ABSTRACT

Twenty years after the publication of “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” some white readers continued to struggle with white guilt and felt stalled in their understanding of how to deal with their privilege. The Saint Paul Foundation commissioned McIntosh to write “White Privilege: An Account to Spend” and “White People Facing Race: Uncovering the Myths that Keep Racism in Place” for their Facing Race: We’re all in this together anti-racism initiative. In this essay, “White People Facing Race: Uncovering the Myths that Keep Racism in Place,” McIntosh explores why conversations about race are so difficult for white people. She describes five myths that help to preserve white privilege: the myth of meritocracy, the myth of manifest destiny, the myth of white racelessness, the myth of monoculture, the myth of white moral and managerial superiority. McIntosh also describes the six skills that are necessary to develop in white students to overcome resistance to discussing white privilege and racism.