Video - What It Means to Be White and Privileged

8/25/2018

I am happy to share this excerpt from my August 18 presentation on
What It Means to Be White and Privileged

Theresa L Richardson

8/26/2018 03:34:44 pm

From this book, I remembered some things I took as granted as a white person: Education - One morning at work the emergency alarm on a door near my office started to sound. I raced back and found one of the cleaning ladies (about my age, 43 and black) standing on the landing/steps outside the door. I yelled "what's wrong with you! Can't you read?" It was years later that I realize she probably couldn't read, something that I just took for granted.
Restaurants: I took a young co-worker out to dinner (swing shift) for her birthday (25th). It was a very casual Italian restaurant with an open kitchen. We sat at the counter to watch them cook. She studied the menu for quite awhile and then said she would like to have the boiled chicken. I was stunned and asked if she was sure there wasn't something else she would like, pasta, steak, seafood? Nope. Boiled chicken. And years later I realized there was a good chance she had never been to a nice restaurant, probably just fast food. Eating out at good restaurants was something I took for granted. There have been other small moments when I saw/said things to blacks not realizing they had never done the things I talked about, things I did on a regular basis. So in case anyone is having a hard time realizing what it means to be "white and priveledged" I hope this will remind you of times you might have done something similar. Thanks, Tom.

Tom Schweizer link

8/27/2018 11:01:23 am

Thanks Teri. Your comments and "wokeness" are always appreciated.