GARY WARD: White privilege, what that meant to me…
First thing it reminds me of, is my grandpa… How he worked hard, at the age of 60, digging septic tank holes for the tomahawk school building… Then coming home, he would hoe the garden…
How he drew less than 50 dollars a month when I was young… How we/I never had a vehicle until I graduated and left home in order to get a job… How I carried drinking water from a spring, and water from the creek to wash our clothes…
How I carried milk and butter from a neighbor’s house… How my grandma hung clothes in the winter, and they would freeze on the line before she could hang them…
How I would go into a smoke house and cut off a piece of ham for breakfast, from a hog that we slaughtered in the late fall… How that we had an outside toilet until I was in high school, but still without a bathtub…
How that my grandma worked so hard in an old house, to keep the dust down in the summer and coal dust in the winter… How that I chopped wood and got in coal for the fireplace…
How that I could smell the first nip of winter in the air… From the smoke in the chimneys, and the smell of beans cooking, to walking to church…
How that my grandma would get up at 5:00 A.M. to build a fire, because it had gone out overnight… How that I would carry my grandpa to the bathroom… “thank you Lord for that privilege” …
How my grand ma stayed 30 and 40 days at a time in the hospital with my grandpa and how that I had to stay a lot of that time sleeping in the floor…
How the wind would blow through my window in the winter… How I hung a quilt over my door, in order to keep the heat in the house where my grandpa lay…
In all that, we never failed to have a meal on the table and God was always with us and I would not trade those memories for anything… I guess black kids have it rougher, but I do not know of any that does…
How that I worked in 2 machine shops in Michigan, a steal foundry in Columbus, drove a school bus, and worked on the state highway in Martin Co … Worked nearly 20 years in the coal mines in 2 different mines…
I done this to make sure I supported my family… A promise that I made to my grandpa on his dying bed… He said, be sure you work and take care of your family… I promised him I would… In all that, God blessed us and saved us… No regrets… I never once thought of myself as underprivileged…
— GARY WARD
Loved reading this, Gary. I have thought about writing such a story myself but I know there are many who would take it in the wrong light.
Same here Gary, i am 77, i still put out a small garden, i still can for the winter, i do all my work by my self because that was what i was taught to survive, You don’t work you don’t eat, simple, i joined the military to find some kind of security, after that i retired from working 20 more years to make sure i could take care of myself, thank God i am still doing that. Great post thank you
Mr. Ward, you’ve missed the point on what white privilege is and what it’s not. It’s not about an individuals struggle working to make ends meet, or not having enough money for certain things, even necessities just to survive (shelter, food, clothes, etc.). White privilege is the fact you had means to do all the things you listed without being discriminated or profiled against based on your race. Yes, you struggled, but the one thing you didn’t have to worry about was trying to do all these things as a person of color, especially as an African American.
Mr. Ward…. did you ever fear for your life when you were pulled over for a driving violation? Did you ever have someone follow you around in a store because of the color of your skin? Did anyone ever say “He’s ok even if he is white?”….. White privilege doesn’t mean that you never worked for what you had growing up…. it means you never feared for your life because of the color of your skin…
I agree that’s what “white privilege” means to me 🙄 If any thing I would like some of the black privilege. The ones where you can literally call white people slurs and break the law. Then holler it’s raciest! Not to mention all the free things they can qualify for like free college! Those who fall for the white privilege agenda are weak minded.
How about spelling the word ‘racist’ correctly before trying to assert yourself as a valid source for what is and isn’t weak-minded.
man are you delusional. you need to read a book or two
All this drama about who has it harder needs to stop and we all just need to come together and be peaceful. Black people sold black people from there own land because white people needed their HELP to colonize and work this new world by their side which wasn’t easy for anyone unless you were one of the rich pieces of shit which was and still is a very small percentage of are population. Not all white man and women treated black man and women with respect but I’d say the majority did and nowadays none of us have it near as bad as everyone is making it out to be right now. Yea it could be better but all this rioting is crazy but anyway just to hear your thoughts what if the rolls were reversed and white people sold white people to black people for money to be slaves for black people? Do you think white people would have been treated right or not have it a lot rougher in that country right now? Black people in Papua New Guinea still hunt and eat each other so I’m guessing it wouldn’t have worked out very well 🤷🏻♂️
One Word Amen
White privilege does not mean you haven’t suffered hardship; it means you haven’t suffered hardship based solely your race.
Whoooosh
Mr. Ward, all this proves is that you DID benefit from white privilege. You were able to find steady work, in industries where you, as a white male, would be paid more than people of color. You didn’t have to worry about being lynched, either.
The man said he grew up poor and worked hard to improve his station. You say he missed the point but his point is little more subtle. Have you ever seen how poor people are discriminated against? Or people from Appalachia? Think of your trips to the grocery on the first of the month? Have you avoided certain people? Have you looked down on their buggy full of groceries for the month? Have you ever went up North and been asked if you wear shoes? If you married your cousin? Have people made fun of your accent? Many of our kids in poverty live trauma filled lives. They worry about their safety and their family’s safety. It’s not a competition, we all have hurts some many more than others. I think it’s time we stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get to work on fixing the problem. Let’s get help for the poor, let’s get serious about racism and eliminate it.
Good article Mr. Ward. I guess Affrimitive Action that was signed into law in 1961 must not of worked in the past 59 years? I guess my coworker (who is black) when he got loans interest free to start a business based on his race was white privilege. I guess those speaking here about being followed in stores was never the white person who accidentally went into the wrong black neighborhood to a dollar store and was followed through out it. I guess the state trooper who stopped my family member for no reason. Then harassed him for nearly 2yrs after and if not for our local sheriff probably would have beat/killed him, was white privilege.
My point is these things happen and privilege played no role. All I hear is excuses. The black men that i work with worked hard and were successful in life. In all the years I have known them and discussed race/politics with them, not once did they attribute “white privilege” as any road block to their success.