April 5, 2002

By Janelle Orsi

"A Concrete Example of White Privilege at Pomona"

Dear Editor,

In response to your call for a focused discussion of racism and White privilege at Pomona, I’m contributing two examples of White privilege, myself being one of these examples. First, I’d like to point out that racism doesn’t occur only in "demonstrable instances," but is, rather, a system that is maintained by the attitudes and actions of everyday life. Since I am White, my everyday life has reflected this.

Throughout my life, I have enjoyed all the conveniences, rewards, and opportunities that have come along with my skin color and a legacy of White dominance in the world. For the past five centuries or more, White people have been getting rich at the expense of people whom they construct as "different." My inheritance of this legacy has carried over to my life at Pomona, which has been made easier for reasons relating to my privilege. When I arrived at Pomona, I never had to worry about whether or not people would pre-judge me or whether I’d be the only person of my race in my sponsor group. I never had to worry that people would look at me funny if I spoke about my "different" background, or that I’d be made everyone’s token friend-of-color.

It is not just a coincidence that White people continue to dominate wealth and educational resources in this country. Likewise, it is not a coincidence that I don’t need to work to get through college. It is also not a coincidence that I had English-speaking parents who both went to college. I won’t lie and say I wish I never had these privileges. I WILL say that what’s depressing is that, for most of my life, I felt ENTITLED to these privileges. Feeling entitled to everything I have has kept me from seeing how and why other people get deprived of such benefits. THAT is how racism and White privilege work.

A second example of White privilege at Pomona is your letter Mr. Editor. Your inability to see or believe that White privilege dominates our society and campus is proof of your own smug, White privilege. If ignorance is bliss, then lucky you. However, I’d argue that those of us who are willing to work at confronting and dismantling White privilege are the real lucky ones – we are making a step toward a more honest society.