Personal Narrative: My Racial Identity

Before this class, I wasn’t very self-aware of my ‘white identity’. I’ve sort of just been proceeding through life, treating others following the ‘golden rule’, because that’s how I was raised by my parents. If I was told to describe how I look to someone, I would tell them my height, build, green eyes, brown hair, etc. The color of my skin would probably be at the bottom of the list. I’ve lived in suburban communities vastly populated by whites my whole life. I’ve never been one to distinguish myself using my skin color from others. Among many other things, I’ve learned through this course that regardless of my predispositions, one of the most defining aspects of my outward appearance is my white racial identity in this society. The term ‘white …show more content…
I’ve been blessed enough to say that I haven’t experienced any financial hardships throughout my life. Both my parents are white and college educated. This alone should mean that I am set up for more opportunities than my minority counterparts just because of my white privilege. You can have all the opportunities in the world and still through it away though, so there is still effort needed on an individual’s part to succeed. Example; my mom was born into a very poor family of Italian and Irish immigrants. They had six kids even though they couldn’t afford them. She grew up drinking powdered milk. My mom grew tired of living a poor life and decided to study very hard in school. She got a scholarship to Gonzaga University and eventually graduated with a degree from Eastern Washington University. I believe was tired of all the religion being integrated into the school as why she transferred but that’s beside the point. She was the only person in her family to go to college and get a degree and it’s because she worked for it. So although white privilege may partially set someone up for success, the effort still needs to be put forth to get far in life, and I think that can be said for any …show more content…
I think taking on leadership roles this fall when I go off to University will grow my ability to impact the community.

This dialogue has allowed me to recognize as a member of the white racial identity I have the power to influence social justice through alliances and standing up against social conflict. As my life continues to progress, I will always be conscious of racial or social biases that I may come across in the future. Regardless of the obstacles or challenges I may come up against, it is important to continue to keep an open mind about race relations and spread social justice practices learned in this course. Making a difference will be the real rewards.

Despite the challenges and obstacles I may face, overall if I continue to spread the word of social justice rewards will definitely follow. The accomplished feeling of making a difference will be an internal reward for me. And respect is what I would expect from my friends and family, if I continue to apply what I have learned in this dialogue. To obtain these rewards, the support from the peers will be needed. As I stated before changing social norms is not something that can be done by an individual. Hopefully I will be able to cast a crew that will be onboard with me in fulfilling this

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