white privilege

noun

plural white privileges

: the set of social and economic advantages that white people have by virtue of their race (see race entry 1 sense 1a) in a culture characterized by racial inequality

… by discussing the reality of white privilege, we're not negating or invalidating other hardships that may come with each individual's circumstances. Rather, we intend to shed light on the reality that white people are granted rights (whether they're subtle or obvious), immunities, and opportunities by their skin color, regardless of whether they asked for that privilege or not.

—Mehak Anwar

And here, in white racism, was a shame of truly epic proportions—the shame of white supremacy that for centuries so squeezed the world with violence and oppression that white privilege was made a natural law.

—Shelby Steele

also : a single such advantage

White privileges are the relative advantages racism affords to people identified as white, whether white people recognize them or deny them. To be white is to be afforded one's individuality. Afforded the presumption of innocence. Afforded the assumption of intelligence. Afforded empathy when crying or raging. Afforded disproportionate amounts of policy-making power. Afforded opportunity from a white network. Afforded wealth-building homes and resource-rich schools. Afforded the ability to vote quickly and easily.

—Ibram X. Kendi

Examples of white privilege in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jonny, an Egyptian American and the lone pastor of color at Circle of Hope, saw white privilege in Rod’s stubborn refusal to let go. —Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 30 June 2024

Pretty privilege uses the same construction as white privilege and similar terms. —Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024

The study also detailed that even by the age of 5, Black children were aware of white privilege and were being made to feel less than. —Gregory Wakeman, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 June 2024

Lily Gladstone brings the performance wattage, and an Oklahoma of reservation life and white privilege is the evocative backdrop. —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above