Debate Flares After Black College Students Seek A Non-White Roommate

[MrScorpio]

230. Unfortunately, the problem with that POV...

Is that it disregards what POCs understand about white America, things which most whites are unaware of themselves. Things that we need to understand simply as a matter of OUR basic survival:

10 things black people fear that white people simply don’t
It goes beyond racial profiling. African Americans are subjected to countless microaggressions on a daily basis
TERRELL JERMAINE STARR, ALTERNET

When black people wake up and begin the day, we have a wide range of issues we have to think about before leaving our homes. Will a police officer kill us today? Or, will some George Zimmerman vigilante see us as a threat in our own neighborhoods and kill us? We brace ourselves for those white colleagues who are pissed Barack Obama won both elections and take out their racist rage on us. When we drive our cars, we have to wonder if we’ll be pulled over because our cars look too expensive for a black person to be driving. If we’re poor and sick, we wonder if we’ll be able to be treated for our illness. We have a lot on our minds, and sometimes it’s overwhelming.

Here are a few examples of things we have to be afraid of that white people don’t (or not nearly as much).

1. Getting fired because we don’t fit into white cultural norms. Rhonda Lee, an African American meteorologist who worked at a Louisiana TV station wore her hair in a natural hairstyle one viewer found offensive. “The black lady that does the news is a very nice lady. The only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. I’m not sure if she is a cancer patient. But still it’s not something myself that I think looks good on TV,” the viewer wrote on the station’s Facebook page.

After Lee posted a respectful reply to the man’s insulting remark, she was fired for violating the station’s social media policy, even though she wasn’t made aware there was one. It took her nearly two years to find a new job. She has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the station that is still pending.

http://www.salon.com/2015/03/18/10_things_black_people_fear_that_white_people_simply_dont_have_to_partner/

17 things white people need to know about #YesAllBlackPeople

BY DERRICK CLIFTON

White people often say the darndest things when confronted with racism.

It seems as if blacks and people of color can’t call out large-scale trends in overt and subtle racist behavior without being told by whites to stop talking about racial privilege in terms of white people, white skin, cultural appropriation, microaggressions and how clueless white people can sometimes behave when confronted about it.

But here we are still having a conversation about how to discuss racism. That’s because most of us—mainly most white folks—have demonstrated that we simply do not know how or just aren’t willing to discuss racism, in countless tweets and online comments. Instead of white people being accountable for how they perpetuate racism and white privilege, blacks and people of color are often told to speak in terms of “not all white people” have racist behaviors and that “not all black people” experience racism.

And now for some reality: Yes, all black people experience racism. That’s in subtle and overt ways and regardless of whether they openly discuss it or not. And it’s about time that white people, on the whole, get over themselves and their feelings and truly begin heeding the lived experiences of black folks.

So, allow me to break it down for you, white people. This isn’t about you, in terms of your identity. It’s about what you need to begin doing to become actively anti-whiteness, which is about a system.

First and foremost, racism historically and continually uses whiteness and proximity to whiteness as a means to control resources and access to institutional and social power in American society, often at the expense of blacks and people of color. Even when whiteness intersects with other marginalized social categories such as class, sexuality, gender, ability, and nationality, white identity and perceived whiteness (via whiter-looking skin) often affords an individual a better chance of moving through life much easier than their counterparts.

Racism, at its very root, is a system of supremacy—white supremacy.

http://www.dailydot.com/via/17-things-yes-all-black-people/

A Letter to White People: I Know You're Not Racist, But ...

Nate Abrams

A recent article on PolicyMic in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict sparked my interest, not because of the contents of the article itself, but because of the comments that followed. The young white woman in the video that the article linked to claimed that middle-class whites who take up the “I am Trayvon Martin” rallying cry are, in fact, deluding themselves if they believe the cultural education that they have received doesn't teach fear of black people. Most of the white commenters responded angrily, denouncing the video and claiming that they were never taught to be racist. I could not adequately respond in the comments so I decided to write a letter and publish it here.

Dear White People of America,

I know you weren’t taught to be racists. Your parents were/are good people who worked hard and never hated anyone. You went to decent schools and have lived in diverse places. You publicly espouse tolerance for everyone. I know you weren’t taught to be racists. But somehow many of you have absorbed, if not racist attitudes, then certainly prejudiced ones.

https://mic.com/articles/55379/a-letter-to-white-people-i-know-you-re-not-racist-but#.w5hgY1vML

18 Things White People Should Know/Do Before Discussing Racism

Discussions about racism should be all-inclusive and open to people of all skin colors. However, to put it simply, sometimes White people lack the experience or education that can provide a rudimentary foundation from which a productive conversation can be built. This is not necessarily the fault of the individual, but pervasive myths and misinformation have dominated mainstream racial discourse and often times, the important issues are never highlighted. For that reason, The Frisky has decided to publish this handy list that has some basic rules and information to better prepare anyone for a worthwhile discussion about racism.

1. It is uncomfortable to talk about racism. It is more uncomfortable to live it.

2. “Colorblindness” is a cop-out. The statements “but I don’t see color” or “I never care about color” do not help to build a case against systemic racism. Try being the only White person in an environment. You will notice color then.

3. Oprah’s success does not mean the end of racism. The singular success of a Black man or woman (i.e. Oprah, or Tiger Woods, or President Obama) is never a valid argument against the existence of racism. By this logic, the success of Frederick Douglass or Amanda America Dickson during the 19th century would be grounds for disproving slavery.

4. Reverse racism is BS, but prejudice is not. Until people of color colonize, dominate and enslave the populations of the planet in the name of “superiority,” create standards of beauty based on their own colored definition, enact a system where only people of color benefit on a large-scale, and finally pretend like said system no longer exists, there is no such thing as reverse racism. Prejudice is in all of us, but prejudice employed as a governing structure is something different.

http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-06-12/18-things-white-people-should-knowdo-before-discussing-racism/

10 Things Black People Know That White People Have Not Yet Accepted

October 14, 2014 | Posted by ABS Staff

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/10/14/10-things-black-people-know-white-people-yet-accepted/