• Home
  • About Us
  • Consultancy & Training
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Online Courses
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Manifesto
    • Login
Voxel Hub
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Consultancy & Training
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Online Courses
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Manifesto
  • Login

Founder's thoughts

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Founder's thoughts
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021 – let’s talk about white privilege

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021 – let’s talk about white privilege

  • Posted by Sylwia Korsak
  • Categories Founder's thoughts, Personal Development
  • Date January 18, 2021
  • Comments 0 comment

I want to propose that today we focus on our own issues with white privilege. I will be honest: I am tired of the public narrative asking the oppressed to suggest solutions that originate from our own ignorance. I grew up in an extremely racist country, sick of the openness of the racist jokes, comments and assumptions. I spent most of my life so far peeling off the layers of my white, educated, relatively wealthy superiority. And I am still finding tones of it in layers below.

So how do we start the journey, and how do we continue? I personally think we need to open up to quite uncomfortable truths. If we are born white – this sounds unfair, I know – we are by definition in a privileged position. Even as a Polish ex-pat living in a pre-Brexit, Brexit and now the post-Brexit U.K. I can safely get on the bus in Bristol, walk around the shops and ask the police for directions. When I need it, I have police at my door in seconds, and I am not afraid to ask them when reporting safety concerns of my clients. I feel safe, steady, and I expect help and support.

Shedding our racist layers is terribly painful, but it is the work we are expected to do as helping professionals. We do work with gender, social class, poverty, abuse, addiction, so why not around the race? Well, I am finding out these days that many white people do not even realise that they have a race, a privileged one too…the idea of whiteness is neutral, dominant, natural. Many people think and feel this way, and we need to address this. Today, every single day.

Today I would like to point you to the work of the wonderful Judy Ryde based in Bath, U.K. who wrote a few books on the topic. Her “White Privilege Unmasked” serves as a fantastic base for any counsellor, coach or consultant to start their education and reflective work. Ryde explains the historical context of the white privilege – which is extremely important to understand. She explains various aspects of privilege, proposing the privilege triangle: cultural, social and educational privilege.

She goes on to prose a White Awareness Model and steps towards change:

  • Denial
  • Establishing new openness – admitting wrongdoing to self and others, listening to testimony
  • Guild and shame – apologising
  • Owning up to my own white privilege – restitution
  • Integration – reparation

Now, I see on Goodreads alone that some (white) people find this framework simplistic still. However, personally, I’m afraid I have to disagree. Our white privilege here in the U.K. and our racism is so deeply engrained and so well, skill-fully hidden that it is systemically almost unnoticeable. Even in most progressive systems, it is still emerging – especially in the often forgotten aspect of abuse where it is still not always addressed by anti-bullying policies: invalidation. Starting from micro-invalidations like gently correcting someone’s pronunciation of a word, though more evident mistakes like a constant misspelling of their name or placing their name at the end of a list of attendees, up to a visible lack of much-needed support. All those micro-moments of abuse and neglect ARE important. Today in psychology, we know very well that they are experienced as strongly as physical pain. Oftentimes we tolerate diversity, but we do not protect it, nor celebrate it. For our helping professions that is simply not good enough. We know that when people don’t feel safe, they won’t speak up. And should they really?

Which is why I like Ryde’s model – it places a strong focus on facing ourselves: our denial, our shame and the benefits of our privilege. I will leave you with a simple exercise suggested by Ryde. Make a list of everything you, as a white person, can do – especially things you can safely assume might be difficult for your friends from other, diverse races.

I can get on the bus safely

I can talk to a policeman without a moment of hesitation

I can send my son to sleep without teaching him to keep his hands out of his pockets when in a shop

And so the list of my privileges goes on. It makes me feel guilty indeed. This 2021 world of ours shouldn’t be this way, but change, dialogue and better systems are possible. We need to get used to feeling honestly uncomfortable.

…

I went for a walk around St. Paul’s in Bristol recently to learn more about the history of diversity in my city. It was a nice, frosty, sunny day. Streets were almost empty. As I stood on a pavement in front of one of the magnificent murals, an older Black woman walked by with heavy shopping bags in her hands. I was slow, rested and a bit stupid, to be honest, I just stood there watching her automatically look down, step down off the pavement and walk over around me to continue on her journey. Everything happened to fast! It was so subtle too. I did not know what to say or do to apologise, because to her, it seemingly felt…normal? I bet she is used to it, but I am not. I was there, and I was ready to move, she was much faster than me in her – probably many times reinforced assumptions too. But it should not be this way! So I was left ashamed, deeply disturbed and quite frankly fed up with my own “race” or skin tone. I might not see her again, but I am sorry for being so very arrogant, slow and..well, privileged and white.

