4-A-3+Group+A

=Home > Activity 4-A-3: White Privilege > Group A=

Instructions:

 * 1) Click the **Edit** tab in the upper-right corner.
 * 2) Use the Summary area below to collaborate with your group to create your summary of the connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and social dominance theory.
 * 3) Press **Save** on the Editor bar.


 * Note:** You don't need to sign your work or indicate which sections you contributed; your facilitator can see your contributions in the history of the page. Your group summary should demonstrate your collaboration rather than being a collection of unconnected individual ideas. When your group decides that the summary is finished, have one group member remove "(Draft)" below so your facilitator will know that it is ready for review.

As a group, it seems that we are all talking about white privilege being something we haven't been fully aware of in the past and have enjoyed the advantages of nonetheless, and these advantages would be hard to give up. We also have agreed that our understanding of the colorblind perspective has evolved. The colorblind perspective deals with treating race as being invisible, that race is irrelevant to the ways individuals are treated. People are judged as individuals, not groups. The paradox is that only white people have the privilege of being treated as if race is irrelevant. There are many consequences of the colorblind perspective, most of them dealing with white people not acknowledging that people of different races are not afforded the same privileges of the dominant white society. If there is not acknowledgment, there can be no move toward equity. We now see that ignoring a person's race results in making that person invisible and discounting the effects of white power and privilege, and that the hierarchy that exists with white culture controlling power and privilege as described in social dominance theory is the structure that supports this power and privilege, ostensibly in the interest of maintaining social order and reducing the chance that chaos will break down society. Instead, the result is a society where many people are disenfranchised and discriminated against. Howard says that as white people and part of the dominant culture, we can help by being sensitive to these issues. He suggests that one great step in the right direction is as simple as showing respect to people of other cultures. According to Gary Howard (1993) "Respect acknowledges the full humanness of other people, their right to be who they are, and their right to be treated in a good way". We can certainly do that in our classrooms by letting our students know that all cultures are valued, celebrated and equally important. As teachers, we have the ability to begin this conversation in the classroom as role models, educate our students on how they can be instruments of change, and hope this knowledge blossoms and improves their lives and the world.
 * SUMMARY (FINAL)**

Howard, G. R. (1993). Whites in Multicultural Education: Rethinking Our Role. Reprinted from the September 1993 Phi Delta Kappan.

Summary (Draft)
Yes, whoever wrote this thanks! This was a fun collaboration. Thanks everyone! Jan

I can post the final copy. Haven't heard differently, so I think it is safe to say we are all satisfied with the summary below. Good work! == I added in some of Laura's summary in pink to explain the colorblind perspective a bit. Is that OK? I am a bit tied up at work this afternoon but will check later today. Then we can take off the word draft and let it stand. I don't have any more edits to add. Jan ==

I think it looks great. Faye Hi Group A--I made a couple of minor changes with wording, if that's ok with you guys, and added the reference. Are we ready to take off the word draft and let it stand? What we have is in black below. Jan

As a group, it seems that we are all talking about white privilege being something we haven't been fully aware of in the past and have enjoyed the advantages of nonetheless, and these advantages would be hard to give up. We also have agreed that our understanding of the colorblind perspective has evolved. The colorblind perspective deals with treating race as being invisible, that race is irrelevant to the ways individuals are treated. People are judged as individuals, not groups. The paradox is that only white people have the privilege of being treated as if race is irrelevant. There are many consequences of the colorblind perspective, most of them dealing with white people not acknowledging that people of different races are not afforded the same privileges of the dominant white society. If there is not acknowledgment, there can be no move toward equity. We now see that ignoring a person's race results in making that person invisible and discounting the effects of white power and privilege, and that the hierarchy that exists with white culture controlling power and privilege as described in social dominance theory is the structure that supports this power and privilege, ostensibly in the interest of maintaining social order and reducing the chance that chaos will break down society. Instead, the result is a society where many people are disenfranchised and discriminated against. Howard says that as white people and part of the dominant culture, we can help by being sensitive to these issues. He suggests that one great step in the right direction is as simple as showing respect to people of other cultures. According to Gary Howard (1993) "Respect acknowledges the full humanness of other people, their right to be who they are, and their right to be treated in a good way". We can certainly do that in our classrooms by letting our students know that all cultures are valued, celebrated and equally important. As teachers, we have the ability to begin this conversation in the classroom as role models, educate our students how they can be instruments of change, and hope this knowledge blossoms and improves their lives and of the world.

