Appalachia + LeBron James Doesn’t Disprove White Privilege

White pain can co-exist with white advantage — in fact, the two are more connected than you think

US Department of Agriculture, Flickr, public domain

When you write about racism and discuss the issue of white privilege, it’s never long before someone decides to challenge the existence of the latter by introducing you to the concept of poor white people, as if you had never heard of them.

The suggestion, I gather, is that since many white people are poor — indeed, worse off, economically than some Black people — either white privilege is a myth, or at the very least, it isn’t worth discussing.

The former is a challenge about facts, while the latter is more a challenge about strategy, or so it seems.

The second bunch doesn’t necessarily deny that, on balance, there are advantages to being white in the U.S. and Europe. But they appear concerned that by focusing on that, especially in the face of white economic pain, progressives might undermine their cause, dividing people who should be united to undo systems of racial and economic subjugation.

Although I disagree with the assumption of this group — that discussing white privilege by necessity undermines class solidarity — I can respect the impulse whence it comes. As such, I will…