White Privilege: Part 1:Chp 2: Failing to see

In the book, White Privilege (2005) Dalton, the author of chapter two, asserts that most White people fail to see or understand themselves in racial terms. Dalton makes a clear distinction between ethnicity and race. Ethnicity is one’s culture which describes aspects of their heritage, while race exist only in relation to another. For example, Blackness does not exist without Whiteness and the opposite would be true (p.16). With those differences, most people draw significant strength, pride, and understanding from knowing their cultural heritage (i.e. - Chinese-American, Irish-American, Native American, and etc).


The author purposefully makes the distinction between ethnicity and race because he believes that the quality of one’s life (at least in terms of the United States) is greatly impacted by these two categories. White is not an ethnicity, it is a physical characteristic given as an inherit birth-right, which comes with a set of advantages (p.18). A person of color in the United States is often times acutely aware that their race and/or their ethnicity will put them at a disadvantage. The author would claim that most White people are oblivious to the racial consequences for people of color because their Whiteness is the norm and White is the dominant group.

Within the larger historical contexts of the United States, I agree with the ideas that the author writes about. After speaking with a friend/colleague of mine, (who I believe identifies as German-American) I have begun to see this same topic from a slightly different perspective. She has shared some of her experiences as a blonde-hair, blue-eyed White girl in the predominately Mexican community of Dinuba, California. In Dinuba, she was the minority and considered the “other.” She would argue that the concept of White Privilege is situational. I have never considered this as being a reality for anyone who is White. In this context, she was the minority. Based on her personal experiences, she was at a societal disadvantage in the most immediate sense for that particular location and within the surrounding communities. Her story and those like it are important and should be considered when addressing White Privilege theory. I am paraphrasing but she would say that White Privilege theory needs to modified and updated for the future when Whites will be the minority (in terms of numbers).

I agree with her that she was the minority and at a disadvantage in Dinuba, however, I would contend that she was not the minority in sense of power as part of a larger people group within the context of the United States. As an adult, she could relocate to most parts of the United States and rejoin the ranks of the privileged. It is a far more uncommon experience that those deemed White in our society must survive the adversity of living in a community where they endure the perpetual disadvantage of being the minority. I would argue that her experience is unfortunate but rare for the majority of Whites in this country.

During our conversation, we both agreed that we would replace the terms minority/majority with dominant/non-dominant to accurately reflect the concept of White Privilege and so it can be utilized on a broader scale. When a particular group is the dominant group, they intentionally or unintentionally, do not see their privilege and possess the potential to marginalize the other. Whether intentional or not, the negative impact is felt none-the-less. For example, as a supervisor of an emerging program called Renaissance Scholars, I did not immediately notice how aspects of my identity could marginalize others. I am Black and Asian American but physically appear to be more African-American. The other staff person in the program happens to be African-American as well. When I was developing a student brochure for Renaissance Scholars, originally I put pictures of the staff and pictures of graduated students. Me, my staff, and the pictures I had of graduates were all African-American. When I circulated the brochure for edits, I received questions like, “Is Renaissance Scholars just for African-Americans? Do you have to be Black to be in this program?”

The Renaissance Scholars Program is not intended for Blacks but for high-achieving former foster youth and independent youth at the university. I did not realize how “my normal” was marginalizing others. Needless to say, I removed all photos of just African-Americans and intentionally found pictures of diverse student groups. I believe we all have prejudice and/or bias. We must be intentional about recognizing those bias and work toward being sensitive and inclusive, while respecting the differences.

Chapter 1: The matter of Whiteness

“As long as race is something only applied to non-white peoples, as long as white people are not racially seen and named, they/we functions as a human norm. Other people are raced, we are just people” (Rothenberg, 2005, p.10).


This chapter, The Matter of Whiteness, focuses on the racial imagery of White people. The ideas, values, and norms of the Western cultural are centered on Whiteness. To be White is to be normal. To be normal, which is the standard that all other ethnic groups are measured against, is the equivalent of “being human.” Dyer, the chapter’s author, gives examples of how the racial imagery of Whiteness are perpetuated in everyday life. This White imagery is especially highlighted in daily use through speech and visual images. When White people speak of the “other” White people name the ethnicity of the other. For example, Whites often refer to the Blackness or Mexicaness of friends, colleagues, customers, or clients but do not refer to the Whiteness of White people they know (Rothenberg, 2005).

Dyer also writes about the invisibility of Whiteness and its power. White people have access to this power and privilege and intentionally or unintentionally participate in it. “White power, nonetheless reproduces itself regardless of intention, power differences and goodwill, and overwhelmingly because it is not seen as whiteness, but as normal (Rothenberg, 2005, p. 12).

An everyday, routine activity such as thumbing through a magazine stands out in my mind when reflecting on this topic. My senior year in high-school, (which was a predominately White school) I brought a magazine to school so I could thumb through it before class started. This was a common practice for many high-school girls. I was so excited to have the newest edition of Essence magazine (which was geared toward African-American females). A White girl behind me asked if she could look at my magazine. I didn’t mind because she often shared her magazines with me. She asked me, “Why are there only Black people in this magazine.” I was so offended but I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate my frustration at the time. Instead I snapped at her and replied sharply, “I don’t know. Why are their only White people in the magazines you read?” Then I snatched the magazine away from her and faced forward in my seat.

Looking back on this situation, I know now that I got tired of consistently getting bombarded with images of Whiteness because it did not give voice or value to my existence, experiences or my norms. In that moment, with that White girl, I was mad that my Blackness was named and her Whiteness was accepted as the normal. What was worse is that she could not see it and I felt frustrated because I did not know how to speak about it. This incident is one of many in my life that re-affirmed that power of the invisibility of Whiteness which equates to privilege and can easily marginalize the other.