Table 1 “Because of My Race or Color”...

Table 1

“Because of My Race or Color” Chart¹

White Privilege

Score 5 if the statement is often true for you.

Score 3 if the statement is sometimes true for you.

Score 0 if the statement is seldom true for you.

Because of My Race or Color …	My Score
1. I can easily choose to be in the company of people of my race most of the time (in school, shopping, in a park or other public place).
2. If my family needs to move, we can be pretty sure of hassle-free renting or buying in a safe, desirable neighborhood where we would want to live.
3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
4. I can go shopping by myself most of the time without being followed or harassed.
5. I can turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and see many people of my race represented in a positive way.
6. When I learn about our national heritage or about “civilization,” in school and in the media, I am shown that people of my race made it what it is.
7. I can go into most supermarkets and find the staple foods which fit with my racial/ethnic traditions; I can go into any hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
8. I can count on my skin color not to work against me when I shop, whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash; store clerks assume that I have enough money to pay for my purchases.
9. I can swear, or dress in secondhand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people say that these choices are due to the bad morals, or the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
10. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. (For example, if I earn a school award, I am not identified as especially good or talented for a person of my race.)
11. I can be oblivious to the language and customs of persons of color without feeling any penalty for such ignorance from the people of my race. (In other words, people of my race are not angry, disappointed, or frustrated if I don’t know about the cultural traditions of people of color.)
12. I can criticize our government or talk about fearing or opposing its policies without being seen as a racial outsider.
13. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in charge” in a school, business, restaurant, or other location, I will be facing a person of my race.
14. I can conveniently buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, and magazines featuring people of my race.
15. I can go home from most meetings of the clubs or organizations that I participate in feeling tied-in, not isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, feared, or hated.
16. I can take a scholarship without having others suspect I got it because of my race.
17. If my family goes on vacation, we can choose a hotel without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated or mistrusted there.
18. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
19. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I don’t need to wonder if each negative situation is due somewhat to my race.
20. I can comfortably avoid, ignore, or minimize the impact of racism on my life.
21. I can speak in public to a powerful group without my race being an issue.
22. Most dolls, crayons, band-aids, makeup, and any other item that comes in “flesh” color is more or less a match for my skin.
23. If a substitute teacher disciplines me, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
TOTAL

Because of My Race or Color …	My Score
1. I can easily choose to be in the company of people of my race most of the time (in school, shopping, in a park or other public place).
2. If my family needs to move, we can be pretty sure of hassle-free renting or buying in a safe, desirable neighborhood where we would want to live.
3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
4. I can go shopping by myself most of the time without being followed or harassed.
5. I can turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and see many people of my race represented in a positive way.
6. When I learn about our national heritage or about “civilization,” in school and in the media, I am shown that people of my race made it what it is.
7. I can go into most supermarkets and find the staple foods which fit with my racial/ethnic traditions; I can go into any hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.
8. I can count on my skin color not to work against me when I shop, whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash; store clerks assume that I have enough money to pay for my purchases.
9. I can swear, or dress in secondhand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people say that these choices are due to the bad morals, or the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
10. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. (For example, if I earn a school award, I am not identified as especially good or talented for a person of my race.)
11. I can be oblivious to the language and customs of persons of color without feeling any penalty for such ignorance from the people of my race. (In other words, people of my race are not angry, disappointed, or frustrated if I don’t know about the cultural traditions of people of color.)
12. I can criticize our government or talk about fearing or opposing its policies without being seen as a racial outsider.
13. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in charge” in a school, business, restaurant, or other location, I will be facing a person of my race.
14. I can conveniently buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, and magazines featuring people of my race.
15. I can go home from most meetings of the clubs or organizations that I participate in feeling tied-in, not isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, feared, or hated.
16. I can take a scholarship without having others suspect I got it because of my race.
17. If my family goes on vacation, we can choose a hotel without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated or mistrusted there.
18. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.
19. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I don’t need to wonder if each negative situation is due somewhat to my race.
20. I can comfortably avoid, ignore, or minimize the impact of racism on my life.
21. I can speak in public to a powerful group without my race being an issue.
22. Most dolls, crayons, band-aids, makeup, and any other item that comes in “flesh” color is more or less a match for my skin.
23. If a substitute teacher disciplines me, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
TOTAL

Source: Adapted from McIntosh (1990) and Pacific Educational Group.

Note: This version of the chart is one that the researcher helped the teachers to revise in order to make a few of the items more directly applicable to students. The one used during the class the researcher observed was much the same, but aimed at teachers/adults.

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