WORTH: A Resource for Transformative Action

In our society there is an unyielding ambivalence that results in our inability to confront the systems of privilege that maintain oppression. While examinations and discussions of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and religion occur in everyday life there is often a systematic negligence in connecting differences in identity to systems of privilege and oppression. In my role as the CEO and Founder of WORTH (Working Through Obstacles Reaching True Heights), I create transformative learning experiences to help individuals and institutions understand systems of privilege and oppression. These transformative learning experiences assist people in beginning the difficult work of dismantling systems of privilege and oppression. Thus, providing the catalyst for change.

Each of us has an identity that is shaped by personal characteristics, experiences, and culture. Our identities shape how we see ourselves and others. Our perceptions of others' identities shape how we treat them. Differences in identity are woven throughout our history and social and political culture. 

In America, our historical and social construct of race focuses on skin color - black vs white - resulting in racism and white privilege. On the basis of skin color, Black people have been relegated to the margins of mainstream society where segregation, discrimination, and prejudice hinder our economic opportunities, circumvent our political liberties, and deter our social rights. Racism operates at personal, institutional, and social levels to deny Black people access to rights and resources. Yet, Black people aren't the only ones affected by our nation's construct of race. White people have been coddled in the center of mainstream society where segregation, discrimination, and prejudice maintain their economic power, exaggerate their political liberties, and distort their social rights. White privilege gives white people access to rights and resources at personal, institutional, and social levels. 

Often used examples of white privilege include:

First-aid kits having “flesh-colored” Band-Aids that only match the skin tone of white people. 

The products white people need for their hair being in the aisle labeled “hair care” rather than in a smaller, separate section of “ethnic hair products.”

However, the effects of white privilege go beyond the inconveniences of shopping. They accumulate into structured and recurrent patterns of unequal distributions of goods, wealth, opportunities, rewards, and punishment. Let's consider another example of white privilege. White people are less likely to be followed, interrogated or searched by law enforcement because they look "suspicious". The 2015 Stanford University Open Policing Project found that in 19 of 24 states, Black people were more likely to be stopped than White people. After the stop, Black people were more likely to be searched in all but one of the states studied. After the search, Black people were more likely to be ticketed in all but two of the states studied. 

Through this example we learn how deeply intertwined identity is with discrimination. Skin tone affects an individual's likelihood of being stopped, searched, and ticketed. In this example, white privilege operates and maintains a structured and recurrent pattern in which White people are less likely to be stopped, searched, and ticketed by law enforcement.

It is important to identity and discuss how systems of privilege and oppression work in our society. But we should not stop there. WORTH utilizes a variety of engaging reflection tools that assist people in recognizing both personal and systemic bias in their lives. It is through reflection that we develop mutual respect. As this respect for others transforms personal relationships, so can it stimulate social change. It is our belief that the dismantling of an oppressive system begins with the transformation of individuals who are moved to action. Join me and my other panelist on April 14th and be transformed. https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190325/clintonville-church-examines-white-privilege-to-bridge-gaps

Reference List:

Collins, Cory. (2018). What Is White Privilege, Really? Recognizing white privilege begins with truly understanding the term itself. Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2018/what-is-white-privilege-really. (Issue 60, Fall 2018).

Fletcher, Michael A. (2018). For Black Motorists, a Never-Ending Fear of Being Stopped. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/the-stop-race-police-traffic/.