The best analogy I’ve heard that explains white privilege is that it’s like an invisible backpack that every white person wears. If you’re white and you’re ever in a situation where you might need help, you can take that backpack off, open it up, and pull out all sorts of shit.
Get Out of Jail Free card.
Job opportunities.
Health benefits.
Housing loans.
Don’t get me wrong. Black people can get those things, too, but it’s a lot harder. Also, think about how everything that affects this country economically or health-wise has ended up worse for the black community. The Great Depression. The Great Recession. Natural disasters like Katrina. Coronavirus. The best analogy I’ve heard that explains white privilege is that it’s like an invisible backpack that every white person wears.
When housing markets crashed during the 1930s, it hit black people the hardest. They were laid off before everybody else. Unemployment rate was higher. And after it was over, the government was able to give almost every major demographic an economic boost to help them get back on their feet, except black people, obviously.
I was a teenager in 2008, during the Great Recession.When the recession hit, it seemed like most of the people in Flint lost their jobs — close to 20,000 in a city with a population of just 100,000. A lot of people who lost their jobs were black, and worked at places like the GM plant across the street from my house.
Check out Kuzma’s full thoughts at The Player Tribune. It’s well worth your time.
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