Last Thursday on the 9/11, there was a panel co-organized by
the OU Students for Law, Justice and Culture and Center for Law, Justice and
Culture called “Racism, Policing and Struggles for Justice in Ferguson”. It was
a faculty lead discussion panel focusing around the recent events in Ferguson. Why
was I there? My political science teacher, Dr.T was part of the panel and she
promised extra credit for those who attended the whole discussion. I went there
expecting to lull away 2 hours just to gain those extra credit. What I did not
expect was an extremely engaging panel, audience and inspiration for another
blog post.
It started with a brief history of a long list of unarmed
black teens or young adults being shot to death by white armed people. In fact,
there were at least 4 cases reported just in the last six months alone minus
Michael Brown’s case in Ferguson. Why is this still happening in modern day and
time? In fact, what can be done to rectify this situation? Those were just some
of the questions raised. Young students from various backgrounds stood up and
gave insights to their own personal stories of racism. All the panellists gave
very good answers which I cannot even begin to articulate how powerful they
were. All I could think about at that moment was that these are prime examples
of social injustice.
However, Dr.Y, another political science teacher gave an example
that I thought was great. He teaches Critical Race Theory and one of the
stories that he will use was a short science fiction story by Derrick Bell. The
story is called "The Space Traders" and it was written in 1992. Just to summarize
the story for those who might not have heard of it: It is the future and the
economy is bad and our environment is polluted. One day, aliens appeared and
offered the President of the United States gold for wealth, chemicals capable
of unpolluting the environment and fuel to solve energy crisis. All they want
in return was every single African Americans that are living in the States.
Dr.Y said in his years of teaching this story, 95% of his white students will
say yes to the trade. He goes on to mention white supremacy is very much alive
because most people are not willing to give up their privileges. I thought that
tied in so wonderfully with the article White
Privilege and Male Privilege that we just read. A lot of people do not
think about having privileges but the moment it is being brought to light, you
have to re-think if you are willing to give it up.
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| Full turnout for the panel |
Terri, I think you raise some good points in this post about white supremacy. I find it very surprising that 95% of white students would trade the United States’ population of African Americans for the goods aliens would provide them. I don’t think I would go to this extreme to keep my privileges as a white individual. However, your statement about how white supremacy exists because “most people are not willing to give up their privileges” really made me think about my own life and the privileges I receive by simply being a certain color. This is not something I normally think about, which I think supports the idea that those in the majority do not recognize their privileges since we consider them “normal.” After thinking about it, I came up with a few things I feel I have been “given” due to my race:
ReplyDelete1. Being able to grow up in the suburbs in a fresh, pollution-free environment
2. Being able to attend a small, well-equipped school, where I received a quality education
3. Being able to walk home from school without fear
4. Being able to play outside and walk to friends houses in a safe, secure environment
5. Having access to numerous scholarships that allowed me to attend college
These are just a few of the things I thought of that I have been granted due to my skin color. After thinking of this list, I thought of your question, Terri. And, honestly, I don’t know if I would be willing to give up these privileges; it is because of these opportunities I am where I am today. I enjoy my life and my work/education here at OU and it would be very difficult to give up. This makes me think what can be done to stop white privilege, if people, including me, don’t want to forfeit the privileges. It seems like a hard problem to solve. I certainly don’t want others to suffer and have limited opportunities. I would love to live in a just world, where everyone is equal and gets what they need to live a great life. However, I don’t know what can be done and this question honestly concerns me. I would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on this and if someone believes there is a realistic solution to the inequalities white privilege creates.