Wow! This woman just put to words exactly how I feel about white privilege. On the night when the #fergusondecision came out, I was glued to my computer screen, scrolling hundreds of posts about race and racism, following the argument, chiming in, and getting very angry at times. Then, in a moment of pain, anger, confusion, and desperation, I chose to email anyone in my friends list who is black and tell them that I love them, that they are seen, and that their lives matter. I have a lot of facebook friends, but that whole process, sadly, took me about 20 minutes. I have spent the last year or two trying to intentionally diversify my life and my interactions. But, I have a long way to go. During the many years I spent living in homogeneous white communities, I didnt accumulate many friends of color, so now Im making up for lost time. Not surprisingly, the more I let my life be affected by the stories of my friends of color, the more I empathize with the pain that is felt when people of color are often killed for things white people are rarely killed for. There is a history of racism in our country. It is the foundation upon which wealth and privilege have been constructed. Racism isnt over. Colorblindness is not the answer. Empathy. Humility. Love. These things will bring change. Change for all of us, change for the better. Change that isnt always comfortable, but comfort isnt the best thing for us.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 05:06:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015