Existing comment:
White people --
I am a white woman from a small country town. Four years ago I married a black man, I did not think that race would be a topic of contention during our marriage because after all "I didn't see color." Every time we ended up on the topic during our first 1.5 yrs of marriage, I thought it was ridiculous to be discussing this again, I thought "I'm absolutely not racist so how does this topic so often end in disagreement." Finally, I read the books, 1.5 yrs of marriage had not taught me anything compared to "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo and "The Color Law" by Richard Rothstein. From there I was hooked and read every James Baldwin + Ta-Nehisi Coates book there is and "The New Jim Crow" and "So You Want to Talk About Race..." My life changed after reading these. I am so embarrassed by my ignorance and sorry that I did not learn sooner. There is a whole other story happening in America that many are not aware of.
My reason for writing this is to say having a black friend, family member or even spouse does not mean you are not racist. To be white in America is to be racist unless you have intentionally taught yourself otherwise. |