Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/521232
B lack lives matter." That's the rally- ing cry for those marching for jus- tice in the wake of the recent deaths of black men at the hands of police. And the response by some, on social media and elsewhere, has been "All lives mat- ter." It is true that all lives matter, but "All lives matter" does not acknowledge the specific threats to black lives that exist in our society. Why the failure to acknowledge the threats to black lives? Those of us in cocoons of privilege may be unaware of the threats that shape the lives and worldviews of others. Each year, the White Privilege Con- ference addresses racism from the per- spective of privilege. The idea is that we need to look beyond racism to the pres- ence of privilege, and that racism will not end until we address the issue of privi- lege. The conference specifically looks at white privilege and examines how it is manifested in our daily living. A misper- ception about white privilege is that it refers to privileged whites, and many white people don't associate themselves with being privileged. Yet everyone has some sort of privilege, whether it be race, gender, class, sexuality or ability. White privilege refers to the perks that people have simply because they're white, such as the ability to shop in a store and not be followed, the privi- lege of not being afraid of the police, the privi- lege of not having to talk to their children (especially their sons) about how to interact with the police or other authorities, the privi- lege of not having to worry that people will look at their children and assume they are thugs, gangsters or criminals. Peggy McIn- tosh has a basic list of 50 perks that whites experience often without realizing them. For example, "I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. . . . I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. . . . When I am told about our national heritage or about 'civilization,' I am shown that people of my color made it what it is."* In the church we want to believe that we are colorblind, that since God created us in God's image, we do not see color. And while that might seem like a good idea, our society does indeed see color. We are judged on our color, we are treated according to our color, and we live in a world that is full of color, even if we don't participate in it. As a church, we have to not only acknowledge the history of racism, but also the history of privilege and the ongoing system of privileges that the church participates in. The church can be a place where conversations about privilege and race can be held with love. The church can be a place where we proclaim that all lives matter, but where we acknowledge that society does not value black lives. The church can be leaders in the move for justice and equality—as Christ has called us. Tanya Denley is a member of PW's Antiracism Committee and a teaching elder. * Peggy McIntosh, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack," Peace and Freedom Magazine, July/August 1989, 10–12. 42 w o r k i n g f o r j u s t i c e a n d p e a c e Black Lives and White Privilege t t t BY TANYA DENLEY A young family joins a rally in Columbus, Ohio, to witness to the life of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray witness to protest the police brutality that caused his death. Yvonne Hileman