Opinion | White privilege: to dismantle it, we must first learn to identify it
- George Floyd’s death has led the Western world to examine the privilege it has accumulated through centuries of oppression of black and other non-white people
- Undoing the damage is an uncomfortable task that will take generations, but it starts by not looking away
On June 18, the Church of England and the Bank of England admitted to being complicit in hundreds of years of oppression of black populations across the world. It took these institutions centuries to come out of actively practised denial, so on that front, this is a historic moment.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the other hand, suggested it was unfair to “photoshop British history” when referring to the removal of statues of slave owners, as if they were somehow worth maintaining. This societal delusion and amnesia are ingrained in many white views of race issues today, aided by centuries of not having that world view challenged.
To have honest conversations about white privilege, there is a need for everyone (white or otherwise) to recognise what it is, acknowledge how widespread it is, and reflect on the damage it has done.
There is no running away from the large-scale impact resulting from European conquest of the world, which was predicated on the belief that White superiority must prevail in the world order.
Firstly, it must be understood that white privilege is a system that allows for white narratives to take hold globally and be actively spread. It is not restricted to the US and the systemic oppression of black people there. It is insidious, and it pervades many systems that govern how the modern world operates.
This globalisation of white privilege has allowed for the notion of superiority to be planted and enforced across the world, enabling other privileges to be born and old ones further enshrined.
