Tapestry of Faith: Building the World We Dream About: An Anti-racism Multicultural Program

Handout 1: White Privilege

Adapted from a piece originally published in Weaving the Fabric of Diversity (Boston: UUA, 1996).

If I am a White person in America:

I can turn on my television or watch a movie and see many images of people of my race in a wide variety of roles, including many positive and heroic ones.

I can apply for a home mortgage and know that I will not be turned down because of my race.

I can apply for a small business or personal loan and know that I will not be turned down because of my race.

I can engage a realtor to buy or rent a home and know that no properties will be withheld from my consideration because of my race.

I am surrounded by images that suggest that God and other Biblical figures are White like me.

I will learn in school that the history of our country is largely the history of my people written from the perspective of people of my race.

I can walk into virtually any pharmacy or similar retail store and find cosmetics and hair care products appropriate for my skin and hair.

I am unlikely ever to be asked to speak for my race.

It is unlikely that I will ever be in a situation where I am the only person of my race.

I can browse in a store without being followed or arousing suspicion because of my race.

I will never be stopped, frisked, arrested, or abused by police solely because a person of my race is a suspect in a crime in the area.

I can be hired for a job and not have co-workers assume I was hired because of racial preference/affirmative action.