White Privilege Explained

It is necessary for us all to examine our positions of privilege. Here is an informative comic to help you unpack white privilege.
white-privilege-explained/

Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person

--> This article looks at a personal outlook of a women who grew up poor and her understanding of white privilege.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gina-crosleycorcoran/explaining-white-privilege-to-a-broke-white-person_b_5269255.html

Babakiueria: A satirical take on colonialization in Australia

An awesome satirical take on race relations in Australia from the late 1980s.

BabaKiueria revolves around a role-reversal, whereby it is Aboriginal Australians who have invaded and colonized the fictitious country of BabaKiueria, a land that has long been inhabited by white natives, the BabaKiuerians.

White Fragility: Why it's so hard to talk to white people about racism

Dr. Robin DiAngelo explains why white people implode when talking about race and she provides a number of ways to overcome this  "white fragility." This 'must read' article can be found at The Good Men Project.

White Privilege and Allyship

The YouTube clip below is the personal experience of Joy DeGruy, who faces racism based on skin colour. She shares her understanding of how skin tones can drastically effect daily interactions, even to something as simple as an interaction at the grocery store. She discusses white privilege and blatant racism in the YouTube link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf9QBnPK6Yg&feature=youtu.be

This clip is from a bigger projected called Cracking the Code  and you can access more information and rent the video at:

http://crackingthecodes.org/

Add to your Social Justice Bookshelf

Ozlem Sensory and Robin DiAngelo use easy to understand the notions of race, privilege, oppression and social construction of power in their  text;  Is everyone really equal? An introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education.  This text is routinely used in Education Foundations 301 classes at the University of Saskatchewan. You can purchase a copy at:  
http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Introduction-Concepts-Education-Multicultural/dp/080775269X

Comprehensive Powerpoint on the Social Construction of Whiteness

An in depth power-point by Dr. Gregory Jay from the University of Wisconsin that traces the historical social construction of white privilege.
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/gjay/www/Whiteness/whitesupremacy.htm

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Have you ever wondered what kind of access you have to power, simply based on the colour of your skin? Society programs humans to overlook their own privilege and Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack brings the often “unseen” benefits into our consciousness in this thought provoking checklist.
http://amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html

The Problem with "Privilege"

The website below provides a quick synopsis of Andrea Smith’s article “The Problem with “Privilege” found in the book Geographies of Privilege. She challenges the idea that the self-reflection of identifying privilege is the final step. http://andrea366.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/the-problem-with-privilege-by-andrea-smith/

Whiteness video resources

Beyond Whiteness: http://www.beyondwhiteness.com/

Checkout this excellent site. There are some powerful video clips of lectures from the likes of bell hooks, James Baldwin, Paul Kivel, Allen Johnson, Tim Wise and others, plus many other resources such as the 2007 BBC documentary three part series Racism: A History.

I couldn't find any information about the site, but the video collection is quite amazing.

Deficit views of racism in sports and society

After Gabby Douglas won gold, NBC aired a commercial about a monkey that does gymnastics and people were outraged. And when people commented about her hair on Twitter, others were outraged. But when Bob Costas (NBC) claimed that the barriers for African Americans in gymnastics have long been torn down, after Gabby won gold, there was a lack of outrage. He further explained that it is psychological barriers that now keep African Americans from competing in the sport. In this way, Gabby is a role model for African American youth who have low self-esteem. This is one reason why racism is powerful - the 'hidden common sense' attitudes/ideologies of whiteness that are left unexamined. In this case, it is the belief that racial inequality is caused by the low self-esteem of the victims of systemic and structural racism. 

Here is an interesting take on the matter:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0809/Olympian-Gabby-Douglas-the-gymnast-is-golden-but-her-family-is-obscured

This might be a great way to start the year off with students. Perhaps it will keep them thinking critically about the discourses we use to talk about race...

Photo from: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/american-gabby-douglas-wins-gold-in-womens-gymnastics-all-around-20120802

St. Patrick's Day: Beyond green and pots of gold

On St. Patrick's Day we often celebrate with a green beer or tell our kids about leprechauns and pots of gold. It seems, however, that few students are taught about the history of Irish racialization, both as inferior and superior.

"What is not often taught in schools or known by the many who routinely celebrate St. Patrick's Day, is that throughout the Irish 'Potato famine' there was an abundance of food produced in Ireland, yet the landlords exported it to markets abroad." Excerpt from The Real Irish American Story not Taught in Schools (http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/15-4)

"Over the course of the 19th and early 20th century, Irish Americans managed to a great extent to enter and become part of the dominant white culture. In an attempt to secure the prosperity and social position that their white skin had not guaranteed them in Europe, Irish immigrants lobbied for white racial status in America. Although Irish people’s pale skin color and European roots suggested evidence of their white racial pedigree, the discrimination that immigrants experienced on the job (although the extent of the “No Irish Need Apply” discrimination is disputed), the simian caricatures they saw of themselves in the newspapers, meant that “whiteness” was a status that would be achieved, not ascribed." Excerpt from Irish Americans, Racism and the Pursuit of Whiteness (http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2010/03/17/irish-americans-racism-and-the-pursuit-of-whiteness/)

For more in-depth analyses of the making of Irish whiteness see: David Roediger's (1991) The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class and How the Irish Became White (1996) by Noel Ignatiev.

