For those of us who are identified as white, life appears to have less friction if we don’t acknowledge that privilege exists.

But multiple forms of privilege and power are always present, in every situation and every interaction.

Privilege is not binary. It is not yes or no.

So let’s move beyond a simple definition of white privilege as the money that comes from mom and dad. Let’s start with inheritance, but look beyond your bank account.

Let’s look at the Five Phantoms of White Privilege, what they give to us, and what they take away. 

Show Notes:

Many New York employers discriminate against minorities, ex-offenders. Summary of “Discrimination in Low Wage Labor Markets,” was conducted by sociology professors Devah Pager and Bruce Western. April, 2005. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2005/04/01/many-new-york-employers-discriminate-against-minorities-ex-offenders 

Upside Down: The $400 Billion Federal Asset-Building Budget. February 4, 2010. Corporation for Enterprise Development, The Annie E. Casey Foundation. https://www.aecf.org/resources/upside-down

Generations of Advantage. Multigenerational Correlations in Family Wealth. Fabian T. Pfeffer, University of Michigan, Alexandra Killewald, Harvard University. Social Forces 96(4) 1411–1442, June 2018 doi: 10.1093/sf/sox086. Advance Access publication on 13 December 2017. p.1434

The effects of Whiteness on the health of whites in the USA.  Malat, J., Mayorga-Gallo, S., Williams, D. R. (2017). Social Science & Medicine. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.034 https://www.madinamerica.com/2017/10/paradox-white-americans-mental-health/

How Wealth Reduces Compassion. Daisy Grewald, Scientific American. April 10, 2012. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealth-reduces-compassion/.

Signs of socioeconomic status: a thin-slicing approach. Michael W Kraus  1, Dacher Keltner Affiliations; Psychol Sci.. 2009 Jan;20(1):99-106. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02251.x. Epub 2008 Dec 5.   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19076316/ 

Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior. Paul K. Piff, Daniel M. Stancato, Stéphane Côté, +1 , and Dacher Keltner Authors Info & Affiliations. Edited by Richard E. Nisbett, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, and approved January 26, 2012 (received for review November 8, 2011). February 27, 2012. 109 (11) 4086-4091 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118373109

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Since the fall of the Confederacy, maybe the most shocking and enduring example of national policy rooted in racial discrimination is the practice of government sponsored redlining. 

I learned about redlining when I was 22, and it has forever changed the way I’ve viewed my community and our country. 

For me it was the beginning of a deeper understanding of how place and opportunity have been racialized. 

For me, it also cracked open the myth of meritocracy, and led me to see how the whole thing crumbles when we look at the evidence systems designed to serve some of us but not others.

Show Notes:

Texts on Redlining and the GI Bill:

Jackson, K. T. (1985). Crabgrass frontier: the suburbanization of the United States. Oxford University Press. 

Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. Liveright Publishing.

'Segregated By Design' examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy. https://www.segregatedbydesign.com (apprx. 18 minute video) 

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva names, as one of the characteristics of racism, that “racism has a “rationality” (actors support or resist a racial order in various ways”. I would suggest in this instance, that this rationality applies whether or not these individual actors are aware of the system or its repercussions.  More than Prejudice: Restatement, Reflections, and New Directions in Critical Race Theory. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.  2015, Vol. 1(1) 75­ –89.  American Sociological Association 2014 DOI: 10.1177/2332649214557042 p.76.

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In the Virginia Colony, a social and economic system centered on the elites was intentionally racialized to keep it that centered on the elites. Racial anxiety was manufactured and then it was stoked to keep people divided.

Fast forward to the present day, and we continue to see the way this system is refreshed and reconfigured, and how it continues to keep the focus on individuals and not the broader system. 

One of the reasons it is so hard to talk about privilege is because it contradicts the bootstraps myth that is pervasive in our country. The bootstraps narrative tells us that each one of us individually struggles, succeeds, or excels strictly based on how hard we work. 

If someone has obtained more, they must have worked harder. If you haven’t accomplished what you’d hoped, then you should have worked harder, too.

