New Ad Campaign Takes Aim At White Privilege, Says It’s ‘Unfair’ to Be White
Privilege. We talk about it quite a bit here on Clutch. White privilege, male privilege, middle-class black privilege, cisgender privilege—these are phrases we know well. While some argue over the validity of such privileges, a new campaign supported by the University of Minnesota-Duluth is taking aim at one in particular: White privilege.
According to the Un-Fair Campaign, racism won’t magically go away if we ignore it and white folks play a huge role in eradicating racial discrimination. The campaign aims to educate white people about the inherent privilege they possess and get them to recognize that ethnic minorities aren’t afford the same rights because they aren’t cloaked in white skin.
While the goal of the Un-Fair Campaign seems admirable, its critics have called it racist. But the University is unmoved. The Duluth chancellor issued a statement saying he supports the campaign because it will help “create an inclusive campus climate for all.”
Another supporter of the campaign is author and anti-racism activist Tim Wise who often challenges whites to examine their racial biases. Two years ago, Wise became a sensation when his “Letter to the White Right” went viral. In the letter Wise had a warning for paranoid white folks:
“For all y’all rich folks, enjoy that champagne. And for y’all a bit lower on the economic scale, enjoy your Pabst Blue Ribbon. Whatever the case and whatever your economic station know this – You need to drink up, and quickly and heavily because your time is limited.”
The Un-Fair Campaign has released a series of PSAs and videos of white folks discussing their privilege and when they realized something wasn’t quite right.
What do you think of the Un-Fair Campaign’s attempt to educate white folks on white privilege?
Lets see….
-I never got a scholarship because of my skin.
-I never got a helping hand from the state when I became a drug addict.
-I never was eligible for race specific programs despite being in same circumstances.
-My family never got a break in their circumstances good or bad.
I have never used EI, Welfare, or social services besides shelters, I have worked my way up from picking up pop cans to feed an addiction to starting a business. Said business got no breaks from my provincial government or grants because I am not a black businessman.
As someone who’s been in the same circumstances as poor blacks and natives while never getting race specific grants, indian status to not pay taxes, or band money, and has still come out ahead I have to say this whole ‘white privilege’ BS that people are throwing around is a complete joke. I’ve got nothing from the state other than a tax return and worked my way up from the literal bottom and yet all these non-white groups get breaks in education, education costs, grants, business start up, etc?
Sorry Charlie, no sale.
I think you should be judged on the content of your character, not the color of your skin.