White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

Activity 1: “Exploring Privilege Through Personal Reflection and Discussion”

In this activity, students will reflect on their own experiences with privilege and engage in a discussion about how privilege impacts their lives and society.

To begin, students should read Peggy McIntosh’s essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” and reflect on the following questions:

• How do you see privilege operating in your own life?
• Can you identify examples of privilege in your community or society?
• How does recognizing privilege impact your understanding of social inequality?

Next, students should engage in a group discussion about their reflections. Encourage students to share their thoughts and listen respectfully to others.

Finally, students should write a short reflection about what they learned from the activity and how it has impacted their understanding of privilege.

Teaching Suggestion: Facilitate the discussion in a way that encourages all students to participate and share their thoughts. Remind students to be respectful of others’ experiences and perspectives. This can be a sensitive topic, so it’s important to create a safe and respectful environment for discussion.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or those with attentional learning differences, consider providing additional resources or scaffolding to help them understand the concept of privilege. For example, you might provide readings or videos that explain privilege in different ways, or you might guide them through a structured reflection activity. For students who are ready for more advanced exploration of this topic, consider encouraging them to research and present on related topics, such as the history of racial inequality or the psychology of privilege.

Paired Text Extension: This activity could be extended by reading and discussing another text that explores the concept of privilege, such as “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander. Students could compare the ways the two texts discuss privilege and consider how the concept applies to different forms of social inequality.

• Read “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” and reflect on how it discusses privilege.
• Compare the discussion of privilege in this text to McIntosh’s essay. How are the discussions similar? How are they different?

Teaching Suggestion: Facilitate a discussion about the two texts, encouraging students to share their thoughts and reflections. Remind students to use evidence from the texts to support their points. This can be a sensitive topic, so it’s important to create a safe and respectful environment for discussion.

Activity 2: “Artistic Response”

In this activity, students create an original artwork that conveys an important idea about white privilege.

Peggy McIntosh’s essay explores the topic of white privilege in an academic style of writing. How might her main idea be expressed in another way—one that would be easy to grasp and perhaps also pack an emotional punch? Working individually or with one or more classmates, plan and create a work of art that conveys an important point about white privilege. Be creative in your choice of a medium. Ideas include the following:

• A political cartoon
• A brief dialogue or vignette
• A poem or song
• A brief video
• A drawing or painting

When you have completed your work, share it with the class. Be prepared to discuss your artistic choices and to ask questions about your classmates’ work.

Teaching Suggestion: You might remind students to consider the tone they want to convey in their work. If students struggle to come up with an idea, encourage them to review McIntosh’s list of privileges to see which ones especially resonate or spark an idea.