The inevitable injustice that accompanies privilege is exacerbated when the privileged don’t acknowledge that they have more social access than others AND that said access comes at the expense of another groups’s well-being. Check out this graphic representation of how one teacher taught the class how to examine their privilege — and how it affects others.

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There comes a moment when we are all confronted with our own privilege. And yes, it can be very challenging to accept and acknowledge this privilege — but the way we react when confronted says a lot about us. Check out this poem by Andrea Gibson about a moment when fellow poet Sonya Renee called them out for their white privilege and about how they reacted.

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White privilege is a concept that far too many people misunderstand. People of color aren’t unfairly discriminated against, the argument goes; they are just unwilling to work hard to get ahead. But structural inequality disproves that. Here are just a few of the things that are more than likely to be true if one happens to have been born white in America.

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About one year ago, I lost my job. The 6 months it took me to find a new position changed me, and maybe more importantly, it informed my feminism. It also brought me face-to-face with my own privilege. Having a “career” instead of a “job” is a privilege. Benefits, health insurance, and a living wage are all privileges, too – and I no longer take them for granted.

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Recently I got an angry e-mail from someone who knows my parents pretty well, and had read something I had written about privilege. “How disrespectful can you be!? You’re spitting in the face of everything your parents have worked for.” I explained that acknowledging privilege doesn’t discredit any of my dad’s hard work. It simply puts that hard work in context.

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Our social movements have failed to reach a transformational level of change. In part, this is due to how we don’t address our own privilege or prioritize supporting and lifting up marginalized voices to the social change table. And until we do, our work will not achieve lasting structural changes – where those being impacted are leading the fight for their own communities, supported by allies.

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In my work, I’m regularly asked, “What can I do? I know that injustice exists, but I feel so powerless. I want to help!” Many folks of privilege struggle to figure out how to act for justice. More often than not, those who are denied access, voice, privilege, and justice in dominant culture know exactly what they need to do. So to that point, my answer to their question is always the same: “Listen.”

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