Privilege. It’s a very strong word that has very strong connotations. But to your average person, to someone who might not know exactly what privilege means, how do you explain that concept to them? As an eighteen year old mixed-race man my take on understanding identity within yourself and in society as an ethnic minority has many layers. It’s important for people to understand the systems within our society and how this affects the life of many, especially those with a lack of opportunities as a result of their ethnic origin. Yet integration is important, to work collectively to improve the lives of future generations and provide them with a sense of belonging within our society.
By taking a step back from the superficial aspects of our society, we can see our privilege within everything we do. To know that you or the generations before or after you can gain an advantage in society at birth just by the colour of your skin, your physical or mental ability, should cause some concern for many. So being someone of mixed heritage, who has experienced both extremes of the spectrum, how wealth and prosperity can both favour and debilitate a family, what can we do to stop the inherent segregation between people within our current society?
We have all encountered stories of workers both in very respectable and lower classed positions, being discriminated for the colour of their skin. However, if someone's ethnicity was a true indicator of whether or not they are good at something our society would be in complete disarray. Our world is made up of truly brilliant and inspirational people, but it’s a shame many do not have accessible resources to meet their potential.
Our identity is what makes us human. To be able to distinguish our own beliefs and ideas as individuals is one of the key characteristics of us as a species. So how can we, as a species, put ourselves and other people into categories based on the fear of being different. Dealing with the uncertainty of how you feel about yourself, what you as a person constitute for the politics of others, and most crucially, how your identity can be jeopardised by the ignorance and naivety of others, is one of life’s biggest and most harmful challenges.
Being able to say you are content with what troubles life throws at you and being able to use that to better yourself as a person is not something that many people can do, even more so for the ethnic minorities within this country who have to battle against systematic oppression and institutionalised racism on the daily.
It is almost an indoctrinated idea that someone of colour is usually worse off than someone who is not. The subtle racism you see on a daily basis can take its toll; whether or not it’s an article on a black real estate agent, his race having no affect on his ability to sell houses, or to the extreme of the latest instalment of America’s continuous racial profiling of young poc, such as Ahmed Mohamed and Tamir Rice.
From my point of view, as someone who has seen and experienced a lot of the hardships of being a mixed-race person both first and second hand, i can say that improvement is on its way. Yet, without being openly pessimistic of what i see for the future, it unfortunately won’t be any time soon. My family in particular have experienced the affects of racial segregation on both sides; from the oppressed and privileged, as they themselves lived in segregated neighbourhoods. A traditional black family originally from Barbados to end up within an extremely racist 60s London, dealt with racial discrimination more than anyone else I know. On the other hand, the lower-middle class family from Surrey on my Dad’s side, probably hadn't encountered many ethnic minorities at all in their time growing up.
Being able to voice opinions based upon heartfelt belief, without being sectioned by the middle and upper class white demographic, recognising the difficulty of being a person of colour within a western society and, most importantly, having the opportunity to be in control of your circumstances, is a world in which we should all strive to live in. With the most important and powerful people of this planet coming from mostly heavily white backgrounds, it is and always will be a battle to see open equality in everyday living. Yet, having a sense of purpose and understanding of your position within yourself and to other people, is what truly matters.
JAS EXPLORES COPING WITH IDENTITY IN WESTERN SOCIETY AS A YOUNG MIXED-RACE MAN, LOOKING INTO THE STEREOTYPES THAT HAVE FORMED AROUND WHITE PRIVILEGE AND SUPERIORITY AND HOW THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTS PEOPLE OF ETHNIC DESCENT
by JAS MEADOWS
HERITAGEAND PRIVILEGE