Excerpt from the article…

Every time a white person asks me a question about racism, I tense up. I know fuckery is probably following because rarely does that person come from a place of sincerely wanting to learn about it. Let me get this out of the way first: People of color don’t owe you any type of conversation about race. But if you find someone actually willing to discuss race and white supremacy, make sure you’re entering that conversation with the real intention of being a less racist, better white person.

Don’t question our experiences. You’ll never understand them because you don’t walk through the world with black or brown skin. Just sit there and listen. Don’t walk up to some random POC and ask them about race. Burdening them with a barrage of questions like you’re friends isn’t going to make them want to open up to you. The same goes for your coworkers. You’re not friends just because you occasionally go to lunch together.

Keep in mind that some of us just don’t want to talk to you. We don’t trust you with our stories. We don’t trust you with our emotions. We don’t trust you with our truths. Those feelings are coming from a lifetime of experiencing racism and white supremacy firsthand. It comes from being angry at having to work harder than our white counterparts for even a portion of what they get. It comes from being disgusted with experiencing the painful stings of either being invisible or too visible to white people. Both are exhausting and — at times — even terrifying.

We don’t owe you friendship, loyalty or respect. We damn sure don’t owe you what little energy we have leftover from fighting a system designed to keep us oppressed.

TAGS:  [2010’s] [Individual Change] [White Supremacy] [White Defensiveness] [Systemic Racism] [Black Lives Matter] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts]