In the Nov. 27, 2008 edition of Diverse, Dr. Betty Jeanne Taylor recounts in the “Lastword” a friendly dialogue with a Black student worker in the library at her institution. Their discussion concerned the book, White Guys, that Taylor was checking out. The student inquired if everything was not already about White guys.
Dr. Taylor used this story to introduce the idea that White students at predominantly White institutions do not question their racial identity or the privileges associated with being White in our society. When asked how about their feelings on being White, students responded with terms of “normal” and “American”. She offers that White students need to learn about their own race.
Later in the article Taylor comments that implications of affirmative action policies could be a factor in making White students more aware of their racial identity as this relates to personal perceptions of entitlements. Where do White students obtain this sense of entitlement? I would posit from family, friends, socialization, society and U.S. history.
The citing that White students become more conscious of their racial identity from affirmative action policies outlines what is obvious to many. Racial identity and race consciousness begins at different times for Black and White youngsters. This fact of life is expressed so well by Tim Wise in his work White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son. “Black people understand race long before White people do. They know how it shapes their lives … before they finish elementary school in most cases. And for every ounce of wisdom contained in the mind of a Black child barely 10 years old … there is a corresponding void in the mind of a similar White.
In the chapter “The Development of White Identity” from the book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Dr. Beverly Tatum recalls the response of a White participant at a workshop she was conducting when asked what her ethnic background was. The reply was “I am just normal.” Tatum related that for this participant Whiteness was the “unexamined norm.” This unexamined norm is so common place in our society it is possible for White individuals to reach adulthood without having to give significant consideration to their racial identity.
A Black person’s awareness of their racial identity and the accompanying implications provides many things. One is the knowledge that the playing field of life in our society is not level. This provides some fore knowledge regarding possible negative consequences for driving while Black, the inequalities of the criminal justice system as they relate to race, the inequalities of health care resulting in Whites live longer than Blacks in America, etc.
