White Male Privilege

By Mark Rosenkranz

What does the color White look like? In White Male Privilege, Mark Rosenkranz attempts to answer this question by exploring what it means to be white and male in today's world. Touching on subjects like white condescension, racism, sexism and discrimination, White Male Privilege stresses the importance of understanding that individuals have different perspectives, and it's these perspectives that color the way we think about the world around us.

Featuring interviews and citing his own experiences writing the book, Rosenkranz illustrates how White Male Privilege has permeated society and how we can overcome.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543947731

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by Mark Rosenkranz

Small Little Red Press

All rights reserved under international and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. With the exception of quotations in critical reviews or articles, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or in any information storage or retrieval system without the permission in writing from the publisher.

Paperback Edition ISBN-13 978-1-54394-772-4

EBook 978-1-54394-773-1

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

What Color Is White?

What Color Is Privilege?

The Political History of Whiteness

What Is White Condescension?

Reflectivity: Regarding Denial

From the Outside Looking In

Interview One: In the Past

Interview Two: Depends on Industry

Interview Three: Snow Cool

Interview Four: Silicon Valley

Interview Five: Buddy System

Interview Six: Ebonic Plague

Interview Seven: The Swann Experience

Interview Eight: In Overcorrection

Looking Back on What I Have Learned

Where Will the Future Take Us?

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

I want to give a special thanks to Dominic Nardy. I couldn’t have done it without your help. Craig Rochin, thank you for believing in me. Larry Lopez, thank you for your guidance. Mom, I’m grateful for all your help. I love and miss you mom! Last but not least, I want to give a special thank you to Rohina Fazil.

Introduction

White male privilege has been an integral part of American culture since the early days, after the arrival of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. In the post Civil War and post-civil rights years when blacks and whites were said to have become equal, white male privilege had been declared dead. Many of its incarnations however, are still practiced and taken for granted to this day.

Fifty two years after the untimely death of Martin Luther King Jr., America continues to harbor and deny its racial inequities. White male privilege may be seen by some people as a global issue, where white men have specific benefits based solely on gender and race. This issue is relevant even today as we progress into the twenty-first century. While not the most important issue America faces today, it’s given a multitude of issues that impact American citizens daily. White male privilege is a facet of racism that still exists in our society today. It provides at the least social, economic and political advantages to those at the top of the power hierarchy, which are white men. In my opinion however, many Americans falsely believe that this type of racism is a thing of the past.

When we look upon the faces of the youth of this nation, hope would suggest that America has overcome its inequities to set a brighter future for tomorrow. However, some would suggest that the same racial barriers have plagued this nation since the days of our Founding Fathers.

It took nearly two hundred years for America to remove government sponsorship of racism from legal institutions. Nevertheless, despite legal efforts, racism continues to be practiced behind the scenes. Through generational shaping of perspectives, white male privilege has shifted from an overt practice to a covert one.

Some Americans minimize the impact of racism on our society, denying the subtle undercurrents that have been embedded into our culture. Others argue that it no longer exists. Both viewpoints are valid for those who do not experience racism

Reviews for White Male Privilege

[a1abwriter · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The man was bold enough to write this yet it reads like an apology for being white. On some levels I think that is just as bad as being a racist. Everyone should be proud of their heritage and understand that "pride" is being proud of your ancestors. "prejudice" is believing that it makes you better than anyone else. This is a good book to start but could be a lot more in depth