University Assignment: Personal Perspective on Racism and Privilege

This assignment presents a student's personal reflection on the interplay of race and class, drawing upon their experiences to analyze how these factors shape individual perspectives and societal structures. The student explores how their class background has influenced their understanding of race and the privileges associated with being white. The assignment references key concepts such as racial dominance, segregation, and colorblindness, and how these concepts impact the student's views. The student examines the ways in which racism is learned and perpetuated within society. The assignment also includes references to relevant academic sources, demonstrating the student's engagement with the topic and their ability to integrate scholarly perspectives into their analysis. The student emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and addressing racism to foster a more equitable society.

Running head: PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
Answer to question 1
DiAngelo grew up as poor as well as white. However, class oppression of her was
relatively visible for her. For her efforts for uncovering how race have shaped life of hers, she
gained much deeper insight through placing race at center of analysis (DiAngelo 2006). She
made distinction that she grew white and poor, her experience from poverty would had been
totally different if she was not white. She found that the white students are often centering
racism. As she work in unravelling racial dominance, she found two major issues.
Answer to question 2
Growing in a segregated environment, message is given that perspective and experience
are only things which matter. The message is received per day. White are taught of not feeling
any loss of absence of the people of the color in the lives. As everyone lives segregated lives
within a society dominated by white people, no or little authentic information about racism is
received and thus are unprepared in thinking complexly and critically about it (Bell 2018).
However segregation is mediated often for the poor urban. White people of lower classes having
integrated lives over micro level receive message that meaning of achievement is moving out
from poverty as well as away from schools and neighborhood which defines them. Individuality
allows in presenting themselves to be original and unique, unaffected by racial messages that are
received by them. Colorblind discourse’s underlying assumption is race is defect and best if
pretended to be not noticed (Clarke 2017). However, if it is pretended not to notice racism, it
could not interrupt or understand it. Due to political, economic and social power in white culture,
people are in position in legitimizing people for color’s assertion for racism. DiAngelo found

2PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
that key to interrupt dominance of racism is deferring people’s knowledge whom she had been
taught.
References
Bell, D., 2018. Faces at the bottom of the well: The permanence of racism. Hachette UK.
Clarke, S., 2017. Social theory, psychoanalysis and racism. Macmillan International Higher
Education.
DiAngelo, R.J., 2006. My class didn't trump my race: Using oppression to face
privilege. Multicultural Perspectives, 8(1), pp.51-56.