Outrunning Bullets

Systematic racism – the system that continues to manufacture the image of “criminal” black people. The exact system that demands second-class status for ghettoized black youth, and middle-class blacks in general. It was the system that carries out a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, the kind that allows police officers to kill blacks and simply say they had felt threatened.

The system that seeks deep into the black communities for criminality by placing in much of the law enforcement personnel. Giving the young ones poor education, easy access to guns and dope, discriminating against us in every way imaginable, keeping us unemployed and then all of a sudden, like magic, the conditions have been created that justify police presence. Leaving no room to rebel against our situation, police officers brutalize the community, and from time to time, they shoot or kill one of us.

In Ferguson, stores burned as people ran in and out of clouds of tear gas. In the fire light, the nation and the world could see the black rage underneath the American Dream. But as the riots end and ashes are swept, a question remains.

Why is our suffering so invisible, so unvalued that it takes a city in flames to see it?

The answer lies within our innocence, as we all try to be “innocent” in order to achieve respectability, but fail. We try again, and fail again. On occasion, sometimes one of us gets a win – a BET Image Award or a middle-class job. But many of us don’t, and that’s when we start to blame ourselves. Looking into a mirror, we think we are too dark, too ghetto, too poor, too not good enough to be anyone worth anything.

Grab 'Em by the Privilege

Going shopping is actually my least favorite thing to do. If I want hair products, I’m forced to search the shelves for fifteen minutes before finally finding the “ethnic” hair products on the bottom shelf squished in a corner, and worth five times more than the “normal hair” products.

If I need band aids, I am restricted to buying the nude colored ones, even though their nude is definitely not my nude. And same thing goes for pantyhose. And bras. And tank tops. White is not my nude.

If I am at a store with a security guard, the officer always seems to adjust his position to make sure I am always in his line of vision. Because I’m found guilty by color of skin, rather than committing a sin.

If I am at the cash register, the cashier always takes a long, hard look at me, then to the credit card, then to me. Maybe they’re surprised I’m not using a food stamp card. Or they’re waiting for the screen to read declined. Or they’re wondering who I had to jump to steal the credit card.

For my peers to deny my experiences really hurt. What’s worse is that they belittle what I have to say and try to define my experiences of racism and white privilege for me. This resurgence of white supremacy is a detriment to our nation and only stands to divide us from one another.

To solve for white privilege we first must address that it exists, because frankly, it does. And we can see it through the many examples of everyday life i have offered. Secondly, we must begin to have the idea of equity, not equality. These two terms are often times misinterpreted. Equality would be like me giving everyone in this room the same sized gloves. However, many of us don’t have the same sized hands. I have hands that are similar to our president’s, small but not orange. So the gloves wouldn't fit all of our needs. Equity would be like giving everyone the glove that fits their needs. We must identify the community of people and their different needs, and provide for them what they must have to be successful. Third, we should never deny anyone on the basis of their identity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. We should all practice having an open mind and a kind heart. And that right there, is the key to having a society that stands in solidarity.