Howard, G. R. (1993). Whites in Multicultural Education: Rethinking Our Role. Reprinted from the September 1993 Phi Delta Kappan.

Thanks for the information Jan. I added to the comments that you all wrote, and just let it type the color that was already chosen.

Faye--I think you should feel free to add the Howard quote and anything else you want to and then we can all weigh in on the edits. You can color code by highlighting your text and then clicking on the box with the T above in the toolbar you get when you edit, next to the U box, and then choose your text color. Then you can choose to apply it and it will show up in that color. Maybe we could all check in before the end of our nights tonight and see what we have? Jan (P.S. This is an interesting process. Please anyone jump in here--I certainly don't see myself as in charge or anything. I think we are doing a good job of bringing our thoughts together.)

I added role model to the sentence in red. I can't figure out how to do the coloring, but when I typed, it typed the color. Go figure. I also like the summary. I also like the colored coded replies, something I have not figured out to do yet. I wrote something earlier, but I didn't get it saved. Ladies, I don't understand what is the expectation. Do I add to the summary incorporating thoughts that I wrote from my post? If so, I would like to include Gary Howard's comments. Let me know, as I have to leave the house this afternoon for about three hours. Faye I like the summary so far. I have to be off-line in about 30 minutes, so if someone would take on the responsibility of removing "Draft" from our statement, then Judy will see our finished project. (Sara)

Laura--I like what you put in here. I'll check in later to see what others add and edit. Jan

I'm not sure who responded below, but great! I agree with your take on the assignment. I think our summary is due tomorrow morning, correct? So I think we could use my summary below as a starting point and people should feel free to edit. I would suggest using a different color for your edits (it helps me when you put your name on too so we can make sure everyone weighs in!) and then we should all weigh in on when we think the summary is complete. Does this make sense?

Jan - I think your summary is spot on. I think a way to incorporate Howard's quote is to discuss what we as white people can do to be sensitive to the issue of white privilege. Howard says one great step in the right direction is as simple as showing respect to people of other cultures. We can certainly do that in our classrooms by letting our students know that all cultures are valued, celebrated and equally important. As far as summarizing the 5 points, I don't think we need to do that here in the summary of our Wiki. If someone would like to comment on that part of the assignment, I think that should be done in the discussion (push pin) area of the Wiki. (just my understanding of the assignment...feel free to disagree!!!) ** - LAURA G! **

As a group, it seems that we are all talking about white privilege being something we haven't been fully aware of in the past and have enjoyed the advantages of nonetheless, and these advantages would be hard to give up. We also have pointed out that our understanding of the colorblind perspective has evolved because we now see that ignoring a person's race has the result of making that person invisible and discounting the effects of white power and privilege, and that the hierarchy that exists with white culture controlling power and privilege as described in social dominance theory is the structure that supports this power and privilege, ostensibly in the interest of maintaining social order and reducing the chance that chaos will break down society. Instead, the result is a society where many people are disenfranchised and discriminated against. Howard says that as white people and part of the dominant culture, we can help by being sensitive to these issues. He suggests that one great step in the right direction is as simple as showing respect to people of other cultures. According to Gary Howard (1993) "Respect acknowledges the full humanness of other people, their right to be who they are, and their right to be treated in a good way". We can certainly do that in our classrooms by letting our students know that all cultures are valued, celebrated and equally important. (Laura G = edits in red) As teachers, we have the ability to begin this conversation in the classroom as role models, educate our students how they can be instruments of change, and hope this knowledge blossoms and improves their lives and of the world. (Sara)
 * (DRAFT - SUMMARY)**

