Woman Illustrates Her White Privilege by Carrying a Sword

This Colgate University sophomore posted about her white privilege after a campus lockdown.

Jenny Lundt
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This Colgate University sophomore posted about her white privilege after a campus lockdown.

Jenny Lundt

Earlier this month, Colgate University officials put the school on lockdown after a couple students reported an armed black man walking on campus; however, it turned out to be a serious and potentially deadly mistake. According to the Washington Post, the individual who promoted the lockdown was actually a freshman who was carrying a glue gun for an art project. University officials have since admitted the reports were racially biased, and some students have used the incident to shed more light on the nation’s race issues.

One of those students was Jenny Lundt, a Colgate sophomore who decided to demonstrate her white privilege in a Facebook post.

Shortly after authorities lifted the lockdown, Lundt went to social media to post an image of her holding a sword. She claimed the picture was taken a year ago, after she was running around the campus with the large weapon. Lundt said no one seemed threatened of afraid of her; in fact, “People laughed- oh look at that harmless, ~ silly white girl ~ with a giant sword!!” she wrote.

The limited information that was released put all black men on this campus in danger and at risk of being killed. That is the reality of the institutionalized racism in the United States. If you think for even a second this wasn't profiling, ask yourself why this sword is still in my room and has not ONCE made anyone uncomfortable. No one has EVER called the police on me. Understand that there are larger forces at play than this one night, and this once instance of racism. This is engrained in our university and our larger society. White Colgate students, we need to do better.

The post has since gone viral, garnering more than 24,000 reactions, 16,000 shares, and 1,500 comments.

After reading through some of the responses, Lundt made some edits. She acknowledged all of the praise and attention she was receiving for the post was another example of her white privilege. She wanted to remind everyone that the post and the following discussion wasn’t about her or her feelings. It was “about people of color that are oppressed each and every day by this institution and this country at large and I in no way meant to take the conversation away from them and their stories.”

You can read the full post below.

 

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