White privilege is a societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. It is a social phenomenon intertwined with race and racism. White privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice. These include cultural affirmations of ones own worth, presumed greater social status, and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. The effects of white privilege can be seen in professional, educational, and personal contexts.
White privilege is not just the power to find what you need in a convenience store or to move through the world without your race. It is an advantage that protects white people against any form of discrimination related to their ethnicity and race. White privileges are the unearned privileges that white individuals experience on a daily basis (often unconsciously) because they are not subjected to racism. These benefits are often “invisible” to white individuals because they feel like “a given,” like something that everyone experiences. Peggy McIntosh famously defines white privilege as "the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits, and choices bestowed upon people solely because they are white".
