Madison Voigt:
The power to choose where you live is a privilege a lot of White families might not realize is connected to race, and after comparing the setting of Hagerman’s book to my own hometown, I have come to understand how wildly overlooked and problematic implicit White self-segregation can be.
Before reading White Kids, I had never considered the ability to choose where I lived a privilege of my race.
To understand my own experiences with self-segregation, let me first go over the setting of the book and how it relates back to my hometown:
The themes in Hagerman’s book are drawn from the narratives of affluent White families in three small communities within the larger Petersfield community. Hagerman clearly identifies the differences in the way these communities function according to how the White parents socialize their children about race. Sheridan parents take on the colorblind approach with their kids, in that there are virtually no discussions of race. Evergreen parents, almost oppositely, believe that it is necessary to have conversations about race with their children. They take on the color consciousness mentality, which sees racial socialization as an important component of development for White children. Wheaton Hills parents take on somewhat of a middle ground. Race is acknowledged here, but it is clear that ignorance dominates the narrative within any racial socialization that occurs. This type of racial socialization is arguably as problematic as colorblindness. Even though racial socialization is more explicit, what is made explicit is grounded in the philosophies that continue to perpetuate and reinforce systems that marginalize people of color.
Despite having very different racial socialization tactics, the families that Hagerman interviews in all three communities talk about reasons why they have chose to live in their perspective neighborhoods. These reasons range from being able to attend the “best” school to surrounding their children with diversity. In this way, all the families in her book participate in White self-segregation, even if their intentions and motivations to live where they live are different. Regardless of the motivations of their choices, White self segregation is grounded in their White privilege. The ability to choose grants these White families with spaces and opportunities that suit their needs and wants, as well as dislocates people of color from these same spaces and opportunities.
Although Hagerman’s work is centered around one community in the US, it is quite representative of my own experiences in my hometown (for the sake of anonymity, we’ll call my hometown Gransville). Similar to Petersfield, Gransville is comprised of mostly White affluent families and can be divided into three smaller “communities”. Affiliation to each Gransville “community” is determined by the high school your family belongs to. Each high school in my hometown, maps on quite accurately to the three different towns in Hagerman's book. Freedom High in Gransville is colorblind like Sheridan, East High is similar to Wheaton Hills, and Townsin High is the most color conscious like Evergreen. Although I am generalizing the racial ideologies at each high school, overall, I would say it’s a pretty accurate representation of my perspective of Gransville.
My family, like the families in Petersfield, was able to self segregate to neighborhoods that benefited me and my siblings. My mother always ensured that we would be able to attend East High, the high school with the highest academic achievement. She made sure that there were kids on our street we could play with. She also made it a priority to pick safe and clean streets.
Before reading White Kids, I had never considered the ability to choose where I lived a privilege of my race. I understand now, with more depth, that all families want to live in areas that provide their children with the best opportunities, but because of systems and conditions, certain demographics are able to exercise choices more freely. While I cannot ask White parents to limit their choices regarding what they can and are able to provide their children, I am a proponent of educating yourself and your children about your choices and the implications they might have.
Consider these questions when trying to understand the potential consequences moving might have for the people who already exist in that space. Will your choice to move displace marginalized people? Are you supporting the gentrification of a neighborhood? What does it mean to live in a higher socioeconomic area? Will you be limiting your child’s exposure to diversity? Are you moving to an area to expose your child to diversity at the expense of other people of color? If you, as a White person, have the power to create the boundaries in which race interacts and coexists, you need to understand how White privilege is weaved into your power in order to use it properly.