Scholarship@WashULaw

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Publication Title

Santa Clara Law Review

Abstract

A colleague of mine once had a dream in which I appeared. My colleague, who is African-American, was struggling in this dream to be himself in the presence of a monolithic white maleness that wanted to oppress my friend and deny his intellect, his humanity, and his belonging in our community. In his dream, I, a white woman, attempted to speak on his behalf, but the white man and I spoke as if my friend were not there.

This portrayal disturbed me because I know my friend can speak for himself. Recognizing this fact, he described my discomfort at participating in this conversation that made him invisible. But I think this portrayal also disturbed me because it made clear my privileged role, a role I had not acknowledged.

My friend was describing the privilege of whiteness that would allow me and the man in the dream to talk about my friend and issues of race in a particular way, between ourselves.

Our shared privilege meant that our conversation mattered in terms of whether my friend would ultimately be part of the community. The community was defined by our whiteness, without either of us articulating that fact or even necessarily being aware of it. The fact that we were both white gave us more than something in common; it gave us the definitive common ground that transcended our differences and gave shape to us as a group with power to determine who else would be included in the circle of our community.

Keywords

Privilege, Privileged Groups, Race, Community

Publication Citation

Adrienne D. Davis & Stephanie M. Wildman, Language and Silence: Making Systems of Privilege Visible, 35 Santa Clara L. Rev 881 (1995).

Comments

Reprinted in CRITICAL RACE THEORY: THE CUTTING EDGE 573 (Richard Delgado, ed.)

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