Hey Party People,
The term white privilege is so often misunderstood. It causes many white people to rage up and defend their voice, success, or position because they feel any kind of privilege diminishes what they have accomplished.
A good example we’re all familiar with is the responsive hashtag #AllLivesMatter to rebut #BlackLivesMatter. I had to unpack and learn this as well. The message of the Black Lives Matter movement is not to say that other lives don’t matter, what it is saying is that there is unequal protection, respect and safety provided to different lives. It’s protesting against this inequity and bringing Black lives to the forefront into a space that white lives have always lived and dominated.
The fact that white people don’t have to think about their position in society is an example of white privilege.
Before I really dive into this topic, I want to preface it with a disclaimer that I am by no means an expert on racial equity. I am likely going to get some of it wrong and likely describe things that expose my own white privilege. I hope any member of the Black community who might read this can remain patient with me as I learn and mess up along the way. And I hope the White communities can begin to open their eyes and accept that we are in fact… privileged.
What sparked me to write on this topic was a very public outcry against a big influencer in the personal development space. You’ve heard me talk about her before, Rachel Hollis. A few weeks ago, she exposed her privilege hard on social media, more than once within a few days time. I’ll give you the Coles note version of what she did. You can look to the media for more of the story but like all media take it with a grain of salt.
So, what happened? Rachel was on a Facebook live or Instagram live, and someone made a comment that she was privileged, this didn’t sit well with her, so she went and made a Tik Tok video in response. Her video said she wasn’t privileged and her ability to have someone clean her toilets every week was not privilege but a result of her hard work. She goes on to say that she works harder than most people and that not many others woul