I think white privilege is a misnomer. Though we're no longer in the '60s, some people still experience their problems made worse by the color of their skin. However, calling the lack of such exacerbation "privilege" has some ugly implications. The word suggests something shady and shaky, something one does not deserve and can readily be taken away. It suggests that being treated like a human being with all the rights and responsibilities of a full citizen is some fancy add-on that can be withdrawn and maybe should be.

It's telling that the word "white privilege" was coined by a white woman. As near as I can tell, it refers to the benefits of civilization that everyone should enjoy, but Black people are sometimes denied. But calling these benefits "privileges" is very problematic.

Back in the day, we didn't talk like that. Instead, we called for civil rights and for our nation to be accountable to the ideal of "liberty and justice for all." Allies could agree with this universal principle, so we had the numbers to make real changes.

The term "white privilege" has the opposite effect. I've been around Black people all my life and have never heard a Black person refer to "white privilege" in everyday speech. For that matter, the only white people I hear using it are in academia or politics -- and even then, it sounds weird.

Privilege is an ugly word. When allies hear this word, it can send us into spirals of useless self-hate and self-castigation. We become caricatures, dour and reactive, the opposite of the joy that empowers. When non-aligned white people hear this word, they become angry and defensive. None of this does anyone any good.

I'm for reviving the good old term "civil rights." We can all understand and support that.