 |
Royce Mann, 14, won his school poetry slam with, 'White Boy Privilege' acknowledging the advantages he enjoys as an affluent white male.
He recited from memory a poem he wrote called White Boy Privilege.
In it, he talks about how he is better off because he was born a white male and admits that 'being privileged is awesome'
However, he added, things need to change — and though he didn't create the system, he has the power to fix it.
In it, the eighth grader is brutally honest about the ways in which he better off because he isn't black, Asian-American, Native American, or a woman — and signs off with a call to action to change that.
As the clip begins, a fellow student introduces him to the audience, which is made up of other kids and teachers. Royce takes the microphone and announces the name of his poem — leading to a few hushed whispers through the room before he starts.
'Dear women, I’m sorry,' he starts. 'Dear black people, I’m sorry. Dear Asian-Americans, dear Native Americans, dear immigrants who come here seeking a better life, I’m sorry.
'Dear everyone who isn’t a middle or upper class white boy, I’m sorry. I have started life on the top of the ladder while you were born on the first rung.
'I say now that I would change places with you in an instant, but if given the opportunity, would I?Probably not.'
Speaking entirely from memory, the teen explains: 'Because to be honest, being privileged is awesome. I’m not saying that you and me on different rungs of the ladder is how I want it to stay. I’m not saying that any part of me has for a moment even liked it that way.
'I’m just saying that I f***in' love being privileged and I’m not willing to give that away,' he says emphatically. 'I love it because I can say "f***in" and not one of you is attributing that to the fact that everyone with my skin color has a dirty mouth.
Here, a woman — presumably a member of the faculty — can be heard saying 'hmmmm', either in annoyed agreement or disapproval.
'I love it because I don’t have to spend an hour every morning putting on make-up to meet other people’s standards,' he goes on, addressing his privilege as a boy instead of a girl.
'I love it because I can worry about what kind of food is on my plate instead of whether or not there will be food on my plate. I love it because when I see a police officer I see someone who is on my side.
'To be honest, I’m scared of what it would be like if I wasn’t on the top rung. If the tables were turned and I didn’t have my white boy privilege safety blankie to protect me.
'If I lived a life lit by what I lack, not by what I have, if I lived a life in which when I failed, the world would say, "Told you so." If I lived the life that you live.
'When I was born I had a success story already written for me,' he goes on while the audience sits rapt. 'You were given a pen and no paper. I’ve always felt that that was unfair but I’ve never dared to speak up because I’ve been too scared.
'Well now I realize that there’s enough blankie to be shared,' he adds, earning a bit of laughter from those listening.
'Everyone should have the privileges I have,' he recites, his voice getting increasingly louder. 'In fact they should be rights instead. Everyone’s story should be written, so all they have to do is get it read. Enough said.'
Then, he changed his mind: 'No, not enough said. It is embarrassing that we still live in a world in which we judge another person’s character by the size of their paycheck, the color of their skin, or the type of chromosomes they have.
'It is embarrassing that we tell our kids that it is not their personality, but instead those same chromosomes that get to dictate what color clothes they wear and how short they must cut their hair.
But most of all, it is embarrassing that we deny this. That we claim to live in an equal country, an equal world.
You're not the victims, dudes: He tells 'white boys' that it's 'bulls***' that 'feminists are taking over the world' and Black Lives Matter is getting ' a little too strong'
