At the age of 21 there are very few times in my life when I can point out crucial turning points. The first was the death of my grandparents within a month of each other, but that is another story I plan to tell at a later date. The second is the day I read the article "I, Racist." "I, Racist" is a recorded sermon that John Metta gave to an all-White audience at Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ last year in late June. This was shortly after Dylann Roof opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC.
Although you can read the full article above I’ll briefly summarize its main points. Metta uses his sermon to call out White’s silence to the systematic racism that exists in the United States. He explains that White’s see themselves as individuals because they do not face the oppression that blacks and other people of color face every day. The reason why this article finally enlightened me to the fact that I am more well off then people of color is because it did not use the word privilege.
Up until last July when this article was published I was struggling with whether or not to fully support the Black Lives Matter movement. I grew up in a rural area in Upstate New York that has virtually no people of color in the community. My family is republican and I was defiant enough when on my 18th birthday I registered as a democrat. I was reluctant to support the movement because of the stereotypes I saw from my surroundings. “Black Lives Matter only cares about blacks.” “Black Lives Matter is a bunch of violent thugs.” “All lives matter.” I was even guilty of making a post with the hashtag “all lives matter.”
For me the word privilege was distasteful. It reminded me of some white rich guy sitting by his pool smoking a cigar. I was far from that. I was a middle class white girl who had worked incredibly hard to get where she was I was determined that I was not privileged at all.
However, this article changed my perspective. It showed me that in fact privilege comes in many forms. I may be privileged because I have a good education, I’m white, and have familial support; however, this does not trump the fact that I’m lower middle class and a woman.
Since I’ve read "I, Racist" I’ve tried to educate myself on the racial tensions that exist in our country in hopes of rectifying the racial rifts that still exist in our nation. I’ve come to recognize my privilege to help in the fight while letting people of color lead the way. I’ve become involved in organizations at my law school to help better understand racial issues such as the Cold Case Justice Initiative. Later this year I will be starting if/when/how an organization that seeks to work towards reproductive justice.
Those skeptical of the Black Lives Matter movement need to wake up and realize that the movement is not about blacks being better. It’s about recognizing that those that are underprivileged are being treated unfairly by the police. Studies show that blacks are significantly more likely to be arrested than whites and the videos have shown just how deadly these arresting encounters can be. Change needs to happen and everyone needs to recognize that privilege exists. When everyone realizes that they’ve had it easier than others in some ways we will be able to build a better community for everyone, not just for the majority.
