In this chapter I discuss how whiteness and white identities operate as a form of privilege in society. Whiteness and white privilege are explored in two different political and social contexts, that of the UK and that of the US. Despite great historical, cultural and social differences between these two countries, many black and minority ethnic groups remain marginalised at different levels of society in which white identities predominate.

A recent report published by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found shocking evidence of the prevalence of racial inequalities in the UK; if you are from a black minority background you are three times more likely to be excluded from school, more likely to be unemployed, more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be physically restrained in police custody and more likely to be prosecuted and sentenced. The EHRC argues:

The report also found a significant increase in the numbers of racist crimes in the last five years.

Similarly in the US, if you are from a black African American background you are more likely to live in poverty (27% of black African Americans compared with 11% of all Americans), less likely to have a bachelor’s degree and more likely to be stopped, searched and arrested than if you are from a white background. Moreover, black African Americans are not only less likely to own their own homes now, they are also less likely to be the homeowners of the future; trends in home ownership suggest a slow but persistent year-on-year fall between 2005 and 2012 from 46% to 42.5%. Black African Americans have lower life expectancy than white Americans, they are less likely to have access to adequate health care and are more likely to be susceptible to diseases that they will die from.