White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

1 White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack By Peggy McIntosh Through wor k to bring m aterials from Women s S tud ies i nto the rest of t he c urriculum, I have often noticed men s u nwilling ness t o grant t hat t hey are over-pr ivileged, even though they m ay grant t ha t women are disadvantaged. They may say they will w or k to impr ove women s s tatus, in the society, t he university, or t he curriculum, but they can t o r w on t s upport the idea of l essening m en s. Denials whi ch amount t o taboos s urround the subject of a dv antages whi ch men gain from women s disadv antages. The se denials protect m ale privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened or ended.

2 Think ing thr ough unacknowledged male privilege as a p henomenon, I realiz ed tha t, s ince hi erarchies in our s ociety are interlocking , t he re was most likely a phenomenon of White pr ivilege t hat w as s imilarly denied and pr otected. As a White person, I realized I had been taught about r acism as something that puts ot he rs a t a di sadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of i ts corolla ry aspects, White p rivilege, whi ch puts m e at an advantage. I thi nk whites are c arefully taught not t o recogni ze w hi te p rivilege, as males are taught not t o recogni ze male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like t o have White pr ivilege.

3 I have c ome t o see White pr ivilege as an invisibl e package of unearne d assets tha t I can count o n cashing in each day, but a bout w hich I was meant to remain oblivious. White pr ivilege is l ike an inv isibl e w eight less Knapsack of s pecial p rov isions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, too ls a nd blank checks. Describing White p rivilege makes one newly accountable. As we i n Women s S tudi es w or k to reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of t heir power, so one w ho writes about w hite p rivilege must ask, Having described it, what will I do to lessen or end it? After I realized the extent to whi ch men wor k from a base of unacknowledged privilege, I understoo d that m uch of t heir oppressiveness w as uncons cious.

4 The n I remembered the frequent charges from women of color t hat White w omen whom they encounter a re oppressive. I be gan to understand why we a re jus tly seen as oppressive, even when we don t see our selves t ha t way. I began to count t he w ays i n whi ch I enjoy unearned skin privilege and have been conditioned into oblivion about its existence. I was taught to see racism only in individual ac ts of mea nness, not in invisi ble systems co nferring dominance on my gro up. My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unf airly advantaged person, or as a participant i n a d amaged cultur e. I was taught t o see myself as an ind ividual w hose m or al s tate depended on her i nd ividual mor al will.

5 My schooling followed the pattern my colle ague E lizabeth Minn ich has p oi nted out: w hi tes are taught t o thi nk of t he ir lives as mor ally neutral, normative, and average, and also ide al, so that when we w ork to benefit o thers, thi s i s seen as w ork whi ch will allow them t o be mor e like us. I decided to try to work on myself at l east by ide nt ifying some of t he daily effects of w hite privilege i n my life. I have chosen those conditions w hich I thi nk in my case attach somewha t m ore to skin-color privilege t han to class, religion, ethn ic s tatus, or geographic l ocation, though of course a ll t hese othe r f actors a re int ricately intertwined.

6 As far as I can see, my African American co- wor kers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come Some Notes for Facilitators 2010 Peggy McIntosh Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack 1989 Peggy McIntosh p. 2 int o daily or f requent contact i n thi s particular time, place and line of w or k cannot c ount on most o f these condition s. 1. I can if I wish arrange t o be in the c ompany of people of my race most o f t he time. 2. If I should need to mov e, I can be pretty sure o f r enting or purchasing housing in an area whi ch I can affor d and in whi ch I would want t o live. 3. I can be pr etty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be ne utral or pleasant to me.

7 4. I can go shopping alone most of t he t ime, pretty well assured tha t I will not be followed or harassed. 5. I can tur n on the television or open to the f ron t page of the paper and see people o f m y race wide ly represent ed. 6. When I am tol d about our national heritage or about civilization, I am shown that people of m y color m ade i t what it i s. 7. I can be sure tha t m y children will be g iven curricular materials tha t t estify to the existence o f t heir r ace. 8. If I w ant t o, I can be pretty sure of f ind ing a publisher f or this piece on White pr ivilege. 9. I can go int o a m usic shop and count on find ing the m usic of my race represented, into a supermarket a nd find the staple foods tha t f it w ith my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser s shop and find someone w ho can cut m y hair.

8 10. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count o n my skin color not to wor k against t he appearance of fina ncial r eliability. 11. I can arrange t o pr otect my childr en most of t he time f rom people w ho might not like them. 12. I can swear, or dress in second- hand clothes, or not a nswer letters, witho ut h aving people attribute t hese choices to the bad mor als, the poverty, or the illiteracy of m y race. 13. I can speak in public to a powerful m ale group without putting my race on trial. 14. I can do well i n a challe ng ing situation without b eing called a credit t o my race. 15. I am ne ver asked to speak for all the people o f m y racial group.

9 16. I can remain obliviou s of t he language and customs of persons o f c olor w ho constit ut e the w orld s m ajor ity witho ut feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion. 17. I can criticize our g ov ernment and talk about how m uch I f ear its policies and behavior without being seen as a c ultur al outside r. 18. I can be pretty sure that i f I ask to talk to the pe rson in charge, I will b e f acing a person of m y race. 19. If a traffic cop pulls me ov er or if the IRS audits my tax retur n, I can be sure I haven t b een sing led out b ecause of m y race. 20. I can easily buy posters, postcards, pictur e books, greeting cards, dolls, toy s, and childr en s magazines f eatur ing people of m y race.

10 21. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tie d in, rather than isolated, out-of -pl ace, out numbered, unheard, held at a di stance, or feared. 22. I can take a job with an affirmative a ction empl oy er without having co-wor kers on the job suspect t ha t I got it because o f r ace. 23. I can choose public accommodations without fearing that p eople of my race cannot g et in or w ill be mistreated in the p laces I ha ve chosen. 24. I can be sure tha t if I need legal or m edical help, my race will not w or k agains t m e. 25. If my day, week, or year i s goi ng badly, I need not ask of each negative e pisode or situation whether i t h as racial ov ertones.