Day 3: What Is Privilege?

Privilege is the unearned social, political, economic, and psychological benefits of membership in a group that has institutional and structural power. Having privilege can give you advantages in life, but having privilege is not a guarantee of success. Privilege does not mean economic advantage, instead it is the ability to freely navigate the world in a way that is not available to people who are not white, able-bodied, cisgender, etc.

CHALLENGES

OPTION 1: The Privilege Walk. Watch this short, powerful Buzzfeed video featuring a privilege walk. See how privilege shows up differently for this group of co-workers. After the video, take this eye-opening privilege self-assessment to discover where you are on the spectrum

OPTION 2: The Invisible Knapsack. Read Peggy McIntosh's article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack."

OPTION 3: Seeing White. Listen to two episodes of the Peabody-nominated Seeing White series with John Biewen and collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika, exploring the history and deconstructing the meaning of whiteness. Start with Episode 31: Turning the Lens (Seeing White, Part 1). 

OTHER RESOURCES