"I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth.”
-Peggy McIntosh
Just as Peggy McIntosh stated above, I too have spent the greater part of my life thinking that it wasn’t ‘me’ who was racist, but rather ‘them.’ However, personal experiences and articles like this have opened my mind to the fact that I also contribute to the system of oppression. While it may not be easy to swallow this truth, it is important that we as educators validate and accept that we inherit certain privileges from this system, be it through gender, class, economic background, race or sexual identity.
In fact, as I seek out real-life examples of the privileges this article describes, I am disappointed to discover that, not only do they exist on a very tangible level, but also that racism is alive and kicking in America today. In addition to this, the perpetrators of such oppression are not just the usual suspects, but also people who look and think a lot like us. Here are some examples of items I have observed in my everyday life:
6. I can turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely accepted.
While working out at the gym recently, I grabbed an issue of Vogue from the magazine rack. Flipping through the pages, I found that at least 95 percent of the models featured were white, and the vast majority of these models were blonde. Any featured models that did not fit into this mold of “classic” beauty were exoticized (for example, an Asian-American model dressed in Chinese-influenced garb).
7.When I am told about or national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.”
In order to gain public recognition for historic acts, People of Color must fight tooth and nail to receive even the most token nods. For example, look at the overwhelming opposition to renaming 39th Avenue ‘Cesar Chavez Blvd.’ The vast majority of the opponents were white, while the vast majority of supporters were People of Color.
15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
In addition to this, my children need not be aware of the challenges of society until an advanced age, while Children of Color often learn it from their early years. One striking example of this was in the film that we watched today (Boys of Baraka). In one scene, a teacher addressed a group of young Black boys by saying “Most of you will not graduate.” Could you imagine hearing this from your teachers? There’s a good reason we don’t fully learn about oppression until our university years.
19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
The classic example of this would be the recent Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court candidate Judge Sonia Sotomayor. While it appears that Judges Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg did face some scrutiny in their confirmations, it was to a much-lesser degree and had nothing to do with their ethnicities.
The list goes on and on. While many of us may feel frustrated and wonder what we can do to change this situation, I recognize McIntosh’s appeal that we make certain sacrifices to help level the playing field. However, it is much easier to “talk” about change then to actually “make” change.
I already e-mailed this link to cohort cubed, but wanted to post it here too:
ReplyDeletehttp://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/21/massachusetts.harvard.professor.arrested/
This incident really hits up on the fact that, as a white person, I do not need to worry about being targeted or arrested by the police because of my race. I mean, the man is a Harvard professor! And he was coming home from a trip to China!
I really appreciate how you brought specific examples from public life into your discussion. You made the statements so much more powerful just by looking at some real events that affect each one of us and our community.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Febe, you made some great connections in your writing.
ReplyDeleteOn a more shallow note, I have noticed that models in magazines on top of being 95% white, almost never have brown eyes. Some of the "exotic" models do, although it seems that green or blue us preferred. So because I have dark hair and eyes, most models don't look like me either.
Note: I realize it's not just my hair and eyes that prevent the models and I from looking similar to each other, but that's a whole different conversation.
yes, I think it's so ridiculous how the fashion industry makes little to no efforts to reflect the vast majority of the population. My friend is a designer, and I'm always begging her "please make clothes for non-anorexic women!!!!"
ReplyDeleteYou know what's also interesting, American actors/models somehow end up with darker skin when they're on the covers of Latin American/Spanish magazines. I remember one particular cover with Jennifer Aniston in Elle that made me wonder if she was a sister. Creepy.
ReplyDelete