Author Confronts White Privilege

Robert W. Jensen, a professor of journalism at the University of Texas, told a small audience yesterday that Americans will continue to encounter difficulties in dismantling white privilege because many in the white community are afraid to discuss racial issues.

The noontime discussion, which took place in the Phillips Brooks House Asssociation Parlor Room, attracted about 14 people to hear Jensen speak.

“We’re used to thinking about the fears of people in subordinated communities, but there’s also fears that come from being white,” Jensen said.

He added that sources of these fears include the difficulty of trying to occupy the middle ground between letting offensive racial comments slide and drawing ire from colleagues as a result of being overly sensitive to them—a balancing act that he sometimes finds difficult.

“I don’t get invited to parties much nowadays,” he joked.

Jensen, who is the author of The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege, began the discussion by quoting a passage from the W.E.B. Du Bois book, The Souls of Black Folk.

In this excerpt, Du Bois commented on a question that he felt Caucasians often implicitly asked of him, “How does it feel to be a problem [as an African American]?”

“Maybe we should reverse the direction of the question,” Jensen said. “Maybe we should redirect it towards ourselves.”

Despite the small attendance, those who did participate said that they found it enlightening and enjoyable.

Susan B. Marine, director of the Harvard College Women’s Center, said that she especially appreciated the contributions of the audience members.

“I was really impressed with the level of honesty, and that people were willing to share,” said Marine. “This is a complex subject, and it’s difficult to talk about sometimes. [It’s] fraught with a lot of silence, hesitation, and ambivalence, especially by white people.”

Loc Truong, assistant director of the Harvard Foundation, said that he felt that a major take-home point from yesterday’s discussion was that people should be more forthright in discussing white privilege and racism, especially on campus.

“My advice to students is to really be open to attending these kinds of events, and to talk to their blockmates and classmates about these issues,” he said.