I took a class this past term called "Ethnicity in a Global Perspective" which really made me examine ideas around race and question a lot more than previous classes had. Obviously as a third year anthropology student I have already studied the concept of race frequently and I’m fully aware that race is a cultural construct and that there is no biological grounds for different races. I also think anthropology has made me quite critical in the approach of the subject of race and has made me very aware of the institutional, social, class factors etc that play into ideas about race and that class and social standing has a lot more to do with the way one acts that race. The class definitely made me more aware of my own race and how it affects my daily life. Being white (and middle class) I am most definitely afforded the luxury of never really haven't to think about being white or question anything to do with my race. What the class and my research for it clearly highlighted for more than ever was the concept of white privilege and how as white people we are blind to these privileges of race; we accept that racism disadvantages certain groups yet we fail to recognize that it in turn advantages us. The idea of white privilege and white sense of entitlement began to be a recurring theme throughout the course as I began to look at things more critically; it was everywhere I looked, came up blogs, newspaper articles, films, and in people’s arguments. As I researched, read and thought more about the topic I started to recognize my own biases (in terms of my racial status) more. I had really failed to see my own racial privilege.
My race, my status as a ‘white person’ was something to which I had never really given much thought. I was most definitely aware of my socio-economic privilege; growing up in England where the class system is still so rife, I was aware that how being raised in a middle class family with certain values had definitely given me more opportunities someone from a working class background, but for me race had never really played into it. I am lucky to have been raised in a setting where I was taught the racial equality of all people, I was always taught that racism was wrong and bad; I never rarely heard racist slurs. I grew up in Manchester; a very multicultural city and my whole life I have had friends of different ethnic backgrounds (mostly of middle class families though). As a never saw it first had, I imagined that racism didn’t exist; that everyone thought the same way I did.
I like many Brits, used to question things like the MOBO awards (Music of Black Origin), or the existence of a National Black Police Association (NBPA). I used to think that this was being racist by segregating and highlighting the race of these police officers, rather than just considering them police officers primarily. This would probably be the case if we lived in the utopian world of my imagination, but I have realized that this is not reality. Complete equality for all is how it should be, but realistically of course this is not the case, within our society’s people of colour, ethnic/racial groups are sadly generally not equal in various ways. This for me is where white privilege comes in, it blinds you. As I have never been discriminated against on the grounds of my race I cannot of course imagine what people who do go through every day. Organizations for minority groups are spaces where people can feel safe from the usual prejudices in an environment where they know that they are not being judged primarily by their skin colour, accent or religious affiliation. Its time we all began to think more critically about our white privilege and how our status as white people affords privilege to us.
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