Say the Wrong Thing?

Do You Understand White Privilege?

My friend Gabi Coatsworth commented on my last blog post: She said, “I just bought Verna Myers’ book, What if I say the Wrong Thing?

Gabi continued, “I don’t speak up because I’m afraid of accidentally saying something offensive like, ‘I don’t see color.’ . . . I think I only began to understand white privilege when I saw Mr. Cooper threatened by a white woman in Central Park. Her threat was that she would call the police, and she did, becoming hysterical in the process.

“I realized that I grew up with no fear of the police. I didn’t understand that it was because of white privilege, because I didn’t really get that the police could be a threat to the life of a person of color. Mr. Cooper maintained his calm and his dignity, but I can imagine that the thought of getting shot for asking a white woman to leash her dog probably crossed his mind, in the way it never would if he were white. This is a little convoluted, but I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. That’s why I need the book.”

I didn’t find her comment convoluted at all. I think she was being articulate and self-aware! And I’m happy to know she bought the book. I hope she’ll tell us if the book meets her need.

Gabi said she only really began to understand white privilege when she saw the Central Park incident. I’m sure she’s not alone in that realization. Every white person in the US who truly understands white privilege comes to that understanding in their own way.

(Do you know why I say “their” instead of “his or her?”)

“See My Color”

Luvvie Ajayi is a Nigerian writer and blogger. She uses social media to speak out against injustice. Brittle Paper offered this as “Quote of the Week” from Luvvie Ajayi:

“I want people to see my color and my culture written all over me, because I am proud of the skin I’m in. It is an important part of my identity. What I don’t want them to do is mistreat me because of it.”

It’s a wonderful answer to the white people who say, “I don’t see color.” Gabi in her comment recognized that this is offensive. I hope Luvvie’s comment will help her understand why.

There was a time when well-meaning white people were taught not to see color. But if you are white, and you look at a black person and don’t see color, then what do you see? Aren’t you trying to make that person white by removing color?

I did hear “I don’t see color” twice in the last week from white people in conversations about George Floyd and the protests. It was hard not to jump in and respond right away, but I waited. Others answered perfectly well; I just amplified a little.

I promised you my essay for our Sister Grannies on the topic, “This is Difficult.” You can read it here. Let me know what you think!

Michelle Alexander on What We Need To Do

The author of The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander, wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times that made me tremble. She said, “I will not pretend to have a road map that will lead us to higher ground. But for those who are serious about rising to the challenge, I will share a few of the key steps that I believe are necessary if we are to learn from our history and not merely repeat it.”

Please read her article and think about her key steps if you read nothing else!

Law and Order!

I left my desk for a few minutes just now to watch the PBS documentary on the Black Panthers. It’s 1969 and Nixon was just sworn in. A reporter interviewed J. Edgar Hoover, asking what is the most important need in the US at this time.

You can probably guess Hoover’s response: “Law and order.”

The reporter said, “What about justice? There’s some concern about justice.”

Hoover’s reply? “Justice is merely incidental to law and order!” Chilling. And have we left this far behind?

Music to Lift Our Spirits

Now that many of us are leaving quarantine, the sentiments are a little old. But this is still entertaining!