That bathroom door needed something. I’m referring to the bathroom door at the apartment I had over summer, to which my girlfriend and I colorfully painted whatever creative ideas were in our heads.

The door slowly transformed from the average chipped, brown dullness into one that had a fiery sun, a man that was accidentally made from quick brush strokes, and blades of grass all on a new clean, white backdrop.

Just as my emotions opened up for the door, mine came out after walking through the Museum of Oppression in the Martin Luther King Jr. Union last Wednesday.

The tour, which mainly displayed inhumane injustices to various racial and ethnic groups, hit me harder at some points than others. But there was one point that hit my heart: the section on white privilege.

This part described in quotes and writings how whites are privileged in their race because of their race. It’s something that I’ve always struggled with. In no way did I really ever consider myself privileged, but when compared to minorities, I felt like a minority myself because of that labeling.

When talking to sociology professor Janet Cosbey in an interview on race last semester, she said her white students didn’t see a problem with race, while her black students did.

I think we live in a world where, because of the vast external improvements in racial differences (integrated schools, affirmative action, etc.), we think everything is OK.

It’s something that through talking about it, I’ll be able to come to grips with and understand that yes, my race does have a privilege in a way. I most likely do have a distinct advantage over a man born in Kenya. That’s just reality.

But that reality is hard to accept at times. And there were only few instances in my life where I was actually forced to come to grips with white privilege. This last time was the only time I addressed why it bothered me.

I think the only way we can learn to accept the harshness of our internal realities is by being open with each other about them.

Kevin Kenealy is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].