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Race, Class, Gender and Crime Community Syllabus

Privilege - Class Definition

Wheel of power and privilege

Image: sylviaduckworth on Flickr with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license

With the understanding that privilege can exist in everyone and in just about any instance - we can understand how white privilege exists and how it has negatively affected many people who are not white. Recognizing how history plays a huge role in the upbringing of these privileges, we can identify the socioeconomic factors, as well as the socioeconomic standing that demystifies how white privilege has negatively impacted people in America and sets them up for involvement in the Criminal Justice system. The following concepts are discussed: Defining Privilege and Recognizing when you have it, Privilege in terms of class, race, and gender, and economics.

Suggested Readings

  • Blacksher, E., & Valles, S. A. (2021). White privilege, white poverty: Reckoning with class and race in America. Hastings Center Report, 51, 51–57. 3
  • Buchanan, N. H. (2020). White privilege: What it is, what it is not, and how it shapes American discussions of policing and historical iconography. University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, 31(1), 99-136.
  • Fath, S., Ma, A., & Rosetta S. A. (2022). Self-views of disadvantage and success impact perceptions of privilege among white men. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 169, 104- 114.
  • Fluri, J. L., Hickcox, A., Frydenlund, S., & Zackary, R. (2020). Accessing racial privilege through property: Geographies of racial capitalism. Geoforum.
  • Ornstein, A. (2007). Class counts: Education, inequality, and the shrinking middle class. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  • Perlmutter, T. (2010). Power and privilege: Why justice demands more than diversity. National Lawyers Guild Review, 67(4), 245-255.
  • Ryde, J. (2019). White privilege unmasked: How to be part of the solution. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • Wildman, S. M. (1996). Privilege revealed. New York University Press.

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Discussion Questions

  1. Why is there such a disconnect in understanding white privilege and how is it detrimental for non-white individuals involved in the criminal justice system?
  2. How does white privilege affect someone's education, housing/economic status, and success in terms of the American Dream - if they have the privilege versus not having it?
  3. Do you think it is possible for America to be a place that generates and ensures the same amount of privilege and justice among everyone, and if not what is a solution?
  4. Other than white privilege, what are other examples of privilege that exist in our society, what are solutions to avoid advantages that come along with them?
  5. How does white privilege present itself in the criminal justice system and why are the struggles of non-white people in the criminal justice system so “invisible”?