* Historical cartoons of Irish racialization (for students to deconstruct) can be found through a Google image search of 'Irish racism.'

Tim Wise March 15, plus video clips from his 2011 Saskatoon lecture

-->

For more information and video clips from the Tim Wise 2011 series see the City of Saskatoon's website:
http://ww8.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/Community%20Services/Communitydevelopment/Cultural%20Diversity%20and%20Race%20Relations/Pages/TimWise.aspx

The Un-Fair Campaign: Whiteness Resources

MISSION: To raise awareness about white privilege in our community, provide resources for understanding and action, and facilitate dialogue and partnership that result in fundamental, systemic change towards racial justice.

Website: http://unfaircampaign.org/

Anti-racism for white activists

Here is a "top 10" list for white anti-racists from the Colours of Resistance website. There are a lot of "top 10" lists out there for white anti-racists, but this one provides specific guidance for activists.

Ten things to remember: Anti-racist strategies for white student radicals (Chris Dixson): http://www.coloursofresistance.org/749/ten-things-to-remember-anti-racist-strategies-for-white-student-radicals/

People of Color Organize website

Check out this website: http://peopleofcolor.tumblr.com/

The website is not designed for teachers, but there are some great articles on white privilege that can be used in the classroom with adaptations and may other pieces that can spur critical discussions. It is also worth reading in general to expand, challenge and support our own views on racism.

Blue Eyes: The Jane Elliot website

The website provides teaching resources and information about her many videos - most can be found at the Saskatoon public and U of S libraries.

Jane Elliott, internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer, and recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education, exposes prejudice and bigotry for what it is, an irrational class system based upon purely arbitrary factors. And if you think this does not apply to you. . . you are in for a rude awakening. In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. over thirty years ago, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise. Everyone who is exposed to Jane Elliott's work, be it through a lecture, workshop, or video, is dramatically affected by it.

Website: http://www.janeelliott.com/

Her first film, Eye of the Storm (1970), can be used with primary students as the exercise takes place with her grade three students.

Middle years and secondary students can watch Indecently Exposed (2005), which takes place in Regina and is an excellent documentary to show students after they have examined and can recognize individual, institutionalized and systemic racism in Canada. Debriefing is needed after viewing.

Indecently Exposed discussion questions:
1. What frequently happens in Canada when racially oppressed groups such as Indigenous peoples protest against discrimination and oppression?
2. What does Elliot mean when she says, ‘blue eyes and brown eyes do not live in the same country’?
3. According to Elliot, how does the dominant population ‘play with the minds of those who are racially Othered’?
4. Why is tolerance not enough to challenge racial inequality?
5. How can one person work to challenge racial inequality in her or his own community?

RFK in the Land of Apartheid: A Ripple of Hope

Playing on PBS throughout September. It's worth watching.

Information about the documentary: http://rfksafilm.org/html/about.php
Video clip and ordering information: http://www.videoproject.com/rfkinlaofapr.html

Using never before seen archival footage, and interviews in South Africa and the United States, filmmakers Larry Shore and Tami Gold tell the unknown story of Robert Kennedy's 1966 visit to South Africa during the worst years of Apartheid. The film evokes the connections between the American Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa. The filmmakers find witness to this special moment in time through the sights and sounds of present day South Africa.

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.                                                                                                                                   -Robert F Kennedy

Language of Closet Racism lesson: Article & Prezi

"I'm not racist, but..."

Those of you who have taken EFDT 335 have probably read The Language of Closet Racism. Alyson Werner made this article by Paul Gorski into a great teaching resource and was kind enough to share her prezi for your use. Thanks Alyson! The presentation is meant to be 30 - 45 minutes, but can be divided into several lessons. Perfect for middle years and secondary students, and school staff. It is a great resource to use in all subject areas as research tells us this language is normalized and can be heard on a daily basis in gym class, in the hallways, in the science lab, in student clubs....

Language of Closet Racism lesson and article:
http://prezi.com/b2kbjyvsiwqv/language-of-closet-racism
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/langofracism2.html

Allyson taught us about the three strands of closet racism, presented a list of five or six examples of closet racism from her recent lived experience, and then asked us to identify each strand (does the speaker use fear, unawareness and/or dis-ownership?). She also shared times when she used the strands herself, which made it very personal and helped us to relate to the lesson. To conclude, we had a discussion about the power of closet racism, what this language accomplishes and why all teachers need to recognize and address it.

Excerpt from article: Three language indicators of closet racism are evident across the continuum. These are what I refer to as "strands" because, when woven together, they form the language web of closet racists. Again, strength of language and degree of racist attitudes change dramatically across the continuum, and as a result, these strands, or indicators are more readily observable in certain individuals and groups than in others. They include fear, unaware-ness, and dis-ownership.

The 'S' word: Talking about white supremacy

We sometimes receive comments from white supremacist/racial purity groups. The comments are removed, but they remind us to think about why we sometimes talk/teach about white privilege and racism, but may not always make clear connections to white supremacy. We wonder how and why teachers may or may not address this in schools.

What are your thoughts regarding teaching K - 12 students about the connection between racism, white privilege and white supremacy?

For a good read on this topic see: Leonardo's The Color of Supremacy: Beyond the Discourse of White Privilege (2004) http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ980322