Lessons In Injustice: Privilege Walks

Authors

Karen Silverman, Illinois Wesleyan UniversityFollow

Abstract

If you are a white male take one step forward. If your parents did not grow up in the United States take a step back. If you were born in the United States take a step forward. These are some of the questions one might hear at a Privilege Walk, which is an activity held at many universi­ties in order to "provide participants with an opportunity to understand the intricacies of privilege" (Young, 2006). Questions such as these are asked to partici­pating students who stand shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. Students take steps forward when their answers to questions indicate that they have received a perceived advantage. They take steps back when they affirm that they grew up with hardships and face discrimination. By the end, the stu­dents in the front of the room are there because they are supposedly more privileged than the students behind them.

Recommended Citation

Silverman, Karen (2013) "Lessons In Injustice: Privilege Walks," The Intellectual Standard: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/tis/vol2/iss2/3