White privilege describes the advantages white people receive in a society shaped by racism, often without noticing them. It does not mean every white person's life is easy. It means race is not one of the things making it harder.
W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in 1935 that white workers received a "public and psychological wage" from whiteness, even when poorly paid. In the 1960s, activists Theodore Allen and Noel Ignatiev wrote about white skin privilege. Peggy McIntosh's 1989 essay, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," listed everyday examples and brought the idea into classrooms.
Privilege is material as well as social. The Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances found the median white household had about $285,000 in wealth, compared with $44,900 for the median Black household. Much of that gap traces to policies like redlining and the GI Bill's unequal benefits. Critics say the term blames individuals, but its purpose is to show how systems benefit some groups.