White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Backpack Summary

The issue of the white privilege and its effects, like any other advantage system, is a major problem that exists in society. Peggy McIntosh’s article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack, touches on three aspects that I found to be interesting. They include the concept of “unacknowledged” white perspective; the notion that white privilege is an unearned “invisible backpack” and the debate over how to dissolve white privilege.

As a colored person, I am automatically on the fringe perspective, where I can observe white privilege operating in society. Although, I feel that I am not as bigoted against as some other races, I can still see and feel the effects of white privilege. For example, is white privilege in the legal system?

Obviously, this has been a hotspot topic in the past year, after several high profile cases like the shooting of Michael Brown, and the death of Eric Garner; these cases are just the tip of iceberg of racial profiling. Yet from a white person’s perspective, they’ve probably never been in danger of being stopped and frisked. They’ve probably never had to worry or had been “randomly” checked in the airport, and they’ve probably never will “randomly” get pulled over by the police. As anti-racist activist, Jennifer Holladay’s black colleague put it; white people “just never have to worry about these things. Ever.” (Holladay, 2000, para.12). This example is a good representation of the unacknowledged white privilege. While many whites are aware of racism, and the disadvantage it puts others at, they almost never realize the slight advantage they have, as a result of the simply being white. McIntosh states that a male with unacknowledged male privilege may “say they will work to improve women’s status, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can’t or won’t support the idea of lessening men’s” (1989), similarly a white person will try their hardest to help “them to be more like us” (McIntosh, 1989, p. 1). Hence, unacknowledged white privilege is something that people need to acknowledge.
Another bold statement that McIntosh makes about white privilege is equating it to an “invisible” backpack, which is filled with essentials and tools that are necessary, but those who have them do not earn it. I believe that this metaphor is a very true aspect and a very legitimate concern of those who are aware of white privilege. Since this “backpack” exists on the merits of skin colour, their “skin colour was an asset for any move they were educated to want to make” (McIntosh, 1989, p. 3). White people can make the social system work for them, be critical of the mainstream culture and yet, still feel embraced by it. For any other person, we have to be twice as good as them, to get even half of what they have, because we’re working upstream. We have to work against our skin colour, the prejudices that it creates, and all the in-between to get what we want. The problem with the invisible backpack is that it’s just that; it is invisible which means that goes by unnoticed and unearned. Simply put, it’s just not fair that a white person has better opportunities than people of colour, because they have a backpack full of privileges, and I don’t.
Finally, the last main idea that McIntosh touches upon is technicalities involved in solving the imbalance brought on by white privilege. McIntosh emphasizes the idea of educating people of their ignorance towards their privilege. If people are better able to understand the dimensions of the problem, they will be better able to create a socials structure that better reflects a just society.
While tackling the important issues of white privileges, this article still raises few points of uncertainty that clash with my understanding of the white privilege.

Firstly, McIntosh near the end, tries to distinguish between “earned strength” and “unearned power conferred systematically”. I have to wonder, is it really possible to have earned strength? As I view it and as McIntosh states, most aspects of white privilege should not be a privilege; ideally is needs to be unearned power because they are the norms that make a just society. So if that’s the case, then what even constitutes earned strength? In my opinion, earned strength does not exist in terms of white privilege. Most of what makes up white privilege are the base for the most basic just society; as a result, earned strength, in my opinion, only exists in terms of knowledge. If you earn the knowledge, then you have a slight advantage. However, most of the privileges of white privilege, is not a privilege, and it does not need to be earned; it should inherently exist because a “just society” is morally

obligated.
Another point that greatly conflicts my position on white privilege, is the statement “Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the US think that racism doesn’t affect them because they are not people of color” (McIntosh, 1989, p.

3). I truly believe that this isn’t true; people, not just whites, recognize that just because a problem does not concern them directly, does not mean they aren’t part of it. More people are getting a better understanding of the fact that there are two sides to a problem: those who make it worse and those who make it better. If this is the way that American students think, then they are really ignorant to dangerous levels. Is it even viable, after seeing so many cases of racism in the past couple of years, to think that racism doesn’t affect someone? Racism affects everyone, whether one is white, brown or black, whether they are the one propagating it or they are the one who is experiencing it. Just by being idle, racism is still relevant, because the bystander is not doing anything to stop it. Hence, the statement that McIntosh makes may have been in 1989, but years after that proves to be irrelevant in today’s struggle against

racism.
To McIntosh, I would pose this question: Why do you think that white people are taught to pretend not to recognize white privilege? I would venture a guess to say that white people do not even realize that they are using the white privilege to get what they need, because they take for granted the things that white privilege allows them. Of course, in today’s age, more people are ousting the unfairness of the white privilege system. For example, McIntosh brings up the fact that the feeling of being accepted should not be the privilege of the few. Yet, it is. As a McIntosh states in her list of white privilege, she can move to a new neighborhood without fear of being isolated, feared or held at a distance. This example is one of the few that is seen as norm to all those with white privilege. That should not be the case because the feeling of being accepted should exist regardless of race. These are the simple things that people with white privilege can take for granted, and can be ignorant because it has always been provided to them. When something has been around for so long, people automatically have expectations for it. White privilege has existed in society for so long, that it has become ingrained in our culture, in our socialization and in our upbringing. People, whether they are white or coloured, are going to expect to see white privilege. As a result, in a society that nearly values white privilege, I believe that it can be hard to realize that such things are an unearned privilege and to not even be able to recognize that they have white privilege.
I strongly believe that the prevalence of white privilege is a serious issue that poses many problems for goals to reach a just society. It needs to be addressed more seriously, and see more radical changes.