Hey everybody,
This week we have been talking about racial tensions and white privilege. We have been focusing especially on the Trayvon Martin case here as well as what we are expecting to encounter as a group over in Ghana.
The first thing we are focusing on in our blogs this week is racial identity. Personally, race has not meant much to me growing up. Rather than embracing my whiteness, growing up in Oak Cliff, I would often try to distance myself from the stereotypes (mostly true) of whites in America, since there was a strong sense of justified hostility to them. Growing up in the hood, I never really identified with my white counterparts on the other side of town, creating somewhat of an identity crisis I guess. I considered myself some sort of shade of brown, to the confusion of everybody.
However, when people do point out my whiteness, I am often quick to identify myself as Italian. My family being Italian, for me, means putting family, love, and God all above individual and monetary pursuits. The Italian culture, like many African and Latino cultures, heavily emphasizes family and faith, and I think this has very strongly impacted how I view the world.
Although I may hold this ideal view of "distance", for lack of a better word, from my fellow white Americans, I often reap the same societal benefits as they do. I do not have to worry about being looked at weird because of my race (except for back at home :) ). I do not have to worry about being unfairly dealt with by law enforcement. I do not have to worry about working extra hard or pretending to be a certain way in order to get a job. I don't have to worry about having to join a certain group on campus in order to finally find someone who looks like me at school. I don't have to receive suspicious stares at school when I walk across campus with a group of my friends who all look like me. Yall know what I'm talking about. In our article, Peggy McIntosh says, "I have come to see 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."
I would be lying if I said that I don't feel guilty sometimes for being white. I think I am one of a few whities who actually does recognize that I can do a lot less than more qualified minorities in order to get to a certain place in society, and I will STILL probably end up complaining. TELL ME WHY!! I think this is ridiculous, and as a Christian I would be hypocritical to not acknowledge this, and sweep this injustice under the rug.
Lastly, I think our different racial backgrounds will have a great impact on our Ghana trip. I feel like we will all contribute different things to different endeavours, and I believe that having good diversity will definitely allow for some good cultural exchanges, shared experiences, and genuine learning.
Have a blessed day,
-Ben
Hi Ben!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I can identify with your feelings of guilt and your attempts to distance yourself from some white people because I also don't agree with white privilege. Although I grew up differently than you (in a mostly white suburban town), I felt separate from the very religious, conservative population that most others fell into, and have found myself emphasizing my Greek culture to avoid being grouped with them. However, this does not mean I don't benefit from white privilege, something I've realized more as I've encountered more diversity in college. I am excited too about our trip and the different things we can contribute and learn from each other. Especially after the conference I've been at the past few days, I've realized getting past racism doesn't mean ignoring differences, but respecting and appreciating them. I enjoyed your post and look forward to getting to know you better!
Danielle
Thanks Danielle!
DeleteI love what you said, especially at the end, about recognizing and appreciating differences. I think that differences and diversity are often under-appreciated. Through diversity we learn. Whether from merely seeing different points of view or arguing over whose way is better, we all can get something out of diversity and being open minded. I love that you had a similar whitedentity crisis, and I'm glad it helped you to find and appreciate your roots, as it has done for me as well.
Thanks,
-Ben
Hey Ben!
ReplyDeleteI like how you started taking about your experience in Oak Cliff and I'd like to hear more. What part of Oak Cliff? There is more to all of us than being Black and being white, our gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status etc play into our experiences and what privileges we experience in our society. I think we sometimes forget to acknowledge intersectionality and we focus on only one form of oppression.
Great blog! :)
Thank you DeAnna and Kiara!
DeleteI absolutely agree with what yall say about focusing on our lives and our selves as more than one simple classification. Each person you meet may have just five or five hundred different adjectives or nouns they use to classify themselves and the experiences that shape who they are and how both they and others think of themselves. I think it is sad that our world only usually uses four or five words at a time to classify a person, and that we have often grown up being taught to identify a person with those few words to classify them. Rich and poor, black and white, male and female are often the only things we think of when we see somebody, and in our trying to classify people, we often rob them of their God-given uniqueness and dignity as a person.
I think a big part of this trip will be breaking down these tendencies we have of simplifying people and putting labels on them. I am sure we are going to meet all sorts of interesting people and stereotypes we have will certainly be shattered.
And as for the cliff! I stay just south of the Dallas zoo, off illinois, between beckley and marsalis. Stop in sometime!
-Ben
Great blog post! I agree with DeAnna. Race seems to be the only emphasis on a person, but there's so much more to us. Although racism has shaped many faucets of our lives, we are all unique and have to find ways to express that!
ReplyDelete