Racial bias / White privilege blog

In his article"Data show racial bias persists in America," Muwakkil argues that racism still exists in the American society, even if some people think the opposite. He says in paragraph 2 "That canard has trickled down into mainstream society, and many white Americans now believe that race no longer affects personal prospects of success or failure." Muwakkil bases his assertion on studies conducted by private agencies to show the prevalence of racial disparities in the United States. According to some of these agencies, people of color are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a job, in comparison with white people. Muwakkil states in paragraph 6"The study found that applicants with white-sounding names were 50 percent more likely to get called for an initial interview than applicants with a black-sounding ones. What's more, higher quality resumes provided little advantage for black applicants."This quotation clearly indicates how people of color are denied employment opportunities due to the color of their skin. One can allude to the culture of power in this article, when white applicants with prison records "were still more likely to be hired than black men without them." It is as if our society or should I say, people with power encourage morally wrong behaviors. What kind of examples are they setting for our children? This country is great and beautiful because of the ethnic and cultural diversity of its people. It would be greater if our society were color-blind. Of course it is going to take a long time and good will to change people's mentalities and attitudes; but we will get there some day, because according to the founders of this nation, "All men are created equal." Therefore they should be treated the same way.


White Privilege: In this essay, McIntosh states that white privilege puts minority groups at a disadvantage and she makes a list of those privileges. I'd like to discuss two of them. She says: 4. "I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed." When a black person goes shopping at a store, chances are he or she will be monitored closely to make sure they don't steal anything. Or some store clerk will approach them and ask if they need help. One of my friends who is black, told me that one day, he went to Stop and Shop to buy some batteries for his camera. As he was looking for the items, he got a call on his cell phone. He picked up the phone and talked to the person on the other line. When he was done, he put the phone back in his pocket. Right at that moment, someone who apparently worked at the store approached him and asked him to take out whatever he just put in his pocket. My friend refused to comply and told the store worker that it was his cell phone and nothing else. Since my friend wouldn't do as he was told, the store manager was called. It turned out that it was really his cell phone that my friend put in his pocket. This really shows the lack of trust that some white folks have towards black people. But I can't blame this white store clerk because statistics indicate that people of color are more likely to engage in shoplifting than
white people.
The next white privilege I would like to comment on is: 2. "If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area that I can afford and in which I would want to live." I'm sure one of McIntosh's African-American coworkers, friends or acquaintances must have told her about their experiences in relation to housing. Indeed, it's not always easy for a person of color to either rent an apartment or buy a house. I will share this story about my family. Before my son was born in February 1998, my wife and I started looking for a bigger apartment. We did find a few of them in some decent neighborhoods, in Lincoln and Cumberland. We filled out some applications, and did background and credit checks and went to interviews. After that the landlords promised to call us back, but they never did. When we finally reached them on the phone, they would tell us that someone else got the apartment. And some of them will suggest to go look around Providence. Why necessarily Providence? Is it because a lot of people from various ethnic groups live there? Why would a landlord or real estate agent choose where someone should live? Anyway, my wife and I have no criminal records and as far as I know, we can afford an apartment worth at least $1000. So the problem was elsewhere.