Tag:coaching, consultancy, counselling, priviledge, race, racism

  • Share:
author avatar
Sylwia Korsak

Senior social media and digital wellbeing consultant, coach and counsellor. Founder of Voxel Hub.

Previous post

Brew Monday - supporting Samaritans today and every day
January 18, 2021

Next post

Second Act from MailChimp
January 19, 2021

You may also like

greg-rakozy-oMpAz-DN-9I-unsplash
The problem with individualism?
23 August, 2021
manki-kim-12Kb5ynfxso-unsplash
The Abramović Method
20 August, 2021
annie-spratt-Qby5VQgbtR4-unsplash
5 simple questions from narrative therapy
11 August, 2021

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

On this website

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Consultancy & Training
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Online Courses
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Manifesto

BLOG CALENDAR

August 2022
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Jul    

Key blog categories

  • Business & Leadership
  • Coaching
  • Consultancy
  • Contributor Post
  • Counselling
  • Digital Communication
  • Digital Content
  • Digital Creativity
  • Digital Identity
  • Digital Literacy
  • Digital Tech & Innovation
  • Digital Wellbeing
  • Events
  • Family
  • Founder's thoughts
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing
  • Newsletter
  • Our Advisory Board
  • Our Events
  • Our Interviews
  • Our News
  • Our Services
  • Our Tips
  • Personal Development

Other blog topics

activism Advisory Board algorithms books breathing Bristol care coaching collective connection counselling creatives digital detox digital literacy digital wellbeing diversity events grief health innovation Instagram interview leadership liberation mental health mindfulness nature newsletter pandemic ProReal PTSD remote work resilience rest self-care selfcare stories tips trauma Vicarious trauma VR webinars wellbeing women workplace

BLOG ARCHIVES

Digital Wellbeing Primer (coming soon)

Digital Wellbeing Primer (coming soon)

Free
Exploring FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) (Coming Soon)

Exploring FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) (Coming Soon)

£39.00
Reflective Writing in the Digital Age (coming soon)

Reflective Writing in the Digital Age (coming soon)

£39.00

Recommended Links

Our collections
Digital Wellbeing Voices on Twitter
Digital Wellbeing book list on Amazon 
Digital wellbeing on digital platforms
Digital Wellbeing course by Google
Digital Wellbeing course by the University of York
Digital Wellbeing Google
Digital Wellbeing Android 
Digital Wellbeing Apple
Digital Wellbeing Facebook
Digital Wellbeing Vodaphone
Internet Matters by Virgin Media
Digital Literacy courses by BT
Research and news
Oxford Internet Institute 
BPS Cyberpsychology
Cyberpsychology EU
Cyberpsychology ORG News
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Other related journals
Pew Research (Internet)
We Are Social blog 
Digital parenting
Digital Wellbeing Childnet
Digital Wellbeing UK Safer Internet Centre
Common Sense Media
Parenting for a Digital Future
EU Kids Online
Danah Boyd Blog
Contextual Safeguarding Network
UK wellbeing research
GOV.UK 5 Ways of Wellbeing Report 2008
NEF 5 Ways of Wellbeing Report 2008 
NEF 5 Ways of Wellbeing – New Evidence 2011
NEF Wellbeing blog
State of the Nation 2019
Happy City
Thriving Places Index
Happiness Pulse
Local wellbeing indicators 
Digital Wellbeing for Academia
Digital wellbeing blogs
Positive Computing
Mind Matters News
Tech Happy Life
Hero Wellbeing Blog
What Works Wellbeing
Positive psychology 
Positive Psychology Center
Network of Wellbeing
Positivity Test
VIA Institute

Copyright © Voxel Hub 2019-2022 // Privacy Policy // Cookie Policy

No apps configured. Please contact your administrator.

Login with your site account

No apps configured. Please contact your administrator.

Lost your password?

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.

For our full Privacy Policy click here.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT