There’s only so much that changing the way we as individuals think can do, which is what this article suggests. I understand that we shouldn’t give them more power than they really have over us. However, when a wall is real in your mind AND it’s also sitting right there in front of you at every turn (or several turns at least), even though other people may not be able to see it, means that it needs to be knocked down; positive reinforcement (thinking positively) isn’t going to make it go away.

We have to look at the world around us, see white privilege and the systems and practices that favor whiteness at our expense for what they are, and think, plan, and act. Changing the way we think about oppression and white prilivege is definitely a stepping stone but those of us who are beyond this step and constantly checking ourselves on it know that, again, for lack of a better phrase, socio-politically there’s more to it.

“Do we lack power because we see ourselves as a weak, powerless ‘minority?’ And do whites have disproportionate power because they see themselves, falsely, as the majority and thus powerful and in control, projecting that power and that control into the minds of others who then automatically assume second class status?”

White privilege is real and as a race we and our allies and nation are not yet angry or serious enough about changing the power dynamic obviously. Or are you saying that white privilege exists only in our heads too and doesn’t really exist in reality because we’re all so oppressed that we’ve made it up?

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our mind.”

Truer words have never been said.