White Privilege programs/conversations continue to be offered in the Dayton area, most recently at the Wright Library in Oakwood. The process was adapted slightly but still served the purpose of bringing together persons who recognize the need to address racism. Over 50 persons, black and white, were in attendance. I offer the following quote from Father Bryan N. Massingale’s book Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. “White privilege is not an abstraction; it is real. White privilege is the range of unearned (and at times, unwanted) advantages that come simply from possession of an attribute our society prizes, namely, the status of being considered ‘white.’ … The individuals may not have chosen it, realized it, or even desired it. They may not have had a prejudiced bone in their bodies. But the advantages are real nonetheless, as is the damage of racial injustice. We will never adequately deal with the reality of racial injustice, and its generational effects, unless we name its causes and attack its sources.” (page 41)
By Sister Jeanette Buehler, CPPS
Assembly Directive: Stand with the marginalized; network with other individuals, agencies and groups to be effective in our current reality.