ELEMENTS OF WHITENESS
March 24, 2009
Prepared by Marian (Meck) Groot

Welcome to week four! This week, I invite you to delve into a look at systemic racism by focusing on two elements of whiteness:

1) WHITE PRIVILEGE

As you know, Dr. Peggy McIntosh will be coming to speak on our panel on April 30. She is known widely for her work on white privilege. In particular, she is known for her comparison of white privilege to an invisible knapsack white people carry around that offers them privileges that people of color tend not to receive (unless they are “attached” in some way to white people). This seminal essay is called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITY: After reading the essay, choose at least 10 white privileges that you see operating in your own life or absent from your life. Make a note of how that privilege operates. Speculate about how life with that privilege if you don’t have it or without that privilege if you do, might feel. Write about white privilege in your journal. Keep it as personal as possible. If you are able, blog with the group about your insights and questions on this subject.

2) THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WHITE CULTURE

Tema Okun is another white woman who has spent many years working to undo racism. Her description of organizations in which white supremacy is operating involves a list of the characteristics of those organizations. Please note, sometimes white people are put off by her use of the term “white supremacy” to describe organizations that are not self-identified as supremacist. What she is doing in choosing the term, however, is not vilifying the organizations but lifting up how white culture remains supreme if we are not aware of the cultural values that are operating to perpetuate oppressive systems.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITY: Do you agree with Tema that these are characteristics of white supremacist culture? Why or why not? If you are willing, choose an organization that 1) you care about and 2) you are part of and 3) that you would describe as “white.” Consider which, if any, of the characteristics that Tema describes operate within that organization. As you do this, consider how you participate, collude with, or resist these characteristics. Are any of your resistances in the list of “antidotes” Tema suggestions? Make note of your thoughts and feelings as you go about this exercise. Are you able to hold on to your sense of care for the organization, for yourself, for others who are part of the organization? Consider sharing your insights and questions about this with our group either by blogging or preparing some reflections for our discussion next Tuesday.