Recognising my White Privilege

With the murder of George Floyd, and countless other black people affected by police brutality in the States and beyond in this day and age, it's time for me to talk on here about my white privilege. I've been empowered to do so by many social media influencers and activists (which I'll put a list of at the end of this blog post), but also by a conversation with my friend Charlotte who wrote a fantastic piece on white privilege and uplifting black film makers.

I was initially hesitant to write something on this topic as I've always felt it wasn't exactly my place to be chiming in.
I absolutely don't want to step on the toes of black creators, filing spaces where I don't belong and ultimately feeding into the 'white saviour' narrative. Additionally, white people are always afraid we will use the wrong term or get it wrong.
But that's exactly why these difficult conversations need to be had. This post is part of an open invitation to talk about those tough topics, no matter how uncomfortable it may make white people feel. It's not enough to be against racism; we need to be actively fighting and using our platforms to empower the voices of people of colour. The luxury of being able to say ooo this is all a bit sad, I don't want to think about it anymore, is white privilege.

White people: Call out your friends for using incorrect language. Explain to your family why they can't say certain things. Use your privilege in a way to uplift and protect black people and people of colour. Do better.

Part of white privilege is not knowing you have white privilege. It's going through life not only without the barriers that black people have, but also not even being aware that there are barriers. I'm slowly learning all this. I do not pretend to understand what black people experience on a daily basis and I never will.

I'm aware that someone in my position who isn't white would face a lot more obstacles to travelling than I do. My race is just not an obstacle to my travels. Recently on a backpacker facebook page, I saw a post about how black travellers research the racism in the place they want to travel to. This is not something I, as a white traveller, would ever have to really consider. Even in countries where predominantly non-white people live, no one bats an eye at the blonde white girl with a backpack.
That's white privilege.
It breaks my heart that people wouldn't be able to experience a country or trip in the way that I have the opportunity to just because of their race.

This unfortunately is not a problem isolated to the United States. My home country has a long way to go with regards to police brutality and racism too. As does Australia. First Nations people experience marginalization and racism within Australia. They are more likely to have less socio-economic opportunities and also more likely to be unfairly treated by the law. The mere fact that most people don't even hear about that just shows you how erased this issue is. I couldn't speak on it much myself as I don't know enough about it. As I keep travelling in the country, I endeavour to continue to learn as much as I can about indigenous culture and experience.

I'm still learning the best way to navigate these kinds of conversations, or should I say, unlearning. So I'm open to any thoughts or guidance on how to do so. And please, if you think I've used language incorrectly or tackled something in the wrong way, kindly call me out.

All I know is the black community are in pain right now. To all my black friends, I love and see you. Nothing I can say will ever be enough. 

To all my white friends and family: Be there for your black friends. Sign the petitions, donate where you can. Use your white privilege to stand up for people who don't have that at their disposal. Think about what you say and how you say it. And be kind to each other.

Shepp x

List of influencers who have spoken on this topic:

@soyouwanttotalkabout
@florencegiven
@bodyposipanda
@rickeythompson
@jameelajamilofficial
@rayawashere
@beyondtheinterview

Charlotte's account & blog:
@char_rawlingss

And my amazing friend Nicole has had some important thoughts on this: @thoughtsbynicole