Her talk is sponsored by the president\u2019s office, the dean of the college and dean of students offices, and the departments of multicultural affairs and religious and spiritual life.<\/p>\n
Fern\u00e0ndez Y Mora said students were eager for a forum that would \u201cemphasize the experience of students of color and also be a call to allyship among other students.\u201d<\/p>\n
McIntosh\u2019s scholarly work makes her \u201can incredible ally\u201d in encouraging discussions about privilege, Fern\u00e0ndez Y Mora said.<\/p>\n
McIntosh\u2019s 1988 paper, \u201cWhite Privilege and Male Privilege,\u201d is considered a classic of feminist and anti-racism work. In it, she cites 46 examples of white privilege, including \u201cI am never asked to speak for all of the people in my racial group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean of the College Donna Lisker pointed out that understanding white privilege is important for tackling other invisible systems of advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a timely conversation\u2014and not only about race,\u201d Lisker said. \u201cIt also relates to discussions going on in our country about the ‘one percent’ and sexual violence. It\u2019s a really helpful way to discuss power.\u201d<\/p>\n
While McIntosh\u2019s work focuses on difficult issues, she presents ideas in a way that encourages dialogue, Lisker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I like about her is she\u2019s so accessible,\u201d Lisker said. \u201cWhen people hear the word \u2018privilege\u2019 they can often go back on their heels and get defensive. But Peggy McIntosh helps people understand that privilege is invisible. And it\u2019s important to understand in whose interest it exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a May 2014 article in The New Yorker<\/em> magazine, McIntosh noted that colleges are places where conversations about racism and white privilege can happen because \u201cthey are the places where you get a hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to understand the way privilege works, you have to be able to see patterns and systems in social life,\u201d McIntosh said in the article. \u201cBut you also have to care about individual experiences.\u201d McIntosh, who has taught English, American studies and women\u2019s studies at Wellesley and Harvard, has led forums on race relations for organizations ranging from public schools to the Episcopal Church to the NASA Space Center.<\/p>\n Fern\u00e0ndez Y Mora said McIntosh\u2019s talk at Smith is \u201ca call to my fellow students who want to become allies\u201d in addressing racism and other forms of discrimination.<\/p>\n \u201cThese conversations are necessary,\u201d Fern\u00e0ndez Y Mora said. \u201cAs a prestigious women\u2019s college, Smith holds a lot of privilege. We want to talk about how we can use that privilege to change things for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n The Concerned Students of Color Committee is hosting a forum for self-identified students of color on Friday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. in Helen Hills Hills Chapel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Marisol Fern\u00e0ndez Y Mora \u201917 says she welcomed the conversations about race that took place on campus during last week\u2019s Otelia Cromwell Day celebrations. Yet there is always the concern that \u201cthese things fizzle out,\u201d said Fern\u00e0ndez Y Mora, who is a member of the ad hoc Concerned Students of Color Committee. In an effort […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11869","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11869"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11896,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11869\/revisions\/11896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"McIntosh](\"http:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/gatenew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/McIntosh-pink-shirt-photo1-230x244.jpg\")
<\/p>\n