I want to start this letter out by saying that I've been thinking about writing this for quite a while now. With all of the recent tragedies affecting the Black community in the United States, I feel heartbroken on your behalf. But the thing is, since I'm white, how I feel about these tragedies isn't what should be focused on. Sadly, though, many white people still find a way to make it about themselves. For that, I apologize on their behalf.

Our nation sadly has a long, long history of being massively awful to communities of color. I honestly hoped we as a nation would grow out of it, but that doesn't seem like it is going to be the case. With this said, I just want to apologize.

I, as a white woman, benefit from quite a bit of societal privilege. Being a woman makes it less, but the fact that I am white and am not extremely poor or from a poor neighborhood makes life significantly easier for me than it is for my sisters of color. Or even men of color. Though I am aware that this is not a system that I created, I do benefit from it and you are oppressed by it. For that, I apologize. This goes toward the Black community, the Native American community and every other community that isn't white. I truly apologize that this system exists and that my white brothers and sisters work to keep this system in place to continue the oppression.

What really makes me want to write this apology letter is all of the recent senseless violence occurring at the hands of the police against Black people. Just last night I watched a video about a man who was shot while doing nothing other than his job. He was working with a confused autistic man who was sitting in the street. The man who was doing his job, once the police arrived, laid down on the ground on his back with his hands in the air and was attempting to explain to the police that there was no threat and that they did not need to have weapons pointed their way. This man was shot anyway, and then he was handcuffed.

This is just the latest of a horribly, sadly long list of recent violence against Black people at the hands of police, and I apologize for this. It is absolutely awful and heartbreaking, and again, I know I am not the one behind the gun, but I apologize anyway. I apologize because from what I have seen, the ones behind the gun aren't apologizing.

What I really feel the need to apologize for, though, is that so many white people are trying to justify this senseless violence. Just last night I encountered someone who felt that it was perfectly OK that police shot these individuals because they were supposedly on drugs, not following the police's orders or trying to harm the police. This individual thought that it was OK that those police officers felt that it was their place to give and carry out a death sentence. I insist that it was not OK.

I also want to apologize that your protests are being twisted and made to look as though they are just riots over nothing. Those of you who are able to remain peaceful while protesting: I admire you. Those of you who are not: I understand. I can understand why you are angry. I am angry on your behalf, and this is why I don't protest. I am a very passionate person, and I don't think I could keep my cool. So I stay away. I wish that others thought it through as I do because I hear so many stories of white people at protests who do nothing more than antagonize the police and rile everyone up. I am sorry that they do that.

I honestly am just sorry. I am sorry that people are so awful in general, and I am sorry that so many white people are awful to people of color. I hope that someday my fellow white people can learn to love and appreciate you all and your cultures. I hope that we can all live in harmony and love one another. In the meantime, I give you all my love and my apologies on behalf of the white people who are in the wrong and refuse to admit it.