On her new show, The Oprah Conversation, on Apple TV+ iconic television host, Oprah Winfrey said that white people have a “leg up,” in America.
“There are white people who are not as powerful as the system of white people—the caste system that’s been put in place—but they still, no matter where they are on the rung, or the ladder of success, they still have their whiteness.”
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Winfrey said, “You still have your whiteness. That’s what the term ‘white privilege’ is. It means that whiteness still gives you an advantage, no matter.”
It was this comment that was tweeted by the conservative website, The Blaze.
Texas senator, Ted Cruz, tweeted the quote calling it, “utter, racist BS.”
The tweet had many supporters and some detractors, even among whites. One user wrote, “White privilege” doesn’t mean success. It means that there are fewer roadblocks and even additional grace along the way when we screw up.”
Cruz’s supporters noted that Winfrey, a billionaire, has privilege due to her wealth. “What kind of privilege made it possible for her to become a billionaire? My white privilege bank account won’t buy me a Rolls Royce, a mansion in Beverly Hills, personal staff, or a private jet.”
The show featured a sit-down with Emmanuel Acho, host of the web series Uncomfortable Conversation with a Black Man. Acho is also a former NFL player.
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He said that he frequently calls on his white friends to teach their children how to be anti-racist.
“Here’s what I told my friends with their white children,” Acho began. “I said, ‘Y’all live in a white cul-de-sac, in a white neighborhood, in a white city, in a white state. If you (are) not careful, your children will live their whole white life, and at 26, 27, they’ll end up being a part of the problem, because you just let them and allowed them to live a completely white, sheltered and cultureless life.”
Acho emphasized that white people must be the solution to white racism.
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