‘White Boy Privilege’ raises an interesting question about race
Jul 14, 2016, 7:02 AM | Updated: 1:01 pm
His name is Royce Mann. He’s 14 years old and he has become famous for his eloquent and self-effacing explanation of white privilege.
The eighth grader performed his poem titled “White Boy Privilege” last spring. His Mom proudly posted it like a lot of moms do, but with the nation now immersed in another race debate – it’s gone viral.
Related: Ready or not, the next big test on our country is coming
The video has surpassed 8 million views, primarily because of this: “I love it, because when I see a police officer I see someone who is on my side. To be honest, I’m scared of what it would be like if I wasn’t on the top rung — if the tables were turned — and I didn’t have my white-boy-privilege safety blankie to protect me.”
The whole poem is on online but to summarize, he admits it is great to be him. And it is.
I looked up the private school he attends. The Paideia School in Atlanta is housed in 14 buildings on a 16-acre campus, not far from the Jimmy Carter Center. Average class size is 14. Eighth-grade tuition is just over $23,000.
Royce has traveled all over he world. He’s also a professional actor, as are both parents.
He has an IMDB listing with 15 film credits — films I hadn’t heard of — but that’s 15 more than most people I know.
So he’s not only a white kid, he’s a talented, well-educated white kid. And according to the school’s website, 31 percent of the students at his school are students of color. I’ll bet a lot of them are smart and talented too.
Royce didn’t propose any policy solutions in his white privilege poem. But I’m willing to bet that if back in the 60s had we started spending $23,000 a year on everyone’s education in this country, we wouldn’t be talking about race at all right now.
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
