Our society was built upon the superiority of one race over another. We can’t talk about oppression without talking about race and gender. When certain groups of people are seen as superior to others, for whatever reason, an oppressive system results for those not in the dominant group. We live in such a system and we want to do our part to change it.
Privilege exists when one group has something that is denied to others, simply because of their place in the social hierarchy. Hierarchical structures can help families, communities, and businesses run smoothly. The problem is that they can also set up a system where some people are considered more valuable than others AS PEOPLE. The wealthy class in our society started with the white ruling class so white people end up with the most advantages or privilege.
The NRA (National Rifle Association) spends millions of dollars per year. But it’s not just money that gives it power to lobby successfully. The group has been able to use its money to influence and swing elections that resulted in elected officials that are pro-gun and who work to support NRA efforts. It’s become a central political issue.
One of the ways that privilege operates unfairly is through our government, including the supposedly neutral Supreme Court. We discuss Judge Loading as one reflection of how the courts have been skewed toward white privilege with biased judges. There is some hope for the future with Ketanji Brown Jackson and the other women on the Supreme Court, all strong and progressive and important voices in a sea of backward thinking.
We also took a closer look at the hard work and great expectations of First Ladies; these women are behind the most powerful men in the world and are both powerful, and oppressed. But now we have A Female VP, Vice President Kamala Harris, so progress is slow but sometimes happens.
While some white people experience more privilege than others, even at the bottom of the white hierarchy, people have more privilege than those who are not white. Other factors such as class, gender, and ability intersect to move us up or down in the overall hierarchy (check out Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work). Our basic teachings and beliefs about society’s unjust and oppressive hierarchical structure trickle over to all areas. Once we see it, we have a responsibility to work to change it.
A Deeper Look:
The indigenous people here when the European conquerors arrived and started establishing colonies had to fight to defend their land and their families from powerful people who betrayed them many times over. We take a look at how the patriarchy showed up and dismantled some of the First Peoples’ successful Matriarchal Societies.
Our country committed many crimes against Native Americans including disrespecting their names and other parts of their culture. Their homeland, their ways of life and even their very being were threatened and erased. This is what happened with tribes like the Lakota , who we renamed out of ignorance and disrespect. The things we must unlearn and relearn correctly are deep.
Imagine looking up from your land and seeing gigantic faces of your oppressors every day. This is true for Native Americans who live near those Monuments to Power we call Mt. Rushmore and Stone Mountain. There is plenty of Confederate Symbolism left over from the days of slavery that haunt us all to this day. This reflects the basic conflicts in this great nation of ours: capitalistic triumph vs. obliteration of people.
After the land was taken by force from its inhabitants, slaves were bought and sold to build our homes and country.
homes, agriculture, and families were built and strengthened by Black slaves who worked with little to no acknowledgement and were gravely abused and mistreated. This is the epitome of hierarchy gone wrong. A recent example of this is Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighbor, Ukraine. We discuss the impact of the violence war produces when we look at what happens After War. Is it ever worth it?
Russia is not the only power eager to conquer other countries and people. US Imperialism has been a cause for concern, and some wars, from the founding of this country to the present day.
The legacy continues today as the wealthy ruling class maintains its position and extreme inequality exists all around us. The result has been the centering of white folks and the oppression of others. One view, that we discuss in one of our episodes is that AntiSemitism is fueled by the White Nationalist View that sees Jews as funding and encouraging all of the underprivileged and marginalized groups.
Multimillions are also poured into promoting Islamophobia by a network of misinformation experts. They work to create prejudice and discrimination among the general population which creates a dangerous environment for our Muslim population.
The focus on wealth in our society continues to result in unfair practices from where ‘others’ can live and work, to how they are treated in school and our criminal justice system in which people of color are largely overrepresented. Workers are often given little compensation or acknowledgment for the work they do to keep society moving. In addition, the lack of cultural understanding and competence in many fields including medicine and mental health has created barriers for African Americans and others who have reached out for services and had negative experiences.
How is our Democracy Status right now? Not good. The longstanding institutional bias toward White Nationalist power in our government is insidious. This includes the reduction of voting rights . We talk about the many Laws Against Voting that have been introduced since the 2016 election. Plus, the problem with the Filibuster and the rise of Super PACS which negatively impact politics and elections, and therefore, our Democracy. There’s a lot of Dark Money influencing these Super Pacs and other political agendas.
How can we vote to change those policies? Even when citizens try to, it’s frustrating to find that the majority has chosen one candidate only to see the other one win the Electoral College and becomes President. This is very disenfranchising. Another way to interfere with fair and free elections, that’s been on the increase is the Intimidation at the Polls, including following voters and making threats against them when they’re trying to exercise their right to vote.