But the idea of “Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” did not always mean what it has come to mean today.

Notes and References:

1. "A host of systemic factors has created the ongoing segregation and racial and ethnic disparities throughout the country in educational attainment, wealth, and quality-of-life that we see today. These factors have included local, state and federal policy and investment decisions, discriminatory practices within the private sector and individual actions and biases."  There are many deeper analyses of the way this has continued to manifest over generations, including Richard Rothstein’s 2017 book The Color of Law, or the accompanying 18 minute video summary you can find at segregatedbydesign.com; Ava DuVernay's 13th (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8); and Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us (https://heathermcghee.com/). Systems drive disparities along lines of gender and class and other forms of marginalization as well, but in a society that remains very racially segregated, there is a clear intersectional impact that is centered on racial disparities. Race is always a factor.

2. Linguist Ben Zimmer has traced the idiom back to an 1834 newspaper, in which one Mr. Murphee is satirically described as being “enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.” It appears throughout the 19th century, often in the company of other colorful metaphors for ludicrous impossibilities, such as “sitting in a wheelbarrow and trying to wheel yourself” and “getting rich by taking money from one pocket and putting it in another.””How the ‘bootstrap’ idiom became a cultural ideal; By Melissa Mohr Correspondent; Oct. 04, 2021; https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2021/1004/How-the-bootstrap-idiom-became-a-cultural-ideal

3. "The myth of meritocracy: who really gets what they deserve?" Kwame Anthony Appiah. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/oct/19/the-myth-of-meritocracy-who-really-gets-what-they-deserve

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White privilege. Does it exist? Is it a lie? 

With the unfairness and rage many white people are feeling;  the broad legal and cultural attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion that are happening throughout the country; and with white nationalism and increasing support for white supremacy being normalized, in this season of White People Make Everything About Race, I want to talk about white privilege. 

Well, no, that’s not entirely true. I don't actually want to talk about white privilege.

Some people think white privilege is real and affects everyone; some think it’s something that others have; and some think it’s a total lie, manufactured by the work liberal elite. 

But very few people want to talk about it one way or the other. 

In my experience, almost no term causes as much discomfort and defensiveness amongst people who are white-identified as the words “white privilege”. 

So let’s get uncomfortable. 

Notes and References: 

Who's Running America? The Obama Reign. Eighth Edition. Thomas R. Dye. Routledge. 2014.

Privilege: How Society's Elite Are Made. By Sudhir Venkatesh. Freakonomics. April 20, 2011.  https://freakonomics.com/2011/04/privilege-how-societys-elite-are-made/

Most Americans Point to Circumstances, Not Work Ethic, for Why People Are Rich or Poor. March 20, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/03/02/most-americans-point-to-circumstances-not-work-ethic-as-reasons-people-are-rich-or-poor/

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com

Hi everyone and welcome to a preview of our new season of White People Make Everything About Race.

This season is going to take a different format from last time.

Last season I had some incredible guests who came on the pod to share their own stories of navigating whiteness and what it means for how we see the world and ourselves within it.

Since then that world has continued to shift -- and so has my thinking. 

So, this time around I’m coming to you solo, and, throughout this entire season, I’m going to be focused on just one question: Is white privilege a lie?

Caution: Spoilers ahead.

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com

Hi everyone and welcome to another mini-episode of White People Make Everything About Race, a podcast for well meaning white folks trying to make sense of their own racial identity.

Today we’re bringing you a clip from the final installment of our Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders series.

This is a series I’m cohosting with Dr. Joanna Shoffner Scott of the Race in the Workplace pod, which you can find on your preferred pod provider or at www.raceintheworkplacepod.com 

In this episode, we talk about the current moment, at the outset of 2025, when the very idea of opportunity for everyone is under attack. When a new federal administration is attacking equity and inclusion in a cynical attempt to defund communities and dismantle the systems and structures we all rely upon to navigate a complex and challenging society. 

In this clip we talk about values alignment, and how it’s critical in this moment, particularly when our shared core beliefs are under attack.

