In the recent polemics over “critical race theory” in schools, one question that has repeatedly come up is whether children should be taught about “white privilege.” A few months ago, for instance, such a controversy erupted in Mancelona, Michigan, where high school students were given an assignment on the subject as part of an English class unit on Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. Today, to suggest that this is not a concept that should be taught as fact, or to question whether white privilege exists in 21st-century America, is to risk accusations of “white fragility,” being in denial about the reality of racism, or being an actual racist—and to get lumped together with Donald Trump’s fan base and other aggrieved white people.
But it’s possible to recognize that racism (the “old-fashioned,” not “woke” kind) exists in America and to believe that the “white privilege” framework is an extremely misleading and even counterproductive way to talk about it.
Read Full Article »