Comment

My Black Privilege

By

This is a guest post by a friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous. The reason he wants to be anonymous is because he is afraid of being called a racist.

Originally this was going to be a stand-alone guest post, but when he saw the theme of the June Synchroblog, wanted to write for that instead.

If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Black PrivilegeI am black.

And I am better than white people.

It’s true.

No, I may not be better than every white person in every way, but I am better than most white people in some ways.

And that is my black privilege.

What ways?

When I was twelve, I could dunk a basketball while my white friends could barely touch the bottom of the net. When we picked teams, I always got picked first. Through high school, I was the star of my basketball team, and as a result, got a free ride to college. Most of my white friends had to work their way through college. We all got our degrees, but I got mine debt-free.

I didn’t get straight A’s in college, but who cares? When we graduated, some of us applied for the same job at a local company, and even though my grades were worse than some of my white friends, I got hired. It might have been because I’m black, but I doubt it. I just have a better personality than most white people. I can get almost anyone to laugh and smile. That goes a long way in a job interview.

And what about rhythm and style! Have you seen the way white people dance and dress? I know it’s a racial stereotype, but it’s true: white people can’t dance! And I always look better in my suit than my white friends who have a similar suit. I wear it better. I walk in it better. I just look better.

None of this is racism. It’s just true. I don’t hate white people for what their ancestors did to my ancestors, and I’m tired of people telling me I should. I don’t hate it that some white people are better than me at swimming, politics, or office management. That’s their thing. Many Asians are good at manufacturing and inventing, and Jewish people are good at making money. So what?

Why do we always think that everybody has to be good at everything? Why can’t we all just celebrate the diversity we each have and stop coveting the strengths and abilities of others?

Having a cultural or racial strength doesn’t make one culture or race better than others. It just makes us different. And that’s a good thing. It means we need each other.

I have black privilege and I am proud of it. If you are white, or Asian, or Jewish, you should recognize your areas of privilege and celebrate them. Don’t apologize. Have a party! And when you do, invite me over; I’ll make your party better.

Here are the list of other contributor’s to the June Synchroblog:

The newsletter includes a weekly blog digest
and the monthly newsletter with exclusive news and offers. This month's offer is a
free copy of my eBook
The Skeleton Church.

How Frequently Do You Want to Receive Blog Posts?
Daily Blog Posts
Weekly Post Summary
BOTH Daily Posts AND Weekly Summary

In Guest Posts
permalink
  • http://www.shiann-metheny.com/ Shiann

    “I’ll make your party better…” That one made me chuckle. 

    Interesting thinking in this post. Still ruminating. Glad you shared it

    • Author of this Post

      Let me know if you have reservations about what I wrote….

  • Mark Brown

    It’s true!  I couln’t dunk the ball until I was like, 20!  Even then it was a fairly unimpressive style-lacking white man’s dunk… kind of like my dancing! 

    To further hinder my dancing, I’m Canadian.  My American mother-in-law says it must be the colder climate that slows our blood circulation throughout our bodies (she’s prob. thinking mostly the brain), which slows our life style down…

     Then again, I didn’t grow up in any Canadian city, but rather between two native villages… and that’s a whole other story of racial/cultural “differences” which make me so priviledged too! (can’t resist one more personal scenario:  my folks were born and raised in Texas, and I’m married to a “Yankee” from Pennsylvania.  GASP!  Ah, they love her.  Jesus keeps telling them they have to!)

    So, according to the above post, isn’t  it true that you can be a positive racist?  Embracing and enjoying the differences of all our races/cultures to make us more “cultured”?

    I’ve got so much more on this… but the hard driving work pace of my Canadian employment is demanding my attention.
    Fun stuff though.
    See ya’ll before the throne of the Lamb (with every tribe, tongue and nation)… a good church congregation.
    - M.

    • Author of This Post

      Hmm. A postive racist. The word racist is so negative. But I see what you are getting at.

      Every tribe, tongue, and nation…. so true.

  • Mark Brown

    I’m still finishing the latest (I think) biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (by Eric Metaxas – sp.?).
    Early on in his young adult life (ie. before the war), he went to seminary in N.Y. city.  He tried several churches before deciding to fellowship predominantly with an ”African American” congregation (and teacher(s), of course).
    Not surprisingly, he fell in love with the music.  Being very musically talented himself (I’m pretty sure he had rythm too… just a diff. style of it perhaps) he learned many of the “negro” spirituals, well enough to teach them to his students back in Germany for as long as he was able.

    He had been able to take an extended trip to the south (right through the southern U.S. border) as well.  He learned of the prejudice/negative racism first hand, and the beginning of the civil rights movement.
    In a letter to a close friend back in Germany, he even expressed thanks that there was no such “racial profiling” back in his homeland!  This less than a decade before one of the world’s worst genocides.

