It’s MLK Day and I’m thinking about his legacy. I’m thinking about the people in the civil rights movement and how the sheer force of their vision changed the trajectory of this country.  I’m thinking about the courage and sacrifice of regular people who chose to engage. I’m thinking what I can do these days … which makes me think about:

• white privilege, our students, and what I can do to address systemic racism, economic injustice, and inequality  
• how can I have more conversations that shift thinking so that my students understand these large social systems and desire to lead lives that change the systems?  
• the way white privilege impacts the experience of our Black, Latina, Asian, Middle Eastern, and mixed race students?
• am I/are we more aware of and sensitive to the needs/experiences/feelings of white students than I am/we are aware of and sensitive to the needs/experiences/feelings of our non-white students?

• don’t want to believe they live in a world where much of they’ve been told about fairness is wrong?
• want to believe in the American dream – hard work pays off and good things happen to good people?
• want to believe they alone have “earned” their privilege?
• don’t think they have any privilege at all because they can’t see it (like a fish not seeing water)?
• don’t want to think of themselves as ignorant about how the world works?
• don’t want to think they have (knowingly or unkowingly) harmed or are harming people?
• are not readily aware of the discrimination and unconscious and structural biases black and brown people face every day? 

What does white privilege even mean? To me, it means that a white person generally has a set of built in advantages that others do not. It isn’t “something I take and which I therefore have the option of not taking. It is something that society gives me, and unless I change the institutions which give it to me, they will continue to give it, and I will continue to have it, however noble and equalitarian my intentions.” (Harry Brod)  White privilege is “having greater access to power and resources than people of color [in the same situation] do”. (Teaching Tolerance)

It’s my experience that the hardest part about having conversations about white privilege, racial and economic injustice in the classroom is getting to a point where students 1) feel safe and that their opinions matter  2) try to use language that honors their own experience/ideas but doesn’t degrade anyone else’s 3) are empathetic  4) are willing to learn something new and not just cling to their original perspective.

For our white students, I am thinking about how to help them not be offended when someone asks them to “check their privilege”.  What is being asked is that the white person examine – stop and consider – how the advantages they’ve had in their life might be contributing to their position, opinions and actions.  And maybe to consider how the lack of disadvantage in certain areas is keeping them from fully understanding the struggles of others.  Acknowledging that systemic racism and economic injustice exist means challenging what we know about race, class, and wealth in this country – not easy – but if we don’t work to change the system, we might be contributing to the struggles of those who have suffered enough.

With my juniors in Symbols and Ethics we’re watching a movie called Paper City and will be using some of the lesson plans from the accompanying educational program.  Paper City is a film inspired by MLK’s last book: Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community?  As we analyze the systems, social norms, and historical events that created a drug infested violent situation in Holyoke MA, maybe some shifts will take place and we all can see more clearly the disadvantages facing youths in Holyoke (and other communities) because of racial and economic disparities.

With this issue and others that are so contentious, my objective is that my students will be more inclined to listen deeply to others’ experiences and be equipped with some social analysis strategies, such as the “critical reflection cycle”, the “pastoral circle”, the “conflict resolution method”, or design think.  I’m also hoping my students can connect these issues to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (i.e. human dignity, preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, solidarity), which is basically how the Church applies the Gospels to current events and social issues.

Talking about privilege makes a classroom of students squirm – some want to talk about it but most don’t; they don’t want to cause a fight or hurt anyone’s feelings.  It makes me nervous too, but I’m white and have benefited from the system so I don’t get to avoid the issue.  I’ve been told from black colleagues and learned from reading that part of white privilege is the ability to remain silent about race issues or in the face of racist activity.  If we understand systemic racism and economic injustice and do nothing about it, we’re in collusion with the system that set it up. What to do? What does being “antiracist” look like to you?  What kinds of things are you doing in your classroom that challenge the status quo and change the system?   Is there anything else we can do to explore ways that race, privilege, prejudice and structural inequality might be affecting our Black, Latina, Asian, Middle Eastern, and mixed race students?