Quote:
Originally Posted by Mykey
You should be very careful about assuming a "white" has no experience with racism.
I can guarantee that racism is alive and well in this country.
In high school (Booker T. Washington/HSEP in Houston - Go Leopards!) I met some of the most wonderful people on this planet and received a first rate education. I was also was nearly killed by a group of three people who beat me to an inch of my life while yelling racial slurs at me. This did not drive me from the school or make me drop my friends (and girlfriend) because of the actions of a few idiots who superficially looked like them.
If you want open and healthy discussions about race then you must invite all people to participate.
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Alright, just in case I'm putting my foot in mouth, I'm assuming you are white. If you aren't, then I'm making a complete arse of myself- a risk I guess I'm willing to take.
What you experienced was awful and I'm not trying to minimize the pain and suffering you went through. But it's not racism. Racism is the systematic oppression of PoC by white people through a social structure where white people have power and privilege over non-whites. Racism is not just someone making a racial slur, but the problem where applicants with "black" sounding names are less likely to get hired than John Smith with the exact same resume, or a whole host of similar situations (black people being followed inside stores by staff more frequently than whites, etc).
Did you experience bigotry/prejudice/hate based off your skin color? Yes. That's wrong. I'm not saying it isn't. I'm sorry you had that experience and I understand that you won't be happy with me saying that's not racism. I am saying it was still wrong, I want to make that clear.
Quote:
The team I am running is over 90% Latino/Hispanic, ~5% white, and 100% the same race. We need to start with our similarities and minimize our differences.
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I just... This is white-washing your students. They aren't 100% the same race. Their racial identity has -in both negative and positive ways- shaped their life experience. To say that they're all the same is to deny them their experiences. I know what you're trying to get at, that you're one team and race doesn't affect how you view your students: that's great! But that wording feels off.
White people want to walk about racism, but we really have little to add to the conversation
especially when PoC are a part of the conversation (which they should always be). In these conversations we should focus on listening because we don't experience systematic racism.
(I realize I'm writing a bunch while also saying we -myself included- need to be listening more)
Reading:
explaining white privlidge to a broke white person
8 things white people should know about race (I'm not particularly pleased with the click-bait title, but the article brings up a lot of good points and links to further reading. It's also easier to read/digest than a more scholarly article)