To hear more, please check out Season 3;  episode 11 of the Race in the Workplace pod with Dr. Joanna Shoffner Scott.

Thanks for listening, and if you find this pod helpful please remember to subscribe and share it with a friend. 

We’ll return soon with full episodes for season 3. 

Take care.

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com

Today we’re bringing you a clip from part five of Let’s Get REAL: Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders.

This is a series I’m cohosting with Dr. Joanna Shoffner Scott of the Race in the Workplace pod, which you can find on your preferred pod provider or at www.raceintheworkplacepod.com 

In part five of this series, we talk about what to expect when your organization undertakes an equity initiative. We unpack many of the common changes and challenges we’ve seen working with a variety of organizations in a variety of contexts. In this clip you’ll hear us discuss personal growth, particularly how folks who are white identified need to be open to reexamining and questioning some of their assumptions about how they work and how they show up in the workplace.  

To hear more, please check out Season 3, Episode 9 of the Race in the Workplace pod with Dr. Joanna Shoffner Scott: Let's Get REAL: How to Overcome the Most Common Leadership Challenges.

To learn more about the Framework we’ve co-designed to help organizations navigate equitable change, visit the6pframework.com. 

Thanks for listening, and if you find this pod helpful please remember to subscribe and share it with a friend. 

Take care.

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com

Today we’re bringing you a clip from part four of Let’s Get Real: Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders.

This is a series I’m cohosting with Dr. Joanna Shoffner Scott of the Race in the Workplace pod, which you can find on your preferred pod provider or at www.raceintheworkplacepod.com 

In part four of this series, we talk about the considerations leaders should examine when starting a racial equity initiative.  In this clip, you’ll hear us talk about the lopsided expectations that can show up in this work, and we’ll ask you to really think about your internal motivations for engaging in racial equity work and what the commitment to see it through requires of us. 

To hear more, please check out Season 3; Episode 8: How to Design Equity Programs that Work episode of the Race in the Workplace pod with Dr. Joanna Shoffner Scott.

To learn more about the Framework we’ve co-designed to help organizations navigate equitable change, visit the6pframework.com. 

Thanks for listening, and if you find this pod helpful please remember to subscribe and share it with a friend. 

Take care.

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com

This mini-episode previews a conversation between Anthony and Joanna Shoffner Scott, Ph.D. of Stamey Street Consulting Group as part of their Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders (REAL) pod series. 

REAL calls attention to the highlights and lowlights of doing equity work within organizations, and the “look outs” and opportunities that organizational leaders can encounter. 

In part three of this series, we talk about the kinds of dynamics that impact organizations that are going through a transformation, particularly a leadership transition.  In this clip, you’ll hear us talk about how this transition is often racialized and it can subconsciously impact our reactions unless we’re intentional about responding in a way that aligns with our values and ideals.

Check out this full Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders episode, available at https://www.raceintheworkplacepod.com/2268431/episodes/16433018-let-s-get-real-how-to-plan-for-leadership-transitions-s3-ep-7. 

"The Framework" mentioned in this clip is The 6P+ Racial Equity Framework. Learn more at the6pframework.com 

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com

This mini-episode previews a conversation between Anthony and Joanna Shoffner Scott, Ph.D. of Stamey Street Consulting Group as part of their Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders (REAL) pod series. 

REAL calls attention to the highlights and lowlights of doing equity work within organizations, and the “look outs” and opportunities that organizational leaders can encounter. 

In part two of this series, we talk about the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. And in this clip, you’ll hear us talk about some of the foundational work necessary for change: the Equity Why. 

Check out this full Racial Equity for Adaptive Leaders episode, available at https://www.raceintheworkplacepod.com/2268431/episodes/16256310-let-s-get-real-are-you-a-transactional-or-a-transformational-leader-s3-ep-6. 

"The Framework" mentioned in this clip is The 6P+ Racial Equity Framework. Learn more at the6pframework.com 

See show notes and more at whitepeoplemakeeverythingaboutrace.com