4 December 2013
Lincoln and White Privilege: How does a Man so Powerful not have the Right to Stop it? “Privilege is driving a smooth road and not even knowing it” – Ampersand. Ampersand is saying how privilege in general is taking over and people don’t even know it. So how do you define the word ‘privilege’? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, privilege is described as, “a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others.” That being said, white privilege occurs when people of Caucasian or white decent receive more rights or benefits than another racial group such as African Americans. In Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film, Lincoln, white privilege can not be surpassed without the support of a higher leader, such as Lincoln and his colleagues. Thus being said, there are two specific scenes in the movie where racial problems occur leading to the idea of white privilege and how it prevails. Lincoln has always supported the abolition of slavery and we can see that in the first few minutes of the Lincoln film. However, at the beginning, there is an incident that exemplifies how Lincoln treated the African Americans he is fighting for and how white people treat the blacks. The movie starts out with a battle scene and right after we see Lincoln under a canopy talking to two black soldiers, Ira Clark and Harold Green. Green says to Lincoln, “Us 2nd Kansas boys, whenever we fight now we-…” and Clark jumps into the conversation and says, “Another three dollars subtracted from our pay for our uniforms…” This comes as a surprise to Green because Clark is complaining to Lincoln, a man who has a lot of power over these black soldiers. The conversation continues and mentions, “… still no commissioned Negro officers.” Green becomes embarrassed by Clark’s actions so he tries to change the subject. As the two black soldiers are talking to Lincoln, we can see