BY: CINTHIA PEDRAZA
Aug. 12, 2020
I wanted to follow up my last essay with a general acknowledgement of privilege. A lot of folks were hung up on the word “white” that was used exactly twice in my writing. People were uncomfortable with generalizations about the color of their skin and its association. They felt personally attacked and maybe victimized by the phrase “white privilege.” To those people, I see you and I hear you. Now is the time to show grace to one another and so I want to share with you a secret that maybe some of us don’t want to acknowledge. We all have some sort of privilege.
For me as a first generation Mexican American from a low income family I still have a substantial amount of privilege. Sometimes my privilege depends on where I am. When I visit my family in Mexico they call me “guera” which translates to white girl. My skin is light and considered white in Mexico. This light colored complexion in Mexico like in the US is a privilege associated with class. My great great grandfather was from Spain.The spanish were rich with the land and resources they stole from the natives. Even though my grandfather was poor he was assumed to be wealthy based on the color of his skin. Mexican people descend from both indigenous people and the Spanish, but most mexican people take offense when you suggest they have “indio” blood. All of that being said I know being a light skinned Mexican American has made it easier for me to be accepted into various circles of friends or communities, whether those groups are aware of it or not it’s true.
Spanish was my first language and I didn’t know a word of English when I was thrown into an all English speaking class my first day of pre-k. I remember not knowing how to ask if I could use the bathroom. I didn’t fully master the English language until around the 5th grade when I became an avid Harry Potter fan. Because I couldn’t articulate myself well in English I always felt that maybe I wasn’t as smart as my classmates. This feeling of inadequacy inspired me to read anything I could get my hands on. I was hoping that if I could add more words to my collection I could keep up with my American friends and maybe be accepted as an American myself. My thirst for reading and learning led me to good grades and eventually college.
College is the defining moment of my growth in regards to the world of privilege. I was the first person in my family to go to college. My dad never finished middle school and my mom just barely finished high school because she was seventeen and pregnant with me. My mother came to the US illegally a couple months before I was born and my father became a naturalized citizen when I was in high school. Up until I entered college I didn’t personally know anyone who had been to college except my teachers at school or a friend’s parents here or there. Once in college (Texas State- Go Bobcats!) my world exploded with new experiences and new people. I was introduced to kayaking, activism, Vietnamese food, Kant, backpacking and of course bikes. I thrived in this new environment. It was like I was a potted plant who finally got transferred into fertile unencumbered soil. I made a lot of friends who went on to get degrees and then I got my very own bachelors, something no one can ever take away from me. Because of this experience I leapfrogged over what seems to be a thousand steps of the social ladder to a very high place of privilege. Education is a privilege.
The now college educated friends I made have added to my social capital which is a privilege. I graduated with minimal student loan debt thanks to grants my low income family qualified for. Low student debt is a privilege. I can speak two languages, that is a privilege. I am able bodied, I am not what is considered traditionally unattractive, I have two parents who are still married, I am a U.S citizen, I have running water, I have a steady job, the list goes on and on forever.
I am telling this story to YOU my fellow white people who find it so difficult to get over the phrase “white Privilege”. We as a global society are experiencing a shift that is propelling everyone towards a more just world. If you do not examine yourself and progress with society you will be left behind with the dinosaurs, fax machines and the flat earthers. The reason why specifically your privilege is being talked about in this moment is because it is being used as a method of reinforcing structural inequality in our country. You need to acknowledge it, get comfortable with the phrase because it’s here to stay. White privilege is the reason we fought the civil war, the reason we continue to have inequality, the reason why people of color are dying at higher rates of covid 19 and the reason black and brown bodies are being targeted for police brutality. You didn’t choose this privilege but realize it means that you have power. Use this power to promote a better, more equitable world for everyone.
Definitions:
Social Capital- Links to people or groups further up or lower down the social ladder.
Structural inequality- refers to the system of privilege and inequality created and maintained by interlocking societal institutions.
Privilege- a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.
