White Privilege In The Social Work Curriculum - Essay Example

White Privilege In The Social Work Curriculum Hiding in the background, white privilege infests American racial identity often without the hosts ever even realizing it. There is a camouflage that creates this perpetuation of racial inequality and it is this: Those experiencing the privilege firmly believe that they have gotten their status solely by their own merit and that anyone can achieve this in the same way they did. Furthermore, the underprivileged believe that they must get a pass from the other side in order to succeed. In America, white privilege began long before slavery, but then this was simply believed as an outright fact that whites were superior, now this has become an insidious sociological norm that often goes completely unnoticed. Firstly, a working definition of this invisible advantage needs to be to create a common ground for discussion. White privilege is the unremitting belief that this group has the only correct standards, morals, opinions etc. to the absolute exclusion of any other racial group's ideals or beliefs. In the enforcement of these standards greater and greater societal distances are built up between the white and the non-white racial groups. Consequently this results in the constantly reinforced belief that whites deserve this extra "allocation of resources" and greater success because of some inherent superiority that they innately possess. All other groups are simply responsible for their own difficulties, which has nothing to do with any white privilege (Hays & Chang 135). Presently and historically we see these attitudes represented in all levels of society and government as well as business and education. They are here personified by past President Thomas Jefferson. His thoughts on the subject are representational of the general beliefs held at the time. Jefferson wrote Notes on the State of Virginia and while the greater part of the book was devoted to the topography of the land and its bounty, one small section addressed the concerns of the politicians and the people of the state regarding its black community. It is interesting to note that at the time slavery was so accepted that that particular word, slavery, is no where to be found in this short section, this is merely taken as a fact, no need to mention it. Much like white privilege is today, an invisible assumption. This section turns into a mostly biological treatise that talks about sweat glands and adrenal functions (Jefferson did have quite a period knowledge of biology) and on the difference, or rather the lower status, intelligence and emotional depth of blacks. However, in some sections there are psychological and social comments by Jefferson, presumably from personal observations and presented here in Jefferson's own words: Their griefs are transient. Those numberless afflictions, which render it doubtful whether heaven has given life to us in mercy or in wrath, are less felt, and sooner forgotten with them. In general, their existence appears to participate more of sensation than reflection... blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind.(Jefferson 1781) White privilege, a word not yet invented at the time, is what Jefferson is really talking about here. Making the "other" seem inferior automatically makes the "us" feel superior. In the present day one example rings clear, the economic advantage of whites over other races has stemmed from the very fact of the existence of discrimination itself. Focusing on the NCNB bank in Houston Texas, the author of The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics state that this bank had disqualified only13% of middle income white mortgage applicants while they disqualified 36% of middle income black applicants. When questioned about this inequity in approval ratings the bank commented that it is because of the low net worth of the applicants and has nothing to do with discrimination. This is tantamount to saying that the reason for being denied a loan is due to the fact that in the past everyone did such a good job of discriminating against the applicant's family that it was impossible to build up any equity or pass it down through the successive generations (Lipsitz 13-14). The privileged believe that the reason they had the ability to attain whatever station or level in life they hold is solely due to their own individual merit and worth. This is the typical illusion of the advantaged in any society. Even taking white privilege out of the mix, no one operates in a vacuum. The connection with society is just as important for success as any one individual's intelligence or skill set. Unfortunately, this invisible advantage becomes "common sense" to the privileged and those that have not achieved their level of success must have failed in some way or been missing some individual desire to succeed from the beginning, an innate lack not an imposed disadvantage. Peggy McIntosch the author of, Unpacking the Knapsack of White Privilege, has experienced this common sense advantage in her own life. In her white environment of school and home she was taught to see herself as simply an individual with independent goals and desires that were always achievable, and that is what is in her psychological knapsack. This is the weight of all past programming that she carries along with her often without even realizing it. Whites are taught to think that the way they live their lives is somehow morally neutral and just average, but also ideal in most ways. That is why the underprivileged are so important. By helping this downtrodden group whites can see that they are of benefit to others by assisting the outcasts in becoming more like the privileged group. (McIntosh 2) The laundry list of white privilege is extensive, and many of the items on that list would not even be noticed as such. One in particular is the fact that when going to the media, the majority of the representation of positive role models has a tendency to be white, while the converse is often true of non-whites. The media represents non-whites as largely a troubled group often involved in drugs and other crimes by showing disproportionately large numbers of this cohort in crime or other disparaging scenarios. Remember, this is a perception that is created by the media's choices of interviews and stories and not necessarily reality. Yet if repeated often enough, this can become reality. And for the most part perception is reality for us all. This kind of programming is certainly the basis for the continuation of much racism and of the perpetuation of white privilege as well as a host of other ills that face the country. Researchers often tout biology and evolution as the answer to this question of white privilege, but in a different more modern light than Jefferson had. Using evolutionary criteria as a driving force, researches believe that human beings have developed