“I am not a racist” but I have thoughts I am told are racist: But…I don’t SEE color!”

I wrote this piece in response to an ongoing discussion that a dear friend of mine has to deal with often. It is addressed to and written for one person, but it easily applies to all white people who still don’t get the idea of white privilege.

Dear GL —

Like many other white people, it seems you have a serious misunderstanding of privilege. The privilege about which Anita speaks is not just about not having enough money to live on. Wealthy black people experience racism, too. Wealth does not protect them from a cop deciding they are criminal — e.g., driving an expensive car in a white neighborhood gets them arrested. Also they are not immune from the impact of all the anti-black talk.

If you truly care about Anita and sincerely wish to understand her when she is talking about racism, you will give these two essays time, attention, and careful thought. I know both are quite lengthy and you probably don’t have the time to read them right now. That’s ok, so long as you commit to reading and thinking about these words when you are able to do so.

(My essay here, and Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” )