White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. How did McIntosh’s work in women’s studies lead her to recognize the phenomenon of white privilege?

2. How does McIntosh describe the concept of white privilege?

3. Name two examples McIntosh provides to illustrate how white privilege affects her life.

4. What does McIntosh suggest as a way to address white privilege?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does McIntosh use personal experiences to illustrate her points about white privilege?

2. Why, according to McIntosh, is white privilege often invisible to those who possess it?

3. Explain the two categories into which McIntosh divides the items in her list of privileges.

4. How does the idea of white privilege challenge the idea of a meritocracy in American society?

Paired Resource

“What Is White Privilege, Really?”

• This article from the Southern Poverty Law Center provides a clear explanation of privilege, particularly white privilege, and offers resources for teaching about this concept.
• Shared topics include white privilege, its invisibility to those who possess it, and its impact on society.
• How does the explanation of white privilege in this article compare to McIntosh’s description in her essay? What new insights or perspectives does it offer?

Recommended Next Reads

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

• This book explores the issue of mass incarceration in the United States and its impact on people of color.
• Shared topics include racism and social justice.
• Shared themes include Race Inequality and Systems of Oppression.
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness on SuperSummary

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• This book offers a frank, user-friendly examination of race in the United States, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the N-word.
• Shared themes include Race Inequality and Systems of Oppression.
• So You Want to Talk About Race on SuperSummary

“The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

• In this 2014 essay, Coates makes a carefully reasoned argument in favor of the US government’s paying reparations to African Americans to acknowledge the harm suffered by generations of Black people during slavery and in the decades since.
• Shared themes include Race Inequality and Systems of Oppression.
• “The Case for Reparations” on SuperSummary

“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• This TED Talk by acclaimed author Adichie explores how dominant groups in a society have the power to tell stories that exclude and misrepresent less powerful groups.
• Shared themes include Race Inequality and Systems of Oppression.
• “The Danger of a Single Story” on SuperSummary