I first learned about white privilege in high school from a visiting artist. She was originally brought in to "connect" with the 3 black boys in our tiny 14-person class in our incredibly white school. She changed my life, as a student and writer, but also as a person.
I was taught that I had power over my peers and it helped me understand what my peers were dealing with. But nobody ever taught me how to use that power to STOP what my peers were dealing with. And I feel like that issue is still not being addressed fully. "Racism is a white person problem" is a poignant way to say that this issue can only be solved by us, those in power. But even as I educate myself and others, I wonder if anything I am doing is actually helping when these privileges still tip the scales in my favor.
