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Leverage or Be Leveraged. Your Choice.
White privilege? That’s the old conversation. That’s the one that made you feel bad but let you stay passive.
White leverage is the new conversation.
Leverage has only two options:
Move it, or hoard it.
Leverage: The Missing Link in the Privilege Conversation
Privilege has a binary condition:it cannot exist without oppression.
It is not simply about who has more—it’s about how the system distributes power by keeping others out.
If one person is assumed competent until proven otherwise, someone else is assumed incompetent unless they prove otherwise.
If one person gets to move freely, someone else is constantly policed.
That’s the structure of supremacy culture—one of the 15 Pillars of Supremacy Culture: desireebstephens.bio/sh…
But here’s what most people don’t realize: Leverage is not the same as privilege.
Privilege is static.Leverage moves.
And leverage can be used by all of us.
Liberation Is Intersectional: How Leverage Works for Everyone
Leverage isn’t just about race. It’s about access, protection, and the ability to shift weight where it’s needed most.
The first axis of marginalization is always race. That is the foundation of this system—before gender, before class, before sexuality, before ability. Whiteness is the default setting of supremacy culture.
But within racial groups, leverage still exists.
Let’s break it down:
A Black cishet man may not have white leverage, but he has gender leverage.
A white woman may not have male leverage, but she has racial leverage.
A Black queer person may not have cishet leverage, but they have cultural leverage in their own spaces.
A wealthy undocumented person may not have citizenship leverage, but they have class leverage.
A disabled person may lack able-bodied leverage, but they may have financial leverage that allows them access to care.
Leverage exists at every intersection.
The question is: Are you using it?
Why Leverage and Not Privilege?
Because “privilege” sounds like something you sit with. It sounds like something you feel bad about but ultimately do nothing with.
But leverage? Leverage is a tool. And tools are meant to be used.
Privilege without action is hoarding.
Leverage without awareness is wasted.
Leverage without accountability is exploitation.
So the question isn’t Do you have white leverage? The question is: Are you using it, or are you hoarding it?
Fact Check This:
Privilege only exists because oppression exists. It is not a neutral state—it is an imbalance baked into the system.
Leverage requires intention. White people can call a manager, file a complaint, speak to authorities, and be heard in ways others aren’t. That’s leverage. Use it.
Leverage requires awareness. You walk into spaces that others can’t enter without scrutiny. Are you holding that access for yourself or opening doors?
Leverage requires movement. The civil rights movement didn’t succeed just because of Black resistance—it succeeded because some white-bodied people used their leverage to move the system.
How to Use Your Leverage Instead of Hoarding It
Leverage your presence. Show up where Black and brown people face the highest risks. Be a barrier, a witness, an advocate.
Leverage your credibility. If people assume you’re “reasonable” while assuming others are “angry” or “radical,” use that credibility to shift conversations.
Leverage your networks. Who do you know? What access do you have? Use your connections to uplift those who don’t have the same reach.
Leverage your discomfort. If the conversation makes you uncomfortable, lean in. If you don’t understand, ask. If it feels overwhelming, good. That means you’re in the right place.
Leverage your money. Donate to Black-led organizations, not just those with a diversity statement. Move your money to community-run banks and businesses. Divest from institutions upholding white supremacy.
Leverage or Be Leveraged. Your Choice.
This is not about guilt. This is not about sitting in discomfort.
This is about what you do with what you have.
The weight of this system is already crushing people. Will you help lift it, or will you let it sit there, knowing you had the ability to shift it all along?
