1. American Slavery and African Indentured Servitude cannot be compared:

The system of I.S. in Africa was a method of replaying debts. Once all debts were paid, servitude ended. When were American slaves ever free to leave? What debts did they owe to the white man?

Servants in the African I.S. system were considered equals in the households of those whom they owed debts to. They ate at the same tables, were giving the same living conditions and were considered a part of the family. When were American slaves allowed to share a meal at the master’s table or given equal living conditions and treatment?

A lot of people also try to argue that Africans sold other Africans into American slavery. The people who argue this point don’t seem to understand that the white American slave trader was never a trustworthy individual. History proves the possibility that many Africans who sold other Africans into the Transatlantic slave trade were unaware that they were doing so, convinced that the American system practiced the same sort of I.S. system; unaware of the future that America held for their brothers and sisters; unaware that they would never return.

You have to keep in mind the mindset and influence of the White colonist. They come over, destroy the land and sell back what they stole to make a profit. So in connection with the lie of American I.S., many Africans may have felt incentive or pressure because of the threats of the white man against their people and land.

Looking at “African slavery” as equal to American slavery is a great example of a white privileged mindset. White washed history.

2. Do some research on White privilege:

White privilege is a idea that has been socially reinforced and institutionalized. It ensures that the white population’s image, needs, wants and beliefs are set as the standard or norm.

People of color (POC) need their own college funds because the white standard makes it difficult for them to obtain the same amount of success as their white counterparts. POCS form their own social networks because white society separates them from connecting with other POCS and forming a sense of empowerment.  WP ensures that whites do not need college funds or social networking sites because the default is considered “white.” Facebook, Instagram, Myspace, Twitter is the whitepeoplemeet.com. The public school system, the educational tracking system, the SAT/ACT is the method to the white college fund.

3. Intersectionality:

Your comment about being one of the least privileged white people you know has nothing to do with your race. Intersectionality proves that a person can be both privileged and oppressed by certain social identities they posses. You may be economically oppressed, which is why you feel like you may suffer from a “less-privileged” life. But let’s not confuse your economic identity with your racial identity. Racially as a white woman, you will ALWAYS be privileged over POCs.

4. When a POC calls out your privilege, the last thing you should be is offended:

This is the problem we face on Tumblr and in society in general; as POCs and even non-POCs preach the truth about WP and how it truly effects that standard of life of those who are not white, so many whites get defensive and refuse to accept WP as a fact. My speaking out against WP is not an attack on you. We all realize that we have no control over which race we are born into. It is just the simple fact that as a person born into the privileged race, you should be aware of how your actions could quite possibly be oppressing those around you. When you block yourself off from this understanding and reduce our words of knowledge to criticism, you further our oppression and the very racism you speak of.