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The myths that keep white privilege alive

by Melanie Ford
Zenith City Weekly

ccording to the Minnesota Department of Education’s 2009–10 State School Report Card, only 29 percent of American Indian, 35 percent of Latino, 28 percent of Black, and 60 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander eighth graders reached math proficiency, compared to 64 percent of White students. By twelfth grade, students of color were more likely to be a couple years behind.

In response to a growing body of research linking health and economic growth to policies intended to reduce racial disparities, the Minneapolis–based Organizing Apprentice Project (OAP) issued policy briefs about racial equity in Minnesota.

The OAP contends educational disparities are caused by structural and institutional racism, not intelligence or socioeconomic status, and it will require public will and effective leadership to close the achievement gap.

I attended a discussion led by the Saint Paul Foundation and sponsored by the Duluth YWCA, about a theory proposed by Peggy McIntosh, an anti–racism activist from the Wellesley Centers for Women near Boston, who holds a PhD in education from Harvard.

McIntosh believes White people are raised on five cultural myths that make us feel good about ourselves and which override and discredit any counter–evidence:

[Ed. note: This section has been altered from the original to include the "myth of meritocracy," which was accidentally cut from the print version. We apologize for the omission.]

Meritocracy. Every individual is responsible for his or her own destiny, not influenced by society or circumstance. This allows denial of any systems of oppression or privilege.

Manifest destiny. God gave White people the land that formed the United States. This allows denial that we live on land taken from indigenous people whose culture and existence White people sought to destroy.

White "racelessness." White people are "normal" and set the standard for what it means to be human; non–Whites have "race," which causes problems for them and for us.

Monoculture. There is only one American culture and when people of color don’t assimilate, they aren’t behaving appropriately.

White moral elevation. White people are in charge of the world and entrusted with power. This justifies a sense of "internalized superiority" when encountering those of other races.

I was raised in schools where the teachers and staff were mostly White. American history books failed to discuss the policies and laws that resulted in prosperity for Whites, but limited wealth for others.

They may have taught about slavery, but not about the African nations and cultures from which people were taken. They mentioned Native tribes of the Americas, but not the values and beliefs of their members.

Did those books perpetuate racelessness, monoculture, and moral elevation when I learned about White Europeans, but not about more recent immigrants from Asia, Central and South America, or the Middle East?

To begin to close the achievement gap in Minnesota schools, we should demand that our leaders face race and understand the reality of hierarchical systems.

If all races and cultures are valued in policies and practices, these myths will not be perpetuated and we can do right for our future generations.

For more information, see Peggy McIntosh’s White People Facing Race: Uncovering the Myths That Keep Racism in Place (St. Paul Foundation, 2009).

Melanie Ford is a lawyer in Duluth. She is on the Board of Directors of Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Inc. and a community representative on the steering committee of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Both groups work to eliminate racism and the disparate impact of political, social, and governmental policies on people of color.

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