Mrs. Boyd: Absolutely. If you’re looking for an excuse to fail, you’re probably going to fail. You don’t need any help from me or any other white person. You have to change the way you see yourself.
Mrs. Boyd not only laments what she previously described as a self-defeating mentality, but she also believes that the mentality, itself, is more real than racism. Without hesitation, Mrs. Boyd unflinchingly and unequivocally opined that the so-called victim mentality – harbored by people of color – posed a greater threat to racial equality than the existence of ongoing racial discrimination. A similar dynamic was at play when my conversational partners scoffed at the idea that whites were responsible for the inequitable living conditions faced by African
Americans and other people of color, today. Historically, racism in America has been associated with whites (Feagin and Vera, 2000), and in the mind of my conversational partners, broadly speaking, that is still the case today. Transitively, claims of racial victimization made by people of color are synonymous with claims of white racism. Thus, the vehement rejection of racial
victimization was, in part, fueled by my conversational partners’ need to defend themselves against charges of racism.
Scholars from a number of disciplines have shown that whites living in the contemporary United States hold a particular aversion to being labeled racist (Bobo and Klugel, 1993; Kimmel, 2013; Kinder and Sanders, 1997; Kinder and Sears, 1981; Sears, Van Laar, Carrillo, and
Kosterman, 1997; Mazel, 1998; Sniderman and Piazza, 1995; Solomo, Portelli, Daniel, and Campbell, 2005; Vaught and Castagno, 2008; Wise, 2013). Racism, particularly in the United States, is associated with the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other white nationalist groups that are overt in, and proud of, their hatred of the racial other. Correspondingly, many whites recoil at the notion that they, personally, could be associated with these and other white supremacists groups. This is a pattern that held true for my interview respondents. Throughout my fieldwork, many of the teachers I interviewed were humiliated and horrified by the thought of being accused of racism, or the charge that they engaged racially discriminatory behavior.
Racism is something that my conversational partners instinctively rejected, and it is something they denied as being relevant or meaningful to who they were as people. Thus, for my interviewees, excuse-making in the form of blaming whites was personal, as it labeled them as racists and challenged not only their integrity, but their moral worth, as well. Paige Vincent, for example, has been teaching in urban, predominantly black schools for 13 years, and to this day, she still struggles with the fact that many of her students, as well as their families, think of her as someone who does not like black people. In fact, it is a subject that caused her to get emotional during our interview, prompting me to ask if she was ok to continue.
Mrs. Vincent: I do this work because I want to do this work. I’ve always wanted to do this work. Being an educator is a big part of who I am. So when, um, you invest in kids, not money, but almost like yourself. You put yourself into these
kids and you want them to be successful, but then out of nowhere, almost without warning, bam, you’re a racist. A kid gets suspended, you’re a racist. A kid fails a test, you’re a racist. I’ve had kids show up after missing an entire month of
school, a month, only to have their mom call me a racist because I tell her how far he’s behind. It’s very hurtful, especially when you think you have a great
relationship with a kid and he calls you a racist. I mean, most of the time they’re just looking for an excuse, but getting called racist by kids you care about never gets easy to hear. It hurts every time (long pause).
After teaching in a predominantly black school for over a decade, Mrs. Vincent, to this day, still finds it “very hurtful” to be labeled a racist by her students. This is particularly the case when the student in question is one that she is close to and genuinely cares about. Even when it comes in the form of an excuse, Mrs. Vincent has a visceral reaction to being called a racist because she considers it to be an attack on her character. Similar to Mrs. Vincent, other interview respondents, too, considered racially-based excuses to be an accusation of white racism, but unlike Mrs. Vincent, they responded with anger and condemnation. Several teachers became visibly angry during this portion of the interview, chastising their black students and their students’ families as “unserious,” “lazy,” and “always looking to pass the buck.” On more than one occasion, I had a conversational partner explicitly refer to those making claims of racial victimization as “racial hustlers” or “the real racists.” In this sense, charges of racism were essentially a claim that all white people are racists, making the charge, itself, a racist generalization.
Blaming white racism for racial inequality, or “blaming the white man” for the personal failures of people of color – both considered to be racist forms of excuse-making – caused the majority of my conversational partners to become upset, angry, and frustrated. With few exceptions, the teachers I interviewed took claims of racial victimization personally, as if the existence of ongoing racial discrimination was indicative of white racism in general, as well as
an indictment of them as individual white people. Thus, when discussing racial victimization, the anger exhibited by my interviewees was authentic, and the collective frustration they showed resulted from a genuine confusion about how, or why, anyone could possibly think of or describe them in racist terms. Relatedly, my conversational partners had strong reactions to, and had much to say about, the idea of white privilege. Any insinuation that they, as white people,
enjoyed some sort of advantage by virtue of being white was met with strong resistance and stern condemnation. I discuss these responses below.
White Privilege
Sociologists Matthew Desmond and Mustafa Emirbayer (2010), define white privilege as the “collection of unearned cultural, political, economic, and social advantages and privileges possessed by people of Anglo-European descent or those who pass as such” (p. 40). Often dubbed “the other side of racism” (Kaufman, 2001; McIntosh, 1988; Rothenberg, 2008, p. 1), white privilege is systematic, benefitting all whites, whether they want it or not (Kaufman, 2001; McIntosh, 1988; Rothenberg, 2008). Although white privilege benefits all whites, it is important to note that all whites do not benefit in the same way (Frankenberg, 1993; Hartigan, 2003; Wray, 2006). For some whites, white privilege leads to economic success, while for others, the benefits accrued are more psychological in nature (Du Bois, 1935; Roediger, 1991). Still, even those whites who face disadvantage in other social categories, such as class, gender, or sexual orientation, remain privileged relative to people of color in similar demographic standing
(Hartigan, 1999; Weber, 2001; Wilson, 1987). While the research literature on white privilege is quite extensive, my conversational partners rejected the idea that their success resulted from anything other than their own ambition, hard work, and determination, particularly within a hyper-individualistic, ultra-competitive, and seemingly post-racial society.
Mary DeYoung, a high school teacher of 24 years, reacted physically when I broached the subject of white privilege. In response to my question about white racial advantage, she jolted forward in her seat and leaned in closer to me. Taking a sip of coffee at the time, Mrs. DeYoung began coughing and took a few minutes to catch her breath. After regaining her composure, Mrs. DeYoung wiped her eyes, which had tears forming as a result of her coughing, and repeated my question back to me.
Mrs. DeYoung: (wiping her eyes), I’m sorry about that. Q: No need to apologize. You’re fine.
Mrs. DeYoung: Has my race worked to my advantage?
Q: Yes. Do you feel that, at any point in your life, you benefitted from being