Discourse explores race through a different lens

By Ellen Ritchie

On Saturday, May 15 a group of 30 Santa Clara students and one professor took part in the "Challenging White Privilege Workshop," which was sponsored by the Santa Clara Community Action Program, the Multicultural Center, and Santa Clarans for Social Justice.

The workshop, facilitated by Chris Crass of the Challenging White Supremacy organization (CWS), involved a series of small group discussions, games and brainstorming sessions.

The workshop granted participants an opportunity to explore a side of "multiculturalism" that is often ignored at Santa Clara.

It is not surprising that on a predominantly white campus discussions of race relations are generally framed using a discourse of multiculturalism and diversity.

It is uncommon for these discussion to include the ideas of power and privilege.

White privilege is traditionally defined by the CWS as "preferential prejudice for and treatment of whites based solely on their skin color and European origin."

It is a foreign concept for most white students who have been told their whole lives that they live in a color-blind society where race no longer matter.

Growing up in the post-civil rights era of Reagan and Bush, our generation is accustomed to the anti-affirmative action rhetoric of "reverse racism."

This was developed in order to mask the institutionalized systems of racial privilege and oppression upon which this country was founded and continues to operate from.

Because the government, our parents, and the media have continually asserted that whites are the ones being discriminated against in today's society, many young white people resist any discussion of race for which they are implicated.

We feel certain, as we have been told so many times before, that racism is "their" (people of color's) problem and has nothing to do with us (whites).

Once a white individual makes a conscious choice to consider the implications of their own privilege, this campus looks very different.

White students might start to notice that they have never been the only student of their race in a classroom.

They might start to notice that all of their classes are conducted in their first language.

They might also realize that their professors and peers rarely ask them to represent their entire ethnic or racial group when they offer opinions in classroom discussions.

Furthermore, they might start to wonder why people don't automatically assume that they are an athlete or on full scholarship.

The list of realizations can go on, but what is important to recognize is that while white students take their privileges for granted, students of color are forced to take on these burdens of representation and over-determination on a daily basis.

In addition, we must understand that white privilege is not only perpetuated by individuals, it is an isolated form of oppression.

White privilege is a systematic reality inherently tied to other forms of domination such as patriarchy, heterosexism and capitalism.

Like these structures, it manifests itself in institutions in our society, including the education, military and legal systems.

If we dare to ask why people of color are overrepresented in the military and the prison system while they are underrepresented in universities, we are frequently offered an individualistic answer rooted in the myth of meritocracy.

An understanding of the institutional nature of white privilege allows us to resists such knee-jerking responses and compels us to demand a critical analysis based upon on empirical evidence.

If white students, faculty and staff allow themselves to genuinely engage in the reality of their own privilege, they can move beyond denial, defensiveness and guilt to become real allies in the struggle for racial justice on this campus, in our country, and in the world.

Instead of attacking institutions such as the MCC or the Unity Residential Learning Community for being "exclusive," whites should enter and ask what can be done to support their work.

Instead of always expecting students of color to educate the Santa Clara community about race and ethnicity, white students should enroll in ethnic studies courses and learn about these issues from professors who specialize in the field.

As an institution, Santa Clara should work to reverse the trend of tokenizing students of color, and should instead promote substantive change by recognizing people's inherent right to education - a right protected by programs such as affirmative action.

Moreover, discussion of diversity on this campus should not be tailored to protect white sensibilities.

The discussions should be honest and rooted in an informed critical analysis that acknowledges racism as a systematic reality that must be challenged.

û Ellen Ritchie is a senior political science major.