Uh oh: Liberal CT town upset over 'white privilege' essay contest

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Organizers of a town-sponsored student essay contest on white privilege in Connecticut were surprised by the reaction from some in the community who said the contest wrongly suggests race plays a role in life there. Residents of Westport-- which is an overwhelming white community on Connecticut’s Godl Coast— bristled at the question.
Bari Reiner, 72, says the question is offensive because the town welcomes anybody who can afford to live here. “It’s an open town,” Reiner said. “There are no barricades here. Nobody says if you’re black or whatever, you can’t move here."

The contest , put on by the town’s diversity council, asks students to describe the impact white privilege has had on their lives, using a term that refers generally to advantages conferred automatically to whites, and not to minorities. The concept has moved into the mainstream as the nation has discussed race more openly.

The chairman of the diversity council, Harold Bailey Jr., said that in addition to the chatter in town, people as far away as Singapore have weighed in online. “There’s a lot more controversy around it than many of us expected,” said Bailey, a retired IBM vice president who is black. “Just the fact it says ‘white’ and ‘privilege,’ for some people that’s all they need to see, and all of a sudden we’re race-baiting or trying to get people to feel guilty. That’s not at all what it’s about.”

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