Student Awareness of White Privilege and White Racial Identity at Illinois Wesleyan University

Privilege and prejudice is alive and well; coming to see privilege is essential in understanding injustices. By examining white privilege’s invisible workings and operations, while also exploring the awareness of those who are positively affected by it, we can then begin the arduous task of dismantling it both institutionally and personally. This study uses qualitative and quantitative survey data from self-identified white Illinois Wesleyan students in order to investigate white student’s awareness of white privilege. I also explore the attitudes and perceptions of racial identity among white students. This presentation will discuss those findings and how they impact Illinois Wesleyan’s students of color