Western Washington University Hosts Workshop on Role of ‘White Privilege’ in America

Western Washington University is hosting a workshop on reducing the impact of “white privilege,” according to a report on the university’s website.

The workshop, which will teach students about the role that white privilege supposedly plays in American society, will be led by white history professor Randall Jimerson.

In an email interview with The College Fix, Jimerson explained his motivations for setting up the workshop, citing a desire to reduce the impact of “white privilege.”

“I think the harmful effects of ‘white privilege’ are that it can reflect an insensitivity to the subtle effects of both racism and lack of awareness of the differences between how people of color and people called ‘white’ are treated in everyday life,” Jimerson wrote. “Not being aware that other people face daily, often subtle, discrimination can make white people insensitive to these debilitating effects.”

“Most people of color are aware of the existence of ‘white privilege,’ whether or not they have applied this term to the disparity between their experiences and those of white people,” he added. “Thus, I assume that the main focus will be on helping white participants to understand, explore, and accept (or reject) the concepts embedded in this phrase.”

Jimerson says that he hopes the workshop will help to reduce the impact of “white privilege” in daily interactions and increase “white consciousness” of the realities for minorities living in the United States.

When asked about the racial progress that has taken place in the United States since the 1960s, Jimerson suggested that there is much left to be done. He argued that because he is a white male, it would be unfair for him to speak on behalf of those afflicted by racism.

Although I think that the United States has made progress in some aspects of race relations — such as overt or legal segregation — recent evidence suggest we have a long way to go. These forms of evidence range from the racist attacks on former President Barack Obama, to documented incidents of excessive police violence towards people of color, to the increase of white supremacist organizations, and the only slightly veiled racism of many members of the Trump administration. These developments are seriously troubling for anyone who values concepts of fairness, equality, and social justice.

Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com