Privilege is having some sort of advantage over others because
of some asset a person possesses. Being a young black male I have seen
privilege work both ways. Though people
do not always want to admit people still highly consider race, gender and
socioeconomic status when interacting with others.
Once again being a black male I have been
denied privilege and have received privilege. Sometimes receiving privilege is
not always a beneficial thing obtaining privilege can receive a large amount of backlash. For
example last year when I applied for an INTRO leader position I received a
bunch of hate from my peers. They said you already have an advantage because
you’re black and if you get the job it’s only because they need diversity. Then
when I received the position they reassured me my race secured me my position.
They would not mention my prior leadership skills or any other factors that I
have that could have possibly gotten me the job. One of my friends even said
yeah it’s not like they hire freshman anyway, it’s definitely because of your
race, when seven freshmen were hired along with me. When I do receive privilege most of it comes
with a great amount of judgment from others mostly the majority rather than the
minority.
It is human nature to hold some sort of preconceived
judgment about others but when trying to educate a diverse group of students. As teacher I think it is important not to
display a large amount of favoritism toward a student or a group of
students. This can cause a divide in the
class and conflict between students. It
is easy to gravitate towards one student in a class but once you start to show
that student special favor you a granting him opportunities that cannot be
offered to others. Making sure the playing field is even for students
is a must.
I really enjoyed reading your perspective because I've never really heard this conversation from a fully black male. I have had plenty of mixed friends; boys and girls, and they never had an issue blending with either of the racial groups. However, you can tell that they still don't fit perfectly fit in either group which is a disadvantage to them. Not only should we speak out about different races positively, but those of mixed race that get left behind.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting how unsupportive some people were when you got your position with intro. It truly should how close-minded and bitter some people are in our world. Coming from a totally different perspective, it is shocking to see how prejudice really can affect people.
ReplyDelete