April 5, 2002

By Charlene Woo

Dear Editor,

You mention in last week’s TSL that we, as students of color, should "prove" that racism and white male privilege exist and that we should include specific instances where these incidents occurred. Racism and white male privilege are NOT obvious because it is not overt and because it is so ingrained within this American society, that it is overlooked and taken for granted, taken as "the way things are". And Pomona, being a microcosm of sorts of the real world, copies the hierarchies found in it, and institutes them within its own walls. Pomona is not the bubble everyone assumes or believes it to be.

Racism and white male privilege are institutionalized forms of these systems of oppression. In other words, they are so ingrained into our society and our systems of government as to be taken as fact and the way things should be. It is not a coincidence that white men lead our government; it is not a coincidence that most of the faculty at Pomona, and around the 5-C, is composed of white men; it is not a coincidence that the Board of Trustees is composed of mostly white men. These things, seen by many as coincidence or reality, are symptoms of this institutionalized racism. As white men, you are given privileges because you are seen as superior in intellect, in ability, in promise. Your names are called on more frequently in class; you are given more resources in schools; you are given more opportunity to go on and further your educations and your careers because you are seen to possess more potential.

Why is it difficult to point out specific instances or occurrences of racism or white male privilege? Because, although isolated events happen frequently, even on our college campuses, the overarching theme of institutionalized racism is never addressed. It is this that we must fight and combat. The very core of our American government and society is based on the superiority of the white male. As a result, the "events" or "proof" that you seem to want, editor, are all around us, in the very fabric of our lives. Our country’s and our college’s leadership is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more instances of institutionalized and independent acts of racism and white male privilege, you just have to acknowledge and look past your own privileged position to see them.

Word Count: 400 words