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I'm not saying that in a disrespectful manner. I am not Trayvon Martin and Trayvon Martin is not me. That was made very clear last night by a Florida jury in finding George Zimmerman not guilty.
If I was Trayvon Martin there would have been a conviction last night. Maybe not a murder conviction but at least a manslaughter one. There would have been because I am a white male adult not a black male teenager. This isn't my white guilt kicking in. It is my acknowledgement of my white privilege and how f'ed up that is.
Until we, and when I say we I mean white people, acknowledge that racism still exists in this country there will continue to be more injustices like Trayvon Martin. If anyone really wants racism and injustice to stop then we (white people) need to start having that conversation. We (white people) need to start leading those conversations. It needs to be had in schools, workplaces, churches and social clubs. It needs to be led by us so that the conversation isn't written off as the "complaining" of the black person at work or school. We need to put our white privilege to use so that we can make positive change not just reap the rewards of it.
It isn't going to be easy. It needs to be done though. Freedom and justice need to be for everyone. We need to live up to the values this country has always claimed it was built on. We have waited too long for it to happen. I would love to say I am Trayvon Martin. I am not though. I am going to push this conversation though. I am going to take risks and make people uncomfortable. I want to be Trayvon Martin and I want Trayvon Martin to be me.
Absolutely agree that this is a conversation that white folks need to step up on--I see this with my parents all the time. My black mom can say something and she's just seen as being bitter and playing a race card. However when my white father speaks up, his peers listen. We need more of that peer communication.
ReplyDeleteMy point exactly. I have often heard people make comments about the race card being played when issues of race are brought up. Someone posted to my Facebook page that he disagreed with me that white people need to be leading these conversations.
DeleteI feel we have a moral responsibility to speak with our peers about this if they are not listening to non-whites. Otherwise, we just keep letting the divide get bigger.
Thanks for the comment.