White privilege

Several attempts were made to add “White privilege” as an LCSH before it was approved in June 2022 and published for use in August 2022. This page is a history of those attempts.

December 2008:

Jenna Freedman writes a blog post “Please LC–give me PRIVILEGE and URBAN FICTION” discussing the need for headings addressing various forms of privilege.

March 2010:

Jenna Freedman writes another blog post about the need for headings to describe resources about white privilege and other forms of privilege.

August 2011:

LC rejects a proposal for “White privilege,” stating: “White privilege is a particular way of viewing racism; instead of looking at the disadvantages that people of color experience, the scholarship examines the privileges white people have.  The concept is covered by several existing headings, such as Racism; Race discrimination; [class of persons or ethnic group]—Social conditions; [place]—Race relations; [ethnic group]—Race identity; etc.  The meeting feels that the existing subject headings are sufficient.  The proposal was not approved.”

November 2014:

LibraryThing user MaureenRoy writes about submitting suggestions to add “White privilege” to LCSH, via the request form, with no reply.

October 2015:

Netanel Ganin (before his current position & not writing on behalf of any institution) writes a blog post about this topic: “White Privilege is not in the Library of Congress Subject Headings.” He says that the current headings available “do not encapsulate or really even lean towards what white privilege is or how it works.”

October 2016:

LC rejects a proposal for “White privilege,” stating: “LCSH does not include specific headings for groups discriminated against. Numerous works about white privilege have been assigned the headings Race discrimination and Whites—Race identity, and the meeting wishes to continue that practice. Other headings such as Whites—Civil rights and Whites—Legal status, laws, etc. may also be appropriate, depending on the nature of the work being cataloged. The proposal was not approved.”

November 2016:

April Hatchcock writes a blog post: “WHITE PRIVILEGE—see also LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.” She writes about the insufficiency of the currently available headings, saying, “The Library of Congress, even as it finally welcomes a black woman at the helm, refuses to acknowledge that WHITE PRIVILEGE is a reality that extends beyond RACISM or WHITE—RACE IDENTITY.”

January 2017:

Tina Gross dicsusses the lack of the “White privilege” subject heading at a ALA Annual presentation: “While debate about white privilege takes many forms (and clearly, disputes about whether it exists at all are widespread), a central dispute is whether it exists as a thing distinct from racism. An important part of these arguments is that white privilege is not just “a particular way of viewing racism” that “examines the privileges that white people have,” but that a key component is the obliviousness and indifference to racism that white people can maintain. By not creating the subject heading, LC is effectively taking a side in these debates. Indeed, the arguments made in denying the proposals echo ones made by those who deny the existence of white privilege.”

May 2022:

Librarians at Sacramento State (led by Israel Yáñez) propose the heading “White privilege” on list 2206, with a broader term of “Privilege (Social psychology)” and a scope note reading “Here are entered works on the unearned advantages that white people inherently have by virtue of their race.”

June 2022:

The heading is discussed at the PTPC editorial meeting, with a decision that it should be qualified with a parenthetical: “social structure.”

August 2022:

“White privilege (Social structure)” appears on a newly approved list of subject headings, list 2206:

150         White privilege (Social structure) [May Subd Geog] [sp2022005885]
450 UF White skin privilege (Social structure)
550 BT Critical race theory
550 BT Privilege (Social psychology)
550 BT Social structure