    He himself had grown up with several close Jewish friends (his sister married one).  They were all of a very “cultured”, priviledged and educated societal mix.

    Scary how quickly things can change.  As our (Canadian) minstrel poet Bruce Cockburn penned:  “The trouble with NORMAL is, It always gets worse!”  (emphasis mine… sort of his too though)

    - M.

    • Author of this Post

      Things can change quick. But if we all celebrate the things that make us unique, we can ward off hating and killing each other.

      I was about to say that Germans don’t have rhythm…. but then I remembered that some people like Mozart and Bach. So maybe they have their own style of rhythm.

      • Mark Brown

        Yes, more than a few people have appreciated the classic composers (ie. symphonies, classical pianists, etc.).  There are quite a few from the German heritage to be sure; Beethoven and Handel (originally)  were as well, I think. 
        Handel, for sure had a strong faith in the Almighty Creator and our Redeemer (note the Messiah).

        The composer Wagner (known mostly for operas) was mentioned in the Bonhoeffer biography as well… it seems Hitler favored Wagner’s work and even befriended the late composer’s descendents.  
        Not surprisingly, I found this in Wikipedia:  ” Wagner’s views on conducting were also highly influential. His extensive writings on music, drama and politics have all attracted extensive comment in recent decades, especially where they have antisemitic content.”

        Well, have I sufficiently bored your black self yet?  Ha, ha.
        With much jovial affection (even my words sound so white, eh?),
        Word up (better?),
        Mark

  • http://missionallendale.wordpress.com/ Joey Espinosa

    I’m Hispanic & Jewish. My biggest privilege is that I get to make a lot of jokes about Hispanic & Jewish people.

    And I love it when they do the same around me.

    • Author of this Post

      Ha! Yeah, we blacks are the only ones who get to make jokes about black people. Think Chris Rock…

  • http://desertspiritsfire.blogspot.com/ leah

    I love this post, and stereotypes aside, what your guest said tends to be true. Please thank him… peace!

    • Author of this Post

      I’m here! Thank you.

  • Sam

    A fun post!  My wife and I lived in black neighborhoods the first five years we were married.  That was just a few years after the end of segregation.  We’ve always enjoyed our black friends.  The post does not come across as racist to me.

    • Author of this Post

      Thanks. To be honest, I wasn’t too concerned about white people thinking this was racist, but other black people.

  • http://www.tillhecomes.org Jeremy Myers

    Thanks for all the comments everybody. The unnamed author of this post thinks it is interesting that his comment avatar is white…. I honestly don’t know why he didn’t get the blue image like the rest of you.

    • Taco Verhoef

      I see them all white ?

      • http://www.tillhecomes.org Jeremy Myers

        You do? I see your avatar as a roll of dollar bill toilet paper…. 

  • ckuniholm

    I love this – and am reminded of friends who make me laugh, keep the party moving, and add all kinds of color to my life. 
    Sometimes we work so hard at being PC we forget that there are real strengths to every heritage – spicy food in some, love of nature in others, rich language in many, centuries of shared wisdom other cultures may lack. 

    The danger is when we box people into our stereotype – if you’re good at basketball, you’re probably bad at physics, right? And if you’re a team player (as most women are, according to the stereotypes)  you’d make a crummy CEO. 

    And what happens to the black kid who really can’ t play bball? (I know him). And the Italian girl who doesn’t like to raise her voice? (I know her too). Or the Jewish kid not remotely interested in money (another valued friend). We need to hold our stereotypes lightly – and allow plenty of room for people who are simply themselves.

    One other thought, though: being good at something is not the same as privilege. Privilege is when you get a spot on the bball team, whether you’re the best or not. It’s when your people make the rules, run the game, decide who gets to play and how much each player is paid.

    • Author of this Post

      Interesting distinction. I suppose it is true. But how do we know when someone really got a job, or really got the starting position, just because of a bias? Might it be that we have the bias toward that person and are looking for excuses as to why we got passed over?

      • ckuniholm

        That’s when we look at the trends – and who is making the decisions. So – right now 5 of 500 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are African American. Are we willing to say white men are that much better at running big companies? 7 Latinos, 7 Asians, 12 women (two of them are Asian). So – 47o of the 500 CEOs are white men.  Just sayin-

        • Author of this Post

          No, I am not ready to say that.

          But the numbers are probably similar for black domination of professional basketball and football, and many of these players are paid just as well as business CEOs.

          Are we willing to say that black men are that much better at running plays and scoring big? Yes, I am ready to say that.

          And there is nothing inferior about being good at sports versus being good at running a business. Each requires a different set of skills and abilities. And both can make a person rich and successful.

          I am a believer in affirmative action in the work force, but what do you think would happen to your favorite NFL team if they started affirmative action for white people?