2.14: What Is Privilege And What Do I Do With It?

First Name Basis Podcast

White privilege is one of the strongest pillars that upholds racism. In her article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Peggy McIntosh describes white privilege as: “An invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.”

If you are white there are privileges that you enjoy each and every day because of the color or your skin. These privileges do not mean that your life hasn’t been challenging or that you are not a hard worker, what it means is that the challenges you’ve faced have not been caused by the color of your skin.

Confronting privilege is an uncomfortable process, but when you choose to face that discomfort head on you will find liberation, not only for you but for the People of Color who have been disenfranchised by the system that has granted you privilege.

In this episode I get down to the brass tacks of white privilege and answer all of your burning questions:

• What is white privilege?
• What are some examples of what white privilege looks like in everyday life?
• How can you use it to make change?
• What do you do if someone you know or love denies that they have privilege?

I encourage you to take a deep breath, listen with an open mind, and lean into the discomfort.

Psychology Today: You are Not a Bad Person: Facing Privilege Can Be Liberating by Dr. Miki Kashtan

Peggy McIntosh: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Tiffany Jewell Author of “This Book is Antiracist” Instagram Account

This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell

Britt Hawthorne Anti-bias/Anti-racist Educator Instagram Account

Bettina Love “Hand on the Pole” Video

Harvard Business Review: Use Your Everyday Privilege to Help Others by Dolly Chugh

Song Credit: “Away” by Geographer and “Beach Disco” by Dougie Wood