Skin Privileges

Just becuase you have lived under the effects of gravity all your life doesn't make you a particle physicist.
- Richard Feynman


We are marked by race in America. This significantly influences our social standing. Because of racial reasoning and prejudices, there are certain abilities and disabilities Americans are said to possess. whether or not any individual develops abilities or disabilities is in some part influenced by these expectations. Further, any individual's own abilities or disabilities are given heightened or diminished scrutiny for the same racial reasons. Blacks and whites playing into and around these dynamics often invoke authority based on such racial identities. Neither group is neutral. these are termed 'skin privileges'.

The most common use of skin privilege relates, not surprisingly, to the question of race and racism itself. Whitefolks will often say: 'I don't think of you as black, therefore I cannot be racist'. This implies that 'white' is racially neutral and by not thinking of race (or thinking of African Americans as socially 'white') absolves one of racist thoughts. Indeed it only serves to replace one racial fiction with another. The race man understands that in the American context, colorblindness is the moral equivalent of racism.

African Americans will often say; 'I am black, therefore I cannot be racist'. This too, implies that 'black' is neutral. This is incorrect.

Recognition of skin privileges is most important for people self-identified as white because, first and foremost, white people most often accept being white without much thought. And while there is no legal standing for white citizenship, there are social conventions originally determined by white supremacy, which slants things to benefit whites.

What do I mean by 'benefit'? Consider this list.

Black skin privileges work in a different way. Although there is limited reversal. The most egregious and common abuse is the 'blacker than thou' argument. Black folk often take it upon themselves to speak for or represent African Americans they know nothing about. (I run the risk of doing so in this very paragraph). Considering derrick bell's rules of racial standing, these can be very dangerous indeed.

As regards skin privileges, you can tell how heavily invested you are in the racist status quo of American social life to the degree you exercise (consciously or unconsciously) those privileges granted to you by virtue of your skin color. Simply because you are a part of this social fabric doesn't make you an irredeemable 'part of the problem', but awareness of how much of your social weight is individual vs. racial is an important first step for the race man.