At least a dozen years ago, the first time I heard the term, “white privilege,” and realized that I was a recipient of it, I felt ashamed.  I was at a workshop that included classes and structured dialogue to build a bridge between people of different faiths and races. We were tackling some pretty deep topics.  I was already involved in several other groups of people within my community, that advocated for race unity and religious collaboration with people of different faiths. However, I was unprepared for my reaction to the term and the fact that I possessed this privilege.

I didn’t want this distinction and felt terrible that I was favored for something I had nothing to do with, namely, being born white.  There was nothing I could do about changing that fact, so I knew I had much to learn about how this manifests itself in our society. Institutional racism had and still does play an enormous role in the fact that I was favored just because of the color of my skin.  This has afforded me many undeserved benefits.

Indeed I am privileged.  Racism is, without a doubt, an evil force that needs to be faced and dealt with, if we ever hope to have true equality in our country and in the world.

In this particular class, we were learning about, and talking about white privilege.  People of color know first-hand what this term means because they live with the effects of it everyday.  However, many white people may not know what it is, or see the benefits they have because of this privilege.  White people simply don’t need to know or acknowledge this reality, because it does not impact their daily life.

That is the reason why I was ashamed and shocked to have been so naive.  I simply had never been presented with this information. This made me feel worse.  My ignorance had made me insensitive to the elevated status I had, just because of my physical appearance.  And, because of this I, most probably, had inadvertently been considered or valued more than another person for a position or other favor.

In the years that followed,I became more involved in situations that would help me learn about what it was like to be a person of color.  I joined a group called “Study Circles” and was shocked to learn of some of the experiences that affected non-whites. Things like being watched while shopping and being stopped by law enforcement to be asked questions like: “Where are you going?”  “What is your business here?” were common occurrences. And there were other personal experiences of which I have no business sharing here.

I decided, then and there, to be more mindful.  No more would I be complacent about my white privilege.  I would be more determined to point this out to people who seemed to be influenced by this in their decision-making. I would not be a crusader. That is not my role.  But, I could make subtle observations and comments whenever possible, to draw attention to the unfair advantage that I and other white people possess. I could speak up when the opportunity presented itself.  And I could just be conscious of, and vigilant of situations when there was something concrete I could do. Today, racism has reared its ugly head much more aggressively and hateful. This is threatening the welfare of us all, especially African Americans and other people of color.

Knowledge is the first step in understanding an injustice.  Only when one has learned about and seen the problem, can the process of correction begin.  Then, awareness can turn into action, and eventually, change. The acknowledgement of this reality must begin to be a more comprehensive occurrence with open discussion and action in our individual lives.  It needs to happen, and it needs to happen now.