Over the past few months, I have read a lot about racism and anti-racism (Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones, and White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism). I began to realize something I have had my entire life, but didn't actually know I possessed...white privilege.
Peggy McIntosh says, "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was 'meant' to remain oblivious," in a 1988 paper entitled White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies". I have seen posts from black male and female friends on Facebook who have posted about teaching their sons how to interact with a police officer if pulled over while driving. My husband and I have never been concerned about our son's actions if he were to be pulled over, let alone how to speak or act during a traffice stop. I have never felt I was being watched as I shopped, or had someone cross the street as I walked down the sidewalk. This is white privilege.
Some believe this privilege means affluent, however, it is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group".
Alyssa Cole's new book When No One is Watching portrays a very believable scenario in this psychological thriller. The first half of the book describes a Brooklyn neighborhood where the main character and one of the narrators, Sydney, has spent most of her life. Her neighbors are like her family, there to help each other at all times and at all cost. Now, as Sydney looks around her neighborhood, those "family" members are beginning to disappear. In the blink of an eye, it seems one neighbor after another is leaving the community.
New white neighbors are starting to take over the historic homes one by one. She begins to hear terms like "them" and "us", and she no longer feels a part of the community in which she grew up. Theo, one of Sydney's new neighbors and the second narrator, does not hold the same prejudice as the other recently relocated families. Together they discover how and why gentrification has come to this area of town.
Theo does not understand why Sydney reacts the way she does to certain events in which they are both involved. He does not see his white privilege because it "tends to be unintentional, unconscious...but easy to take for granted," according to Christine Emba in an article published in The Washington Post (January 16, 2016). Theo sees Sydney as an equal, and not as one of "them". As they research the community's history they begin to wonder if they are being paranoid or is their community being taken over in order to conform to the "us" mentality.
I recommend this book not only because it is has a great storyline, but because it helps to step into the life of a young woman caught in a situation in which she has little to no control. When No One is Watching is a book to awaken those who will have an open mind to begin to understand that "privilege isn't about what you've gone through; it's about what you haven't had to go through" (Janaya Khan, Vogue, "Janaya Future Khan's Guide to Understanding White Privilege", June 3, 2020). This is an extremely relevant novel based on current events in our country, but also because racial issues need to be discussed and not ignored just because it is a difficult and uncomfortable topic.
When No One is Watching was published on September 1, 2020 by HarperCollins Publishing. There is also an audiobook narrated by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng.
*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, HarperCollins Publishing provided me with complimentary copies of the ebook and the audiobook for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.
All quotes are from Juneau Empire, "Opinion: Acknowledging an 'invisible package of unearned assets", June 22, 2020.
