'White Privilege' Essay Contest Sparks Controversy In Affluent CT Town

WESTPORT, CT — What started as a simple, allbeit provocative, teen essay contest asking students for their thoughts on "white privilege" has grown into a developing kerfuffle in Westport and beyond.

Some believe that asking students of the affluent community such a question puts it in a negative light, even though Westport is known for its liberal and inclusive nature.

TEAM Westport (Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism) and the local library are sponsoring the contest, which asked local high school students to address the following:

"In 1,000 words or less, describe how you understand the term ‘white privilege.’ To what extent do you think this privilege exists? What impact do you think it has had in your life—whatever your racial or ethnic identity—and in our society more broadly?"

On the popular local blog by teacher and columnist Dan Woog, a healthy dose of the comments are critical of the question. Some said they found the question to be offensive, in part because no one is excluded from living in Westport, and even thriving in the town. They said kids should not be encouraged to believe that the issue exists in Westport, because it doesn't.

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Without naming him, the contest appears to acknowledge the possible changes in perception brought on by President Donald Trump's victory in the fall. Westport voted better than 2-to-1 in favor of Hillary Clinton on Election Day.

"As the nation faces historic social shifts relating to race and identity, young people will find themselves at the crossroads of a different America," organizers wrote on the contest page.

Harold Bailey Jr., founder of TEAM Westport, told Patch that he and the other organizers of the contest have been taken aback by the criticism because they were trying to spark discussion, "not divisiveness." While there was a small bit of criticism locally when the contest was launched a couple of weeks ago, it has now exploded since the story was picked up by the Associated Press and other national media outlets. The contest runs through Feb. 27.

"This is the fourth year we've held the contest, and each year we've asked students for their thoughts on race, religion or ethnicity," said Bailey. "We've had discussion upon discussion about the contest and the topics, but we never expected this."

Despite the criticism, Bailey said most of the comments have been supportive of the effort. "Westport is an incredibly welcoming and open town. This was not meant to spur guilt in anyone or cast aspersions," he said, adding that he now understands that for some the term "white privilege" has a specific, sociological meaning.

"This was meant as a healthy exercise for students, to get a discussion going," said Bailey, adding that the organizers hope parents participate in the process. "We're trying to drive understanding, not divisiveness."

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