As much as we would like to think that white privilege has come back, I always ask did it ever really go away. I believe it became out of sight out of mind during our eight years of bliss with President Barack Obama. Now that we have 45 in office, it seems that every day, we see more examples of white privilege across this country. White privilege takes on many definitions. White privilege can be hard for white people to recognize. White privilege can be something as simple as walking into a department store to shop and not having eyes on you when you are looking at expensive clothing. White privilege is the ability to walk down the street at night in a group and not worry about the cops pulling you over or stopping you for what seems to be no reason at all.
White privilege can be turning on the television and see people of your race widely represented instead of in stereotypical roles that are offensive. White privilege is committing a crime and getting two weeks in prison. White privilege is Felicity Hoffman. She essentially bribed her daughter into college and was caught and got two weeks in prison.
You want to know why it is a white privilege . . . look no farther than these examples where blacks did not get the same benefits:
Tanya McDowell – In 2011, she was arrested for sending her child to the wrong school district. Mind you, she was homeless. The charges were that she stole $15,000 in cost to cover the education. She got five years.
Kelley Williams-Bolar – In 2011, this Akron mother was sentenced to ten days in jail and had to do 80 hours of community service. What makes Williams-Bolar case more impactful is that she now has a felony on her record all because she wanted to enroll her child in a different school district.
Kalief Browder – Served three years in jail waiting on a trial date for stealing a backpack. The case was eventually in 2013, but prison took a toll on Browder and he died by suicide.
The above examples are just a few times where blacks did not get the same privilege white people receive. We can all agree that Felicity Hoffman committed a victimless crime; however, it was her fame, money, and skin tone that many believed was the reason she was let off so lightly. It leaves many asking the question whether or not that had been a black parent who paid for their child to attend a better college would the sentence been the same.