I hadn't heard about this and I think that would be awesome! I'll be here for it when they give the green light : )
As always, your responses open up much-needed discussions and I'm always appreciative of your insight and intellect. Yes, my son and my daughter thankfully had the advantage of a loving and intelligent mother, father, and extended family that put an emphasis on education, but as Black people in America, most of us do that for our children.
I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth and worked very hard to achieve what I have today. Although White people don't feel comfortable with the privilege title, it still exists and unfortunately I see it at work all the time. With my son's status post college graduation, he was still passed over for jobs that were taken by his White counterparts who not only lacked the education he had, but also the intellect and skill. My daughter also graduated with honors as a theater major and I spent a great deal of time talking to her professors about the lack of effort applied for Black students to successfully matriculate into the predominately White theater community. They held Saturday sessions for White students to help them post graduation and when Black students showed up, they were told the classes were full (but of course they never promoted the classed to the Black students). I'm not one to hold my tongue and helped to make a change for future students, but unfortunately the changes came after my daughter graduated. Sadly this is a constant that Black people see on a regular basis. White people see this just as them working harder to achieve but we know it's often that they are chosen simply because of bias and the power of White supremacy.
It works both ways. White people cannot completely discount how this country has operated since it's inception just because it's a hard pill to swallow. There are hoards of Black people with verifiable stories that show how much harder we have always had to work to achieve a fraction of what is given to some White people. And when we create organizations of our own to help our children, we are told we are being divisive and discriminatory. Go figure, eh?
I do think these discussions are valuable and very necessary. But I must say as an activist, I see more active change in person. When I speak to groups or attend meetings and people are forced to look at one another face to face as opposed to the freedom that often comes when people are behind a keyboard the conversations have been much more meaningful and productive. I've always been a people person and there's something that comes from seeing someone's reactions and body language that always lends more to a discussion. It forces the two opposing sides to operate more from a place of empathy rather than a "let me get my point across and shoot you down if you don't agree with me" that I see so often on this platform and others.
This is one major reason why I'm a fan of your writing because while I don't always agree with everything you say, your thoughtful way of expression (and wicked humor) bring a sense of humanity to the discussion that I think is so necessary. Thanks so much for this article! I've shared it and I'll go back and read the other comments as well. : -)
