For me, class, family, opportunity, or wealth did not bestow upon me “White Privilege.”  No, my “White privilege” came as a gift and blessing from God, my heavenly Father, whose guidance I followed throughout life.  I wear my “White Privilege” as a badge of honor!

“White Privilege,” a negative accusation against White Americans, is among the latest and perhaps most poignant and trendy of bywords to describe the Caucasian race.  Regardless of the fact it dismisses multitudes of impoverished Whites across the nation or even the globe, it is quite popularly used.  I’m certain they would hardly feel “privileged.”  For Christians though, privilege isn’t necessarily a status in life; it’s a blessing related to some of God’s precious gifts to us, and such gifts are given universally regardless of race.

One has to admit that, yes, many Whites have been and are privileged.  But isn’t that true of many in all races?  Isn’t privilege, according to the world’s definition, related to class, family, opportunity, and wealth?  I grew up in a low middle-class family.  We weren’t impoverished, but we were far from comfortable or on easy street.  My parents’ struggles were incredible at times.  However, I am compelled to think back on my life and recognize a “White Privilege” perspective that may not be appreciated or enjoyed by all.  As a White Christian, that “White Privilege” relates directly to people of other races.  Here is the story of my “White Privilege.”

As a child raised in Sunday school, I sang “Jesus loves the little children of the world.  Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.”  Despite my surrounding community, this six- or seven-year-old believed all colors were loved by God, and she should love them too.  Learning that song was my first “White Privilege.”  My church supported a Black orphanage.  Our youth group frequently went and played with the Black orphaned children.  That was my second “White Privilege.”

In high school, I belonged to a student group called Inter-Group Relations.  As White students, we met with a Black high school’s students to discuss racial issues amicably together.  Another “White Privilege.”

Attending a Christian college in Columbia, South Carolina, a Chinese student from Hong Kong asked me to be her roommate my sophomore year.  I accepted her invitation.  Ting Lan Lam was remarkably gifted musically, exceptionally intelligent, and highly disciplined.  I loved and admired her.  Another “White Privilege.”

While still attending college, I taught a Black children’s Bible club in a very poor Black woman’s home.  A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling to give light.  I loved those children.  Add another “White Privilege.”

As a junior in college, I taught Sunday school classes to both White and Black female inmates in the county jail.  In the mid-1960s, they were still segregated from one another.  Once, I went to visit a Black female inmate to speak with her alone at her request.  She wished to share with me her life.  As much as I taught them, I learned much and cared for them.  That too was an added “White Privilege.”

Eventually, I studied French and Arabic at Paul Valéry University in Montpellier, France while living with a French family.   My classmates were from around the world, especially Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  I entered into friendly relationships with those students and the French professor. Once again, a “White Privilege.”

While living and studying in France, my colleagues were from England, Austria, Australia, Germany, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, The Netherlands, and Zanzibar.  They were European, Middle Eastern, and African.  An added “White Privilege” for me.

I was sent to Tunis, Tunisia in North Africa to study Arabic and begin ministry among that population.  Besides Arab, Black, and Jewish Tunisians, I became friends with Black Africans from Togo and Senegal.  I invited them into my home for hospitality, a meal and games.  I also worshiped with them.  What a “White Privilege” for me that was.  Perhaps the most precious of “White Privileges” there was to be given the Arabic name Basma, which means “She who smiles” or “smiling face,” by Tunisian girls.  I treasure that name!

Being transferred to Marseille, France, I served at the École Radio Biblique (Radio School of the Bible) where Arabic radio programs, Arabic and French Bible correspondence courses, and Christian newspapers were produced.  We represented 17 different nationalities and diverse races—African, Asian, European, and Middle Eastern.  A tremendous “White Privilege,” indeed!

Returning to the States, my career of almost 24 years in a Black-majority school district provided and sealed many friendships with African Americans.  What I consider a culmination of “White Privilege.” 

My “White Privilege” guilt is definitely immense, but I don’t regret it.  I feel no shame!  In fact, I celebrate and rejoice in it feeling greatly blessed.  That “Privilege” allowed me to grow and learn, and to become close friends with so many beautiful people of all races.

For me, class, family, opportunity, or wealth did not bestow upon me “White Privilege.”  No, my “White privilege” came as a gift and blessing from God, my heavenly Father, whose guidance I followed throughout life.  I wear my “White Privilege” as a badge of honor!

Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.