White Privilege In Ta-Nehishi Coates 'White Like Me'

Throughout Ta-Nehishi Coates’ text Between the World and Me and Tim Wise’s book White Like Me, the concept of white privilege is discussed heavily as the source of racial tension. White privilege can be defined as the advantages white people have over people of color in all aspects, including economic, social, and political. Evidence from history proves the treatment black people receive from law enforcement differentiates from white people, and this is still an issue today despite the equality all races are supposed to have. Looking back at America’s past, policy brutality is present and abundant. Before the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans did not even have the same rights as whites because whites were the “superior race.” As to …show more content…
Recently in 2012, a young African American boy named Trayvon Martin was shot by a neighborhood watchman known as George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman claimed the young man posed a threat because his hoodie was on, and he looked suspicious. Zimmerman didn’t take into account the fact that it was raining, so that could have been why Trayvon was covering his head with his hood. What’s wrong with wearing a hood in the first place? If he was white, would Zimmerman even thought twice about it? Although Zimmerman was not a officer of the law, the police officers still stood behind him, and they believed his self defense story without reasonable questioning. The controversy of Martin’s murder opened white people’s eyes to the advantages they have compared to African Americans. Social media ran rapid with white Americans “posting testimonials and images to declare that it is precisely because they are not black” that they are allowed to bypass the mistreatment and inequality of a colored person. More recently in 2014, a new hashtag on Twitter emerged “criming while white.” This new trend followed after an African American man was choked by a police officer, and the officer was never indicted. White Americans started tweeting about crimes they committed without any punishment. For example, a man on twitter named Matthew Mudshark posted “at age 24, pulled a gun on a neighbor. Arrested and bonded out, but no charges were ever filed.” White men commit actual crimes, and they do not have any repercussions. However, if a black man walks in a “suspicious” manner, their life is innocently taken by the men who are supposed to be armed to protect Americans, not harm them for the stereotypes associated with their skin color. Police officers are meant to be leaders for this country’s security, but apparently, that only applies for white people. Equality for African Americans will not occur until the law enforcement