Reading through the written reflection, I would just be rewriting the ideas currently presented. I am going to share a different perspective. I had the opportunity to attend a three day professional development, "Cultural Competence and Courageous Practice" facilitated by Gary Howard. White privilege, colorblind perspective and the social dominance theory were all discussed and self-reflected upon. One activity that had a profound effect on me was called the Culture Toss. Here is how it went. Participants were instructed to fill out each of the six boxes representing ourselves regarding Race/Ethnicity, Language, Vocation, Religion/Spirituality, Life Value and Possession. We were then instructed to X out two boxes in which we would willingly give up if needed to survive. After sharing with colleagues, we were instructed to give up two more boxes. Mr. Howard asked us to raise our hands to show which characteristic we would not be willing to give up. It was interesting until he asked who would not be willing to give up their Race/Ethnicity. I was the only person who raised their hand among 100+ peers. Can you hear the gasps! Because I sure did. I stated that I was not willing to give up being white. I did not want to experience the injustices people of color have to endure daily. Mr. Howard smiled at me and said, "That took courage to be honest". The privileges that are available to white people through any type of dominance theories/perspectives are taken for granted. I didn't know how to live any differently. It isn't enough to just talk about it. It begins with me, for I am responsible for my actions. Mr. Howard (1993) wrote, "One of the greatest contributions white Americans can make to cultural understanding is simply to learn the power of respect. Respect acknowledges the full humanness of other people, their right to be who they are, their right to be treated in a good way. When white Americans learn to approach people of different cultures with this kind of deep respect, our own world becomes larger and our embrace of reality is made broader and richer. We are changed by our respect for other perspectives. In the process of respecting other cultures, we learn to become better people ourselves" (p. 7). That is my goal. Faye Howard, G. R. (1993). Whites in Multicultural Education: Rethinking Our Role. Reprinted from the September 1993 Phi Delta Kappan.

Enter summary here... "Common situations that we take for granted are usually daily occurrences that should be enjoyable and productive, rather than situations for racism. Yet, according to the Social Dominance Theory, the fact that I was never aware of racial disparity in the simplest situations was due to racism (prejudice + power). I accept the lack of problems because as a White person, that's the way it's always been. When faced with simple situations in which a person of Color was included (perhaps they are the supervisor I asked to speak with), then according to the Colorblind perspective, that supervisor's actions are attributed to him on an individual basis. I do not take into account his race, even though it is a huge part of who he is."

(Note for Group A: Please feel free to elaborate/disagree/question any of the above summary. I just wanted to get the ball rolling! -Sara) (And if there is Mac gobbeldy-gook, please let me know, and I'll get to a PC!)

Hey Group A--I moved my 5 privileges under the push pin as per Sara's suggestion and left the rest here. Jan

White privilege and social dominance are intimately connected in our culture. Our founders based their society on hierarchical structures that endowed some people (white males) with power and rationalized that system by claiming that the structure helped to maintain order and social stability. The colorblind perspective does the same thing in a much more subtle way. If we claim that race doesn’t matter, that we don’t see other people in terms of their race, then we never have to confront the inequities within the power structure that keeps some groups in power and others at the bottom of the social system. It sends the message to people who are not in power that everything is working fine and to dismantle any of the structures would result in social chaos and collapse.

-The social dominance theory describes how societies maintain group based dominance. One social group, in this case White people, holds disproportionate power and enjoys special privileges and at least one other group has little power or ease of life. Economic, educational and health outcomes are superior for members of the dominant group. ( http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470672532.wbepp253/full ) -The colorblind perspective deal with treating race as being invisible. It says that race is irrelevant to the ways individuals are treated. People are judged as individuals, not groups. The paradox is that only white people have the privilege of being treated as if race is irrelevant. There are many consequences of the colorblind perspective, most of them dealing with white people not acknowledging that people of different races are not afforded the same privileges of the dominant white society. If there is not acknowledgment, there can be no move toward equity. -White privilege deals with how white people view racism. According to McIntosh, white people recognize that racism puts others at a disadvantage, but they are taught not to see the white privilege of racism, which puts the white person at an advantage. She even suggests it is taboo to talk about this unearned privilege. Since most white people recognize racism as only individual acts of meanness towards a person of color, they cannot see themselves as a racist. -All of these things, white privilege, the colorblind perspective and social dominance theory, recognize that there is one dominant group who is afforded many unearned privileges and other groups who no not receive privileges and are faced with many obstacles based on their race. In all the issues, the dominant society is reluctant to admit that these disparities exist. **NOTE TO GROUP A!!! - I followed Sara's lead and posted my summary of the terms above, which is what I believe we will change and discuss together. I am posting the 5 conditions I most related to from the article under the push pin on the tool bar. - Laura G.
 * Summary of my connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective and social dominance theory:**