Privilege

Yesterday we visited the Sunflower Country Freedom Project in Sunflower County, Mississippi.  The experience we had with the teachers and students we met were something I had never really experienced before. Yes, they were in one of the poorest areas of the state--and the country--but they were happy and engaged and so excited to learn. I think for many of us it made us think critically about the privilege we have at home and push us, at least me, to feel so lucky and grateful for where I am. 

When we got back on the bus people began to talk about privilege, however it quickly devolved into a discussion of who has more privileged and in a way pinning guilt or shaming certain groups on the bus. This resulted in people getting defensive and angry and subsequently segregating themselves into the people they know and the schools they came with. 

This made me angry. This made me frustrated.  This movement is so much bigger than one persons privilege; or two peoples privilege; or the tuition of someone's school; or the neighborhood they live in. Looking at things on a personal level does nothing but divide people and because of that we have to move past that. People who are privileged have to claim that and move past it. No one is asking you to justify your privilege; rather people are asking you to utilize it and contribute to work to create a world where places like The Freedom Project don't have to exist.  

I was so frustrated and angry last night because I felt as if we were being self-centered. We were far more focused on talking about our own privilege than talking about what we can do to change things. 

Although tensions were high and people were upset I'm glad that that moment of tension happened. I hope that when we get home and someone sees injustice, like we saw yesterday, they will act rather than remain passive; they will change their behavior rather than remain static, and I think that's the aim and the value in this trip.            

Speaking more personally, I've seen things I thought no longer existed. Seeing places where racism and prejudice is not only alive and well but being preserved is something I wasn't prepared for and it deeply upsets me. However, in the words of Mr. Henson and Mark "you have to let it go.". Getting caught up in feelings surrounding our privilege isn't conducive to change, rather it fosters an environment in which we remain static. And so I challenge every person on this trip to acknowledge his or her privilege but move past it.  Use that anger and that frustration to create a world that John Lewis and Andrew Young and Mr. Henson and even Dr. King would be proud of, because this is bigger than us.

Sarah Riback, Baltimore City College