

I want to use the topic of white privilege for my argumentative essay because it is a theme that is prevalent in the media today, especially as a result of the black lives matter movement and widespread homophobia in the United States. I personally have heard my friends, family, neighbors, etc. debate the topic of white privilege within their own homes. Because most of the people I know are white, the answer to the question "is white privilege real?" that I most commonly hear is no. However, I believe the white people who say white privilege is not real spend too much time trying to point privileges they do not have instead of looking at their own. This topic affects me because I need to be aware of the advantages I have in order to help make a difference in the lives of non-white people. As a society, we should recognize white privilege exists and come up with ways to give non-white people and minorities equal opportunities to the ones whites are given. I am qualified to write about this topic because I can provide personal anecdotes about white privilege as well as back up my claim that white privilege is real with research and statistics.

The article "Addressing White Privilege in Independent Schools" tackles commonly asked questions about the presence of racial inequality in independent schools. The central claim is that the schools are not doing enough to stop the systems of privilege and inequality. The writers explain that even schools with "progressive" philosophies have mostly white boards and white leadership, which causes a "burden of representation" to non-white students. Not only are they not represented in this area, but most of the literature, history, and art studied in the schools is of European or white origin, further adding to the lack of representation. The main interest in this article is to explain the ways in which racial inequality exists and the ways schools, as well as we as a society, can lessen or eliminate it. Writer Greg Blackburn is the head of The Caedmon School, a Montessori school in New York City. He then is credible since he works at an independent school and can testify to the privilege and inequality that exists within the schools. Tim Wise is the author of White Like Me: Reflections of Race from a Privileged Son and is one of the most prominent antiracist educators. Therefore, he too is credible.

The article "Higher Education Creates 'White Racial Privilege'" opens with research from Georgetown University that concludes minorities are "being funneled into underfunded universities" at the same time white students go to more elite ones. The research is expanded on with another statistic that determined if a minority and white person have the same GPA, the minority is more likely to go to community college. This is despite the fact that the participation of non-white people in higher education has been rapidly growing. The writer claims the issue is a result of "white racial privilege". The main interest is how the same racial/ethnic divide that exists in K-12 schools occurs in higher education as well. Allie Bidwell, the writer of the article, is an education and science reporter for U.S. News & World Report with a bachelor's in sociology, making her a credible source.

The article "On Being White" explains the need for more diversity in children's literature. The writer, a librarian, claims that most of the books in libraries or bookstores feature white people who "look and speak" like she does. This is harmful for non-white children- only 14% of children's books are about people of color, while non-white kids now make up 50.3% of the population of U.S. public schools. The fact that 86% of children's literature is about white characters is an example of white privilege. The main interest of this article is to get people to demand more diversity in children's books. The writer also lists ways for white people to counter racism. The writer is Allie Jane Bruce, who works as a children's librarian at Bank Street College in New York. She also is a librarian for We Need Diverse Books and is a member of the 2016 Newberry Committee. Therefore, she is credible.

The research question is arguable because many people believe white privilege does not exist, or they believe that other races have more privileges than whites do. Most of the articles I found support my theory that white privilege plays a big role in the education system. However, I did find articles that say certain government programs and organizations created to help level the playing field between whites and non-white people are actually racist toward whites. The difference of perspectives helps me to understand "all sides of the story" and to make an informed argument. By looking my sources, I see three ways we could lessen the prevalence of white privilege: have more non-white people on school boards, encourage minorities to attend four-year colleges, and have more non-white characters in children's books. If I had to revise my question, I could change it to "why does white privilege affect the education system?" and focus more on the history of institutional racism that has been going on in the education system since the Jim Crow era and continues to exist today. But, at this time, I like my research question.