a tendency to divide groups along ethnic and cultural lines. (Buchanan 14)The importance of understanding which groups were the most essential to belong to for survival and success was paramount. Keeping this in mind it would certainly be beneficial to perceive and categorize the differences within other groups such as clothing style, body art, gestures, etc. Under this theory, color has also become one of these "markers" that have been "mistakenly" used in this way (Buchanan 14). It is always tempting to resort to a scientific explanation that eradicates any personal responsibility. However, this answer unacceptable. The nature of a human being is always one of choice and one can choose to ignore these stimuli or accept them. There are cases throughout history, and in particular, American history, where choices were made for the "greater good," for lack of a better term. For example, there has been the ongoing tradition, unfortunately, to view the other group as often less than human so as to not possess those inalienable rights as guaranteed for all in the constitution. The need for slave labor by the European settlers of America led them to view first Native Americans and later African Americans as somehow inferior to themselves. They professed the idea, perpetuated by Thomas Jefferson and other of his time, that these people were not only suited for, but had a need to be, slave labor (Lipsitz 2). In war the enemy is always referred to as an animal, non-human, having no morals so it is easier to kill or conquer the other group, and then to take care of and/or enslave this group like a workhorse. In the case of white privilege the same is true. To be privileged means that there must be the underprivileged, the needy that must be taken care of. Otherwise how could the privileged feel as good as they do? Again this is the unwritten rule of white privilege, which goes without saying. Social and governmental institutions are geared to nurture this prejudice as a matter of course, the teaching of history in schools is often wrought with carefully favorable white events such as the way we helped Native Americans when settling in America. Fortunately some are awaking to the fact that there is this underlying privilege that needs to be addressed. By bringing instruction into the classroom that is geared towards the understanding of "Whiteness" and "white privilege," along with a complete study on diversity and oppression, a more wide ranging understanding of the subject is available. Including white privilege in the curriculum, social workers and others may begin to perceive the cycles of dependency between the privileged and the underprivileged groups to facilitate better methods of intervention. Understanding white privilege at this stage may also help to create more holistic anti-racist models of education that address these larger issues rather then being mired in the illusion that individuals can accomplish this alone. (Abrams & Gibson 150) This is the necessary first step in counteracting the built-in tendencies that make up white privilege. Language is often an overlooked culprit in the perpetuation of white privilege in America. Being the melting pot of the world, one would think that all races brewed in that kettle become one. This is not the case. Many just become hyphenated: African-Americans, Spanish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, etc. Meanwhile, descendants of the white European settlers or second or third generation white immigrants with no discernable accent are simply -- Americans. Even those that occupied this land first are called, Native-Americans. In fact, when asked most white individuals do not even identify themselves as a race at all and have extraordinary difficulty in perceiving how "whiteness" plays any kind of role in society at large and categorically deny that white privilege exists at all (Abrams & Gibson 151), at least consciously. In recent studies using brain-imaging scans it appears that adults, who profess not to be racists, register the difference perceived in skin color automatically and unconsciously. This occurred regardless of the race of the subject. When viewing someone with different skin color than their own the subject showed increased activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain that perceives the significant emotional content of an observation (Buchanan 14). The inherent contradiction here is that we have evolved to notice these differences yet as a society we try to deny any differences to the detriment of all concerned. White privilege is in itself a denial of racism even though it is the perpetrator of it. By attaching prejudices to these differences we create racism. This inevitably leads to the conclusion that the idea of race has no foundation in any biological construct but is solely a societal creation based on isolating differences in order to prey upon the group for whatever reason. Furthermore, in order for white privilege to be addressed the privileged must come to see themselves as simply another race in the struggle that has made out better than any other in the amassing of resources and power. When this acknowledgement occurs all races are placed on the same level, so that some common dialogue can be achieved in order to begin to repair the collapsed bridges between the groups. In order to adopt non-racists attitudes one must accept his or her role in the problem of racism and understand the benefits received thereof. In other words one must accept one's whiteness and the resultant benefits reaped from racism and oppression (Hays & Chang 2003). It must simply and at last be acknowledged that white privilege does exist. Acknowledging the benefits received from white privilege and finding a way back to a center that can at first include and then dissolve the barriers built by the stubborn ignorance of racism and prejudice can only do this. If it is true that human beings have a choice in their destinies than it must also be true that it is possible to choose tolerance and acceptance instead of intolerance and denial. Works Cited Abrams, Laura S. Gibson, Priscilla. "Reframing Multicultural Education: Teaching White Privilege In The Social Work Curriculum." Journal of Social Work Education 43(2007) 147-160 Buchanan, Mark. "Born Prejudiced." New Scientist (2007) 193 Issue 2595, p14-14 Hays, Danica G & Chang, Catherine Y. "White Privilege, Oppression, and Racial Identity Development: Implications for Supervision." Counselor Education & Supervision 43(2003): 134-145 Lipsitz, George. "The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics." Philadelphia Temple University Press, (1998). Vii-viii;1-23 McIntosch, Peggy. "Unpacking the Knapsack of white privilege." Independent School Writer. 1990 Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. (1781). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h490.html. (Accessed on October 22, 2007). Read More