Part of the issue has to do with the complex topic of First Amendment Rights which includes Free Speech and the freedom to express negative feelings about others including the government. This doesn’t include putting others in real danger, including our democracy. We reflect on the threat of the White Minority Takeover of this country. That threat is becoming more and more real.
Our Religious Freedom is at stake. Ever since the insurrection attempt of January 6, 2021, Sedition has also become a serious concern in this country. Insurrections didn’t start in 2021. What happened then was just another episode of white supremacy rearing its ugly head.
Our rights continue to be chipped away with changes being made under our radar, even by the Supreme Court, such as lowered requirements for giving Miranda Rights to suspects during arrest. In Rethinking Policing we reimagine what community and public safety could look like.
Steps We Can Take:
The fact that we have white privilege says more about society than it does about us personally. What defines us is what we do with the privilege that we have. People with privilege often don’t even know they have it. Becoming more aware and doing the personal work to change is an important first step. We also have a responsibility to continually look for the places of our privilege, change within our own spheres of influence (our families, workplaces, schools, etc), and work to be part of larger systemic change. This involves learning how we contribute to the oppression of others based on our privilege and changing our patterns of exclusion, discrimination, and violence.
Be in Power With and not in Power Over others. As a professor at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia as well as a clinician, Dr. Cheryll Rothery teaches psychologists and other mental health practitioners about how to create safe spaces in our clinical practices for African American women. Most of what she says about this can be applied to other settings as well: 1. Make practices a more welcoming place for people of color by including diversity in artwork, magazines and music as well as working with a more diverse staff on every level. 2. When working with African American people, be authentic and genuine. 3. Do not dismiss or minimize anyone’s perception that they have experienced racism in any form. 4. Know that healthy cultural mistrust is not ‘resistance’ and can only be overcome by establishing rapport, building trust, and practicing your ability to be in power with the person, not in power over them. Listen in: A Healthy Mistrust of the Profession
With so much unpredictable violence, disease, and political change swirling around us, many of us feel overwhelmed on a regular basis. How to cope?! Check out our conversation about Coping with Terrorism in which we introduce several coping skills for managing terror.
Voices:
LaChan and Michael Hannon work to educate parents, teachers, and administrators about issues related to race, disability, education, and parent-teacher involvement. LaChan is a culturally responsive teacher leader and educator. We had a meaningful conversation about how she teaches her children to navigate white spaces such as school and the classroom at Black Mothering for White Spaces. Together, this team of professional parents developed the nonprofit organization, Greater Expectations Teaching and Advocacy Center for Childhood Disabilities, Inc. GETAC is dedicated to providing support resources to families and children living with developmental disabilities and the professionals who serve them. Learn more at Getac.org. You can also listen in on our conversation with Dr. Michael and LaChan Hannon in our podcast On Education and Race.
Dr. Jade Logan, Assistant Professor at Chestnut Hill College, lets us in on what it’s like for her, as a professional Black clinician and supervisor, to teach cultural competence to psychologists of varied races and backgrounds. We hate to think of people in our Our profession has pathologized minority people, leading many to feel skeptical of what psychiatry and psychology have to offer them. One way to help counteract this is multicultural competence in counseling, supervision, and training. Training and supervision of mental health professionals needs to include multicultural competency training. Join us for an engaging conversation: Teaching MultiCultural Competence
Samuel Reed III (aka Reed) and Ismael Jimenez are two core members of the Teacher Action Group – TAG. Most TAG members are full-time teachers but the group also includes nurses, counselors, and allies of public education from all types of learning environments who believe that education is essential to the preservation of civil and human rights and is a tool of human liberation. Reed is a teacherpreneur with many accomplishments who has decided to put his current primary efforts into helping promote economic and financial empowerment. Ismael, recently spearheaded the founding of the Philly Hub for Liberatory Academics which received a Bread & Roses COVID organizing grant to curate liberatory educational content. Liberatory education centers around consciousness-raising principles for social change and liberation. Both of these teachers shared their unique perspectives on social justice in our episode on Education Activism.
James Wadley, PhD, has had years of practice unpacking intersectionality and multiple forms of systemic oppression. When he did not feel there was space for him at the table, he made his own space both at the table and beyond. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships and the founder and Principal of the Association of Black Sexologists and Clinicians. Listen in to our conversation with him: How Power is Constructed
Dr. Roy Eidelson wrote about a framework for understanding how the rich and powerful (the 1%), use our vulnerabilities to contribute to inequality and injustice. They bombard us with false information until some of us start to believe it. He wrote about it in his book entitled Political Mind Games: How the 1% manipulate our understanding of what’s happening, what’s right, and what’s possible. Here’s our conversation with Roy: It’s a Dangerous World