“Even a self-described social progressive student believes the board crosses the line, calling it ‘a one-sided affair’ that offers no opportunity for productive dialogue…”
By Amber Athey, Campus Reform:
A display in a University of Minnesota residence hall provides an 11-point “checklist” to help students identify their “white privilege.”
The “White Privilege Checklist,” found hanging in Mark G. Yudof Hall and photographed by a current student, features 11 statements that ostensibly apply exclusively to white people.
“I can arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time,” the list begins, following up with references to being able to see “people of my color” or “people of my race” in popular culture and discussions of national heritage.
“I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed,” the second item states.
Statement 5 goes on to imply that children of color are not able to learn about their race in the education system, saying white schoolchildren experience privilege through exposure to “curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.”
“I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented,” statement 6 begins, adding that privilege also means finding “the food I grew up with” at the supermarket and encountering “someone who can deal with my hair” at a salon.
“Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial responsibility,” the next bullet point says.
The list concludes with several items suggesting that white people are privileged because their individual behavior or attributes are not taken to be representative of their race as a whole.
“I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing, or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race,” one such statement reads, followed by, “I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking” and “I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.”
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