Thank you for your feedback and I wish you the best with raising mixed race children. I'm glad to see that you are educating yourself so that your children can grow up as strong, secure, and confident human beings in this troubled world we live in.

My point for this article was not to get into a discussion about a word or meaning. I used that because I understand when I speak with White people, they require definitions, facts, statistics, etc., just in order to read for understanding. But from my vantage point as a Black woman, what I was expressing is that White people cannot say that Black people have oppressed them, thwarted their growth, taken any opportunities, limited their advancement in the workplace, stopped their children from pursuing higher education, or affected their activities of daily living.

Black people do not have the power to affect how White people move and function in this world. Period. If a White person experiencing hardship, it's most likely not because of the color of their skin. In 50 years of living, I have never heard a White person say, "I didn't get the job because I'm White" or "That police officer hates me because I'm White" or "I didn't get approved for that home loan because I'm White."

When I write, I write from the perspective of a Black woman in this country. I have no reason to do anything but tell my truth. I understand it's human nature to debate and I don't take what you are saying as a negative, but I just hope that people will focus on the humanity and not get caught up in semantics.

The bottom line is Black people aren't oppressing White people and when we have these discussions it's just a deflection from the real problem in this country and beyond.

Racism is racism is racism is racism, whether structural or institutional, and as a Black person with a proverbial knee on our necks every day, we could care less. We need more people to care about what is actually happening to the people who are oppressed than how the word racism is defined. Thanks for reading.