The Diversity Team has had discussions over the past few years about the concept of privilege. We’ve involved the wider library community in many of these discussions, both on this blog and through events. This article by Kyle Korver, who is apparently a […checks notes…] basketball player for the […scrolls through article…] Utah Jazz, is a really personal account of what privilege means to him as a white man working in an industry where most of his colleagues are people of color. He is able to define what privilege means to him in a very individual way, but also a way that I’m sure is relatable to many others who don’t work such a high-pressure and unique job (most of us aren’t in a situation where reporters ask as about a colleague’s actions when you finish your day’s work… but we are all familiar with making snap judgements that are formed on incomplete information).

I’ll just quote a few paragraphs from later on in the article, but I think the whole thing is worth a read:

What I’m realizing is, no matter how passionately I commit to being an ally, and no matter how unwavering my support is for NBA and WNBA players of color….. I’m still in this conversation from the privileged perspective of opting in to it. Which of course means that on the flip side, I could just as easily opt out of it. Every day, I’m given that choice — I’m granted that privilege — based on the color of my skin.

In other words, I can say every right thing in the world: I can voice my solidarity with Russ after what happened in Utah. I can evolve my position on what happened to Thabo in New York. I can be that weird dude in Get Out bragging about how he’d have voted for Obama a third term. I can condemn every racist heckler I’ve ever known.

But I can also fade into the crowd, and my face can blend in with the faces of those hecklers, any time I want.

I realize that now. And maybe in years past, just realizing something would’ve felt like progress. But it’s NOT years past — it’s today. And I know I have to do better. So I’m trying to push myself further.