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Do you have white privilege according to Ifemelu from Americanah?

Ifemelu's Privilege Quiz

When you want to join a prestigious social club, do you wonder if your race will make it difficult for you to join?

When you go shopping alone at a nice store, do you worry that you will be followed or harassed?

When you turn on mainstream TV or open a mainstream newspaper, do you expect to find mostly people of another race?

\*question modified from your children to you

Do you worry that you\* will not have books and school materials that are about people of your own race?

If you swear, or dress shabbily, do you think that people might say this is because of the bad morals or poverty or illiteracy of your race?

If you do well in a situation, do you expect to be called a credit to your race? Or to be described as "different" from the majority of your race?

If you criticize the government, do you worry that you might be seen as a cultural outsider? Or that you might be asked to "go back to X," X being somewhere not in America.

If a traffic cop pulls you over, do you wonder if it is because of your race?

If you need legal or medical help, do you worry that your race might work against you?

When you use the "nude" color of underwear and Band-Aids, do you already know that it will not match your skin?

"...Privilege is always relative to something else" (Adichie 429). Although it can be uncomfortable to acknowledge, privilege exists. There can be class privilege, wealth privilege, gender privilege, race privilege, etc. Privilege suggests that you have some advantage, in this case, the advantage of skin color. Based on your answers, you do not experience the advantages of being white or perceived as white. As a result, you may be able to more closely identify with the experiences Ifemelu describes. You may also have faced discrimination or disadvantages because of your skin color. Lacking white privilege does not inhibit your ability to succeed in any way; however, there may be different obstacles for you to overcome along the way.

You do NOT have white privilege.

"...Privilege is always relative to something else" (Adichie 429). Although it can be uncomfortable to acknowledge, privilege exists. There can be class privilege, wealth privilege, gender privilege, race privilege, etc. Privilege suggests that you have some advantage, in this case, the advantage of skin color. This does NOT mean that you are racist or discriminatory; however, it does mean that due to how you look OR how you are perceived you have certain advantages that others do not because of your skin color. Privilege does NOT make you a bad person, but it is important to be aware of what privileges you have been afforded because of things outside of your control.

You DO have white privilege.

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Ifemelu's Privilege Quiz

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