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Blaming talk of ‘white privilege’ for what is happening under the government’s watch also doesn’t fit with the origins of this phrase. The term is believed to have been first used by civil rights activist William Du Bois in the 1930s. It came into prominence again in the 1980s with Peggy McIntosh’s essay ‘White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack.’
However, the phrase has really only entered widespread use in the last couple of years alongside the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Yet the report is clear that disadvantaged white students have been neglected for ‘decades’. What’s going on?
Of course, concepts can exist before they are given a name, but the examples given in the report – for instance, Barnado’s guide to parents on white privilege from last year – are so recent that they seem out of place in a report on ‘multigenerational decline.’
What’s more, although the report may (rightly) point out that the phrase ‘white privilege’ can be inappropriate, there is no evidence in the inquiry that the idea of white privilege has affected outcomes for disadvantaged white pupils, historically or presently.
Instead, there seems to be a simpler explanation for what is happening in schools, as the report itself concedes. There is a ‘wealth of evidence’, it says, ‘that shows that lack of investment is a key driver in limiting educational attainment outcomes.’
It’s hard to fault this diagnosis that how well a child does at school is inextricably linked to austerity. Let’s not forget that since 2010, Tory governments have overseen the defunding of Sure Start children’s centres (due to a 62 per cent cut in council early years spending since 2010); the closure of over 800 libraries (again as a result of a 30 per cent decline in spending); the end of the Educational Maintenance Allowance; the end of the ‘Aimhigher’ university access scheme; the rise of university tuition fees to £9000 as well as cuts of up to 50 per cent for various higher education courses. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that state schools have suffered the largest fall in funding since the 1980s, with the biggest impact in the most deprived areas.
Of course young white working-class children, many of whom don’t even have breakfast before they go to school, should not be made to feel collective guilt, nor should they be blamed for societal failings. But the term ‘white privilege’ – however divisive and inflammatory it may be – must not be allowed to bear responsibility for decades of chronic underinvestment in young people.
The government can blame those talking about ‘white privilege’ all it likes. But it won’t do much to help this generation of lost boys and girls growing up in poverty.
Because you read about race
Also by Kristina Murkett
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