The Problems of Privilege

"Everyday we make choices without thinking, and those choices often perpetuate the imbalance of the system of white privilege," claimed Allan Johnson, Ph.D., during a two-hour presentation to students and faculty as part of the school’s commitment to multicultural education. Dr. Johnson is a writer, teacher, and public speaker, who has worked on the issues of privilege, oppression, and social inequity for more than 30 years.

"The problem is not one of difference," he said in referring to the social and economic issues that often divide the races, "but how the systems of privilege have been organized around perceived differences." He noted that the consequences of this segregation are enormous because where people live has a direct impact on everyone's lives. "Most people are ignorant of people from different races or ethnic groups because they live in different areas and there are very few interactions between them."

The History of the Triangle Trade

Dr. Johnson explained that most of the distinctions of privilege go back to the early slave trade, or the "triangle trade," as he called it. According to Dr. Johnson, the triangle trade occurred when English ships sailed to Africa to capture slaves, who were then sold in the New World for sugar, which was then returned to England. This trade generated wealth, helped finance the industrial revolution, and is still part of the ongoing "legacy of wealth" in the United States. "You have to follow the money," he told the students. "The legacy of the African slave trade is still here today in our homes and stock portfolios."

Through a series of stories and anecdotes, Dr. Johnson demonstrated how many people unthinkingly perpetuate the problems of privilege and racism without meaning to. "If people don’t feel like they are part of the problem, then they are not part of the solution. This individualistic model is a lousy strategy for social change," he emphasized. "It allows well-intentioned white people off the hook because they feel they are not part of the problem, so they don’t search for a solution."

He added that individuals have an enormous amount of power, but they are afraid to use it by facing up to the system. Dr. Johnson gave an example of this by relating the story of the early lunch counter sit-ins in the 1960s. He noted that no one had dared to challenge the privilege system until the sit-ins. "They didn’t change minds, but they did change the way the system happens," he explained.

"You must revisit how you see the world," he challenged the students. "The concept of race is an illusion. We are all human beings, but race is a picture that is projected all the time and we believe it and treat it as real. It’s not about our physical appearances, but about our histories. What shapes other people’s lives is what shapes us."

Following his formal presentation, Dr. Johnson answered a number of questions from students and faculty concerning his topic of white privilege.

The Multicultural Student Union

Johnson, is the author of several books including Privilege, Power, and Difference, The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, and The Forest and the Trees: Sociology as Life. Director of Diversity Kristin Barragan, and student members of the Multicultural Student Union, Luis Quero '06, and Ashley Robinson '06, who had met Dr. Johnson at the National Association of Multicultural Education Conference in October 2005, invited him to campus.

"Dr. Johnson believes that his presentations are a way to get the message of privilege to as many people as possible,” explained Mrs. Barragan. "He knows that many of his topics may be controversial, and that some people may be uncomfortable with what he is saying, but he hopes that his most important message is that, through our actions, we can make changes."