the end of it of your Cinderella story. Yet, wealthy Black people still experience racial discrimination. Besides, over 150 years after Emancipation, the racial wealth gap between Black and White Americans has persisted and even widened as during a monstrous pandemic. Moreover, social mobility is difficult for Black people because we live in a system embedded with white supremacist ideology. Therefore, race and class impact someone's lived experiences, not either or.
About white privilege
White privilege refers to the benefits someone receives simply for being white, such as earning more money when working the same positions as Black people. However, white privilege also refers to the absence of racial discrimination. For instance, Black newborns are more likely to die under the care of White doctors. So, being more likely to survive infancy is the first white privilege a White person benefits from. Yet, there is a lot of confusion floating around about white privilege because it's not something you can grab or hold.
"How can I have white privilege when I grew up poor," Black people often hear. And the answer is that your whiteness gives you unearned benefits and, as a bonus, safeguards you from racial…
