There are numerous kinds of institutionalized privilege

Discussion 3:Lessons in Privilege

There are numerous kinds of institutionalized privilege.  White is a primary one but not the only one.  When privileges intersect- such as class, race, gender, education- the individual with that privilege is at a strong advantage, but not always a winning one.  I think of Barack Obama as an example of an individual who won in an uneven playing field.  There are many other examples of breaking the privilege barrier.  One of my favorites is Maya Linn, who at the time when she won the competition to design the Washington Vietnam Veteran's Memorial was a 21 year old architecture student at Yale University. Click the link (in blue) to read about Maya Linn .   Link (Links to an external site.)

(In reading about Maya Linn, note the two medals that President Obama bestowed upon her)

Privilege isn't always as obvious as the achievements of Ms. Lynn or Barack Obama inspite of the odds against them. 

Privilege is often taken for granted such as assuming that the instructor will call on you first because you are white, and/or male or assuming that a sales person will treat you with respect  because you are again white but also the "right" age- neither too young or too old.

Phyllis Unterschuetz explains how she recognizes her privilege.

Watch the video by Phyllis Unterschuetz 

White Privilege- watch the following video

And lastly, sometimes there are opportunities to challenge privilege...

After reading about Maya Linn and watching the two short videos answer the following questions for PART A of the Discussion:

a) identify at least one piece of information from the article on Maya Linn which illustrates how she defied a significant privilege ordinarily denied to someone like her.  Be sure to briefly explain why your selection is relevant.

b) What was the privilege that Phyllis Unterschuetz had?  In your opinion is this a privilege recognized by most Americans?  Is recognition based more on whether you are privileged or denied the privilege?

c)Joy DeGruy describes an experience of privilege.  What was the privilege?  Did you agree with how it was handled by Joy DeGruy's sister-in-law?  Would you have responded differently?

For Part B of the Discussion be sure to respond to another student's post.