The following comes from White Awareness: Handbook for Anti-racism Training.

Read the following statements

• Think about how they make you feel right now.
• Are they true for you?
• How would they have felt a year ago?
• 10-20 years ago?

✓ – statements that are current thoughts or attitudes
O – statements that you used to think
X – statements you never held

1. I am not racist.
2. I don’t understand what you people are saying or what you want.
3. On the whole, the educated, the upper classes, the emotionally mature, and the deeply religious are much less racist.
4. Other ethnic groups have had to struggle. Why is this so different?
5. Angry people of color make me feel so helpless.
6. Racism exists only where people of color exist.
7. No matter what I say, it doesn’t satisfy them (people of color).
8. If you could just get people feeling good about themselves, there would be much less racism
9. Blacks and Latinos are more violent than whites.
10. I’m not a racist, but when it comes right down to it, I wouldn’t marry a black person.
11. I should not be held responsible for the actions of my ancestors.
12. I’m with them (people of color) up to the point where they (want to) break the law.
13. These days whenever a person of color sneezes, thirty-seven white people rush up to wipe her or his nose.
14. People of color must be present in order for whites to address issues of racism.
15. How can I address racism without being anti-white?
16. I do not personally have responsibility for the policies of racist institutions.
17. People of color are just as racist as whites.
18. White people should not have to integrate if they don’t want to.
19. Love cannot be legislated.
20. Immigrants need to learn to speak English. After all, my parents (or grandparents) came here and had to learn English to be successful.
21. Every person should be judged solely on her or his accomplishments, regardless of race.
22. Because of the civil rights legislation of the past forty years, blacks have greater responsibility to exploit the opportunities made available to them.
23. We (whites) should get a little more appreciation for what we’re doing to help.
24. I’ve gotten to know some black people so well that I just don’t see them as black anymore.
25. Some of my best friends are black (or Latino, or Asian American, or Native American … ).
26. They don’t want us to deal with their problems.
27. Every time I express my opinion to a person of color, I feel put down.
28.  On the basis of statistics, it is true that there is a higher crime rate in black and Latino neighborhoods.
29. People of color are more aware of their feelings.
30. In many situations, people of color are paranoid and over¬sensitive. They read more into the situation than is really there.