White privilege within protest

I did my final project on white privilege within forms of protest, specifically the recent Black Lives Matter protests. White people and those who are white-passing have a tremendous amount of privilege to both protest the police and maintain an amicable relationship with them, where they are not threatened.

I began my final project from a place of behalf-ism unknowingly, which seems to be a regular occurrence for white people throughout matters of racial justice. Once pointed out by my professor, I decided I wanted to discuss this behalf-ism in terms of protest and from the perspective of a white person, which I am. I remembered the video shown in class of the women in Central Park calling the cops on a birdwatcher. The white woman used this man's own blackness against him in order to make sure that he was arrested, because of her basic knowledge of the relationship between the police and POC. I choose to depict white privilege and power that white people possess because of its ability to control those around them unknowingly, especially the police.

I have heard many of my white friends yell “FUCK 12!!” and “ACAB” very loudly in front of the police in my home town. I remember being worried that there would be some type of repercussions for their actions, and yet nothing has yet to transpire. I don't think they, or maybe even I realize the extent of our privilege. We are not racially profiled the way that POC are when they yell the very same phrases. This is a privilege for a feeling of safety, although we are adamantly against the institution of police itself. They still are capable of protecting us against anything that makes us feel unsafe. This is a privilege that not all possess.

Within Kresge core, we have discussed in-depth the complexities of the black experience as well as the BIPOC experiences, and how so often they are completely ignored or written off as unimportant. Yet throughout the education system these instances of injustice are rarely taught about or even addressed. Therefore it becomes nearly impossible for white privilege to be discussed or understood within communities.

In order to create needed change with this privilege, it needs to be understood and addressed. In a way, I wanted to do this with my final project. To simply address the privilege that is taking place and present it to those who benefit from it, and those who don’t to view a different perspective.

It's so much easier to yell “FUCK THE POLICE!!!” and question the entire role of policing in general when you don't feel threatened by the police.