Educating white children on white privilege is not as straightforward as it may seem. One study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology suggests that when presented with evidence of white privilege, white people actually respond with denial on the basis of personal hardships (Phillips, Lowry 12-18). The study also states that understanding privilege, “requires a comparison to someone of another group membership with the same life circumstances” (Phillips, Lowry 12-18). If white children feel that they have things in common with minorities, they will feel more sympathetic towards minorities. Thus, educating white children on white privilege and institutional racism requires that they feel empathetic towards the victims of institutional
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Racial integration, while keeping other aspects of identity relatively fixed, can be done in a multitude of ways. Enrolling white children in diverse or immersion local public schools is perhaps the simplest way of accomplishing integration without sacrificing fixed identity outside of race. This is because non-race demographics of public schools tend to be relatively constant. That is, most students belong to the same economic background, same region of the country, and if the school is a public magnet school, have similar interests ("What Are Magnet Schools?" Magnet.edu). However, this solution may be difficult to implement in cases where the white child is disadvantaged in other aspects of life, while their non-White counterparts experience no such disadvantages. For instance, a working class White-American may find it difficult to accept that they have white privilege if they know of non-White Americans who come from wealthy backgrounds. In other words, how can a person feel sympathy for someone who seems to be better off than they …show more content…
Later, Katy was presented with the fact that White Americans are forty percent more likely to receive scholarships than minorities. Even then, it was not until she had a conversation with her multiracial friend, Christopher, and found that he had not received a scholarship either, that she changed her mindset. That one interaction with a person of color opened Katy’s eyes to some aspects of her privilege. Thus, even in this context, the implications of informal education through racial integration, are that it works. Further, when integration occurs, white children become aware of their privilege and can advocate for equity for their non-white counterparts in an effort to decrease institutional
Racial integration, while keeping other aspects of identity relatively fixed, can be done in a multitude of ways. Enrolling white children in diverse or immersion local public schools is perhaps the simplest way of accomplishing integration without sacrificing fixed identity outside of race. This is because non-race demographics of public schools tend to be relatively constant. That is, most students belong to the same economic background, same region of the country, and if the school is a public magnet school, have similar interests ("What Are Magnet Schools?" Magnet.edu). However, this solution may be difficult to implement in cases where the white child is disadvantaged in other aspects of life, while their non-White counterparts experience no such disadvantages. For instance, a working class White-American may find it difficult to accept that they have white privilege if they know of non-White Americans who come from wealthy backgrounds. In other words, how can a person feel sympathy for someone who seems to be better off than they …show more content…
Later, Katy was presented with the fact that White Americans are forty percent more likely to receive scholarships than minorities. Even then, it was not until she had a conversation with her multiracial friend, Christopher, and found that he had not received a scholarship either, that she changed her mindset. That one interaction with a person of color opened Katy’s eyes to some aspects of her privilege. Thus, even in this context, the implications of informal education through racial integration, are that it works. Further, when integration occurs, white children become aware of their privilege and can advocate for equity for their non-white counterparts in an effort to decrease institutional