Lynn Murphy Mark
02/17/22
For almost two years now, I have been studying the matter of white privilege. Learning how it affects me and how it has been a part of the tapestry of my life has become an uncomfortable but necessary exercise. I am in a study group and we have read two in-depth books on systemic racism and learned how each one of us white people in the group has benefited from this vicious system.
I grew up unaware that my white skin opened doors for me that another color might not have been able to open. Also, I believed that I did not have a racist bone in my body. Movies and stories about racism have brought me to tears and made me as angry as a 9 on the Enneagram can get. I feel justified by my anger, yet I willingly accepted the privileges that come with the color of my skin. These privileges include better lending rates, an ample social security benefit due to my career record, better schools where I live, ability to get where I need to go because I can own a car and don’t depend on public transport. These are just a few of the benefits that were structured so that People of Color (POC) would have a harder time qualifying for them.
Our reading group is now on to a great book, “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee. Although we are only three chapters in, the information so far is incredible. She writes about the Zero Sum principle – the belief that if I get more than you do of the public benefits pie, then there will be less left for you. This is a common belief among groups of white people, and explains why it is so hard to get public dollars flowing in to social service organizations. The truth is that we are among the wealthiest of nations and there is plenty to go around. However, the systemic racism that underpins public policy makes sure that money easily flows up to a small percentage of white people. Money flowing down to the middle class and below is restricted by legislation, public policy, and inefficient infrastructure.
Take Medicaid for example. This public benefit was put in place by President Lyndon Johnson under the umbrella of his “Great Society” programs. It is intended as health insurance for people who fall into the poverty category and cannot afford the insurance rates of private companies.
In 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that each state could structure its own Medicaid policy. This includes the ability to set an income cap to be eligible for Medicaid. Some states have set ridiculously low caps for people to qualify. In one state, the income cap is barely above $3,500 per year. That means that anyone making a poverty level wage will earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. When President Obama introduced Medicaid expansion – which is a method to give federal dollars to each state in order to increase the number of enrollees – many states refused to accept this money. As a result, the number of people who could access the Medicaid benefit was severely restricted by the states’ legislative bodies.
Despite these short-sighted policies, people of all economic circumstances do get sick and do need medical care. When there is no health insurance coverage, families are forced to seek their care in emergency rooms – among the most expensive places to provide care. Emergency rooms are prohibited by federal law to refuse care in an emergency, and so the service provided is destined to go unpaid. Rural hospitals have felt the extreme lack of funds and many have had to close, leaving residents with no accessible health care facility. So much of this could be prevented if the Medicaid expansion programs were available and reasonably priced.
In Missouri, where I live, a ballot initiative to approve Medicaid expansion was approved by voters. In 2021 the Republican legislature refused to fund Medicaid expansion. Law suits were filed and the Missouri Supreme Court ruling approved Medicaid expansion in 2021. Enrollment started in August of 2021. As of this date in 2022, 58,000 Missourians have applied for Medicaid. The Republican legislators are working again to dismantle this program. I don’t get it.
I realize that these problems are far more complex than I can cover in a short essay. But I am distressed by the fact that we are among the wealthiest countries in the world yet we have children and families going hungry, or being denied affordable health care, or living on streets and under bridges. Poverty is an equal opportunity condition – people of color, white people, indigenous people all experience the ravages of “not enough”. And our congressional representatives and senators live in a perpetual grid lock of inaction and partisan bickering. Of course, they don’t have to worry about housing, food, or health care. Perhaps that makes it easier to discount the real needs of real people.
All I know to do is to work hard to support candidates that reflect my values. My job is to use my one precious vote to help them get into office. Whenever one of my immigration clients becomes a US Citizen, I encourage them after their oath ceremony to visit the table set up by the League of Women Voters and register to vote. Invariable, the judge administering the oath also urges new citizens to take advantage of this precious benefit. It’s one of the only tools we have to truly work toward loving our neighbors.
1 thought on “True Colors”
This analysis of white privilege and some of its effects is a fabulous snapshot of what minorities in America (and around the world) have to put up with on a daily basis. Having been raised in the Deep South, I learned very quickly how white privilege worked:
I heard the whites talking in condescending ways to African Americans. I witnessed whites giving African Americans hand-me-down clothes and expecting them to be grateful for this “gift.” I saw how the whites endeavored to pay African Americans as little as possible even when their need was so obvious. I saw how the whites expected African Americans to immediately respond at the white’s beck and call no matter how it impacted the individual or their family. And I was a witness to how “separate, but equal” education was a way of keeping African Americans in a state of poverty.
Like many white families during the 1960s-1970s, my parents employed a nanny/housekeeper full-time when we kids were little, as well as half time as we became teenagers. We three kids loved Ms. Clara more than our (dysfunctional) parents. I was blessed to be in Ms. Clara’s life and sphere of influence. She taught me (on the side where the adults wouldn’t know) about The People (the history of the African nations prior to becoming enslaved people), the strength that was required of them to survive voyages to “The New World,” and the resilience to persevere in the face of abuse, beatings, discrimination, poverty, segregation, lynchings, voter suppression, etc.
When my parents would go out of town for a week twice a year, Ms. Clara was expected to leave/ignore her family of young children and come and stay with us in the white man’s home…and feel privileged that she was “allowed” to stay in such a nice home. Ms. Clara, who was a strong woman even in the face of such adversities, found creative ways to defeat The White Man. She took me to the African American Church each Sunday (while my parents were out of town) where I was treated far better there than at home (a lesson I never forgot). She taught me to stand up to abusive people, whether with quiet yet firm resistance or whether with firm yet persistent resistance…always being mindful that each of us made a difference, if not in that moment…in the future. She taught me not to hate those who were different. And she taught me that being “spiritual” was more important than being “religious” (since the justification for white privilege comes from scripture).
As a result of the lessons Ms. Clara shared with me over the 10 years she was in my life, I walked out into the world with my eyes wide open and worked to make a difference in the world: I voted for those who were trying to eliminate racism, I educated myself on even the subtle roots of racism so I could change my own ways, I spoke out against the way African Americans were treated in public and in private, and most importantly, I hired African Americans (early on & later other minorities) at every opportunity I had (when I was the boss). I educated myself and other whites about white privilege and started “the conversation” with many of my friends and relatives.
While Ms. Clara is in Spirit now, I still hear her voice of comfort, her words of wisdom, and her insistence that I step up when I am able and work to pull down the System of Oppression & Economic Privilege that was designed to hold African Americans (and all minorities) back so the White Man can continue to stay ahead. I view it as my Duty to this world to keep up the pressure until one day when all minorities reach The Promised Land.
At the end of my day, I want to be able to say I did my part…by gathering those around me and beyond…to dismantle the systemic racism by voting, protesting, donating, educating, hiring, etc. And mostly, by being aware of how I was educated to be a racist, what my own biases are, eliminating these biases, and sharing this journey of spiritual development with all those interested in listening (and half of those who aren’t interested)!
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