White privilege and the race penalty: Discuss!

Last week the Guardian’s Sophie Heawood wrote a deeply honest article about perhaps one the most problematic issues around racism the paper has published for more than a decade: The denial that subtle forms of racism occur on a daily basis and that they have a dramatic effect on people’s lives.

For decades our society has been a standard bearer in stamping out the most obvious and at times brutal forms of racism: Physical attacks, abuse and blatant race discrimination. But what Heawood has dared to talk about is the more subtly, but pervasive, form of racism which by her own admission people like her would never experience, have trouble admitting, and do little to counter it.

In her Guardian article she writes:

I’m sure the police who stopped ‘George the Poet’s car don’t think they’re racist. I’m sure the Oxbridge admissions tutors who are giving white students the benefit of the doubt, while extending less confidence to other applicants, don’t think of themselves as racists, either. Many of them would probably say, 'I don’t have a racist bone in my body'.

What Heawood describes is not just the ‘race penalty’ but also ‘white privilege’.

I witnessed this most recently when dealing with the Barbican's racist Brett Bailey exhibition. The white artist, the Barbican's white artistic Director and the Barbican's white chair steadfastly told the world what was and what wasn't racist: The vast majority Black view on Bailey's work counted for nothing.

In another related part of my work, I’ve been working with an Home Office innovative project called ‘Police Now’, which seeks to nurture a cohort of police officers that are not only more diverse but better understand the multicultural world around us.

During those often very honest discussions about police recruitment, those involved including the Police College and some forces have said that blind applications often give BME candidates a better chance. That same claim has also occurred with exam results that have shown BME students do much better when their exam papers are marked blind. This is all well and good until you have to show up for the job or the University interview. Then you can’t and don’t want to hide who you are.

What Heawood has done, however, is to open up a much needed conversation about how the ‘race penalty and ‘white privilege’ and how its works and most importantly how we can effectively deal or counter it.

I know this sounds painfully slow and extremely annoying for many who have felt the negative impact of this, but acknowledgement is a quantum leap. It gives a framework to begin the process of understanding bias, prejudice and privilege without having to justify actions from the outset.

Equally important in this process is what acknowledgment does for us too. It means that more often than not we didn’t imagine when the cashier dropped the coins in our hand to avoid physical contact; or the woman who looks over and then clutches her hand bag even if you’re dressed in a suit, or the interviewer is looking for a reason why not to employ you rather than just treating us as an equal who might be special.

Winning this battle is perhaps bigger than fighting the brute force battles of the 60’s and 70’s, but one that when we win and we must, everyone benefits.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/14/sophie-heawood-were-all-capable-of-racism

Simon Woolley