Eager to address issues of racial disparity, community leaders anticipate the arrival of the 15th Annual White Privilege Conference, which will be held March 26-29 at the Monona Terrace Convention and Community Center.
The White Privilege Conference, sponsored by local organizations including Madison Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and YWCA-Madison, seeks to “examine challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offers solutions to work toward a more equitable world,” according to their website.
Conference organizers acknowledge that the term “white privilege” itself is difficult and even controversial to understand.
“A lot of times people feel really resistant to the idea that we might have privilege,” YWCA Racial Justice and Outreach Director Colleen Butler said.
In an interview with WSUM Feb. 3, Will Clifton, a staff member at the UW-Madison Office for Equity and Diversity, explained privilege as “[existing] when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to rather because of anything they’ve done or failed to do.”
In addition to keynote speakers, the conference will offer educational trainings and over 100 interactive workshops.
“It can help deepen one’s understanding on these issues,” Eric Kestin, an investigator for Madison’s department of civil rights, said.
With 2,000 attendees anticipated to attend according to The Cap Times, organizers are looking forward to the event.
“We are happy to see this conference get so many people involved with their own standpoint,” Senior University Relations Specialist Valeria Davis said in an interview with WSUM. “This is about everyone.”
