On March 30, University of Wisconsin-Platteville faculty, staff and community members had the opportunity to learn about privilege and its effects at the “Let’s Talk About Privilege” workshop at the Platteville Public Library.
The workshop was presented by Dr. Edina Haslauer, assistant professor of education at UW-Platteville, and Dr. Frank King, assistant professor of ethnic studies at UW-Platteville. The event was planned and organized by Emma Radosevich, outreach librarian at Platteville Public Library.
The goal of the workshop was to define privilege and hold an open and honest conversation about how privilege works to maintain invisible power structures in society and examine how people are affected by those structures.
After Radosevich conducted a “Privilege for Sale” group activity that encouraged participants to think about the different types of privileges that exist, Haslauer discussed that privilege comes from group memberships.
“While we all have certain privileges for which we worked hard, we often don’t think about our unearned privileges,” said Haslauer. “In fact, many of us believe that we live in a meritocracy, even though access to respect, resources, representation and rights are not available equally to all groups. That is, privilege is not merely based on hard work and talent. Rather, it is systematically created and reinforced by those who have power. Once we realize that, we will be able to create a fairer society. I very much enjoyed the diversity among the participants, the wealth of their experiences and their willingness to share their perspectives.”
Following, King discussed a brief history of white privilege. “I really enjoyed the conversations and how people were engaged in the discussions,” said King. “I loved that it was a small group so we could have good conversations.”
“I really enjoyed the workshop – the presenters were awesome and I learned a lot,” said Sam Hamer, a school social worker and UW-Platteville alumna (‘16). “Racism and white supremacy need to be dismantled everywhere, including Platteville. White people built these systems and still benefit from them today. We must acknowledge our wrongs and biases and realize that no white person is exempt from being a part of, and upholding, racism. Reparations on a large scale are owed and need to happen now. All white people need to call out racism and all of its forms every single time. We need to create action, large-scale and in our daily lives, to dismantle racism and white supremacy.”
“I’m grateful that I was able to use my position to make this event accessible to the public,” said Radosevich. “I think the community is hungry for this kind of critical discussion, but it can be hard to find if you’re not on campus. I truly appreciate that Dr. King and Dr. Haslauer were willing to share their expertise, both as individuals and professors. All of us are passionate about this topic and I enjoyed the thoughtful conversations we had about how to tailor this information to community members.”
Radosevich will begin a new position as collection librarian for Whatcom County Library System in Bellingham, Washington, in May.