Generational wealth accumulation a result of ‘white privilege’
As a Black American male, I am neither ignorant of nor unaffected by the racism that has driven this country since its foundation; and has shown forth countless times in countless situations during the course of my life.
Some people would dispute that there is such a thing as “white privilege.” If there is such a thing as white privilege, what does it look like?
I am one of 10 children of a mother who was widowed at the age of 47, with six of those children — aged 8 to 18 — still living at home. As a result, at the age of 12, I took a job as a shoeshine boy to do my part in helping the family survive, working four days a week after school and all day on Saturdays. I later worked a number of other odd jobs while growing up.
I went to college on a hope, a wing and a prayer. I remember one semester having a White roommate whose dad was president of a bank in the affluent Chicago suburb of Homewood, Illinois. He drove a Pontiac GTO, one of the hottest cars at the time, around campus. This was in the late 1960s.
As a work-study student struggling to make ends meet, I couldn’t even imagine being where he was socioeconomically.
I am a first-generation professional, and not because my mom and dad weren’t smart enough to be professionals. It’s just that it was a little difficult to achieve professional, or white collar, status when the “separate but equal” system that they had to endure limited their educational advancement to eighth grade. And there was a “glass ceiling” on professional jobs for Black citizens.
I have White friends who are third- and fourth-generation professionals. What does that translate into? Money — and what it will secure — that has accumulated for several generations.
That leads me to ask: Who came up with the concept that, because of affirmative action and civil rights laws in place today the playing field is now level? My guess: Probably some third- or fourth-generation professional White guy.
So, what is “white privilege?”
Well, hopefully I have provided some insight into one aspect of it, but be assured that in no way am I suggesting that I’ve covered the full spectrum of the topic.