e ssential community
InclUSion US Power and Privilege by Sandy Eichel Welcome back to the “us” in inclUSion. This series discusses how we’re responsible for the culture we live in and for the changes that need to be made. We’re in this together, but we all have to do some work individually too.
It’s our responsibility, and it will take all of us contributing to make real change. In our previous segments, we talked about what it means to be an ally or advocate to diverse communities, examining and challenging our own biases and what systemic oppression is and what it looks like in the everyday life of people who experience it. In this segment, we will talk about one of the most sensitive topics for white, straight, cisgender people: privilege and the power that comes with it. I have seen people react to the word privilege in a dramatic way. The definition of privilege simply means, as defined by Sian Ferguson, “a set of unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific social group.” That may sound simple, but the effects of privilege are much bigger on our society. Privilege doesn’t mean you haven’t had struggles; it doesn’t mean that everything has been easy or handed to you. It doesn’t mean you are a bad person. Privilege is the advantage that systemic oppression (how society is set up to oppress certain
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groups of people) doesn’t affect you on a daily basis—that you don’t have to think about certain things to live your daily life. Often when people bring up this word, because of the misunderstandings of what it means, people and the conversations shut down. Previously, we talked about leaning into being uncomfortable. We can’t change our society and make it better for anyone if we aren’t willing to be uncomfortable and challenge our own thoughts and biases. Talking about privilege is not supposed to be comfortable for anyone. Now that doesn’t mean you need to feel bad or guilty. As one of my Black friends explained to me, “Your guilt does nothing to make things better for Black people.” Also, having one type of privilege doesn’t mean that you aren’t oppressed in other ways. Folks say to me, “I don’t feel privileged. I grew up poor. We had so little. There was always food and housing scarcity my whole childhood.” Oppression exists in many forms. It can be very difficult for white people who have experienced poverty to realize or
