McIntosh, P. (2003). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. In S. Plous (Ed.

),
Understanding prejudice and discrimination (pp. 191-196). New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill.

1. As a white individual I both agree and disagree with McIntosh’s statement. In all my
schooling, both in a public highly diverse elementary school and a private nearly all white
high school, white privilege was never mentioned by a teacher, and the concept of
privilege was never explained. When attending an inner-city school district, I was very
much aware of the privilege I’ve been given, and always grateful, and for this reason it
came as a shock to me that I was one of few. My High School, although no one meant
any harm, was extremely ignorant in this matter, and made no effort to try and
understand the meaning and significance behind the term white privilege. Although I
believe it is crucial to explain what white privilege, or any privilege, is, I do believe there
is a specific way to go about this. I do not believe that telling children from a young age
that they or their families are in some way responsible for some of the horrors that have
happened throughout history is fair or helpful. Young students, particularly before
learning in depth about events such as slavery and the holocaust, will not be able to
understand “seeing (themselves) as oppressor(s) or as a participant in a damaged
culture” (McIntosh, 2003, p.1)
2. One of the fifty “daily effects of white privilege” that stood out to me was “I can turn on
the television, or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely
represented” (McIntosh, 2003, p.2) This effect is not one I tend to think about often, so
reading it made me realize how true it really was. When people think of racial issues
they think of violence and someone’s inability to feel safe. Rarely do we consider that
lack of representation is not only hurtful, but to a certain degree, harmful to society as
well. If a child grows up in a predominantly white neighborhood, they will never fully
recognize how many people the “minority” population makes up. TV is also white
washed because throughout history, paler skinned individuals were known as more
beautiful, and the lack of diversity in media reflects that we have not changed our
mindsets very much. Another point, that I immediately related specifically to music, is
that “I can be sure my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the
existence of their race” (McIntosh, 2003, p.2) As a music community, particularly at the
college level, we almost only learn music written by white males. Although some
consider this a coincidence, I like to consider what would occur if someone where to
audition into a school of music with an African Tribal piece. Many might debate but the
result is simple, it does not matter how well they perform. The piece would not be
considered “professional” and be frowned upon, and the student would be denied entry.
If our colleges operate with such a closed mindset, how might students then go on to
teach with an open one? Lastly, “I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color
and have them more or less match my skin” (McIntosh, 2003, p.2) Although similar to
the first effect I chose to discuss, I think about this quite often. The first time this was
called to my attention was when I realized that dance tights and many shoes only come
in one “flesh” color. As I grew older, I began noticing that many objects meant to match
one’s skin only came in one color, white.
3. Specifically within music, the major daily effect I see is that my children’s curriculum will
always be directed towards their race. Most songs sung in schools are from early North
America, written by white men, and many even have underlying themes of racism and
prejudices. The aspect that bothers me the most about this, however, is that music, and
music education specifically claims to be progressive. How can a community as large as
the Music Education community generally claim to be progressive if many refuse to
provide a diverse education. Also, when and how can we decide that classical, baroque-
style music is not the only complex, and professional, true, music. I am a strong believer
in breaking standard education guidelines in order to provide future students with a
better education, and I believe that this is only the beginning to equality in the music
classroom.