What it’s like being a young black man in America
This guest post is by Wesley Hall. It is a repost from last year because I think it bears repeating in light of current events. Man, I'm just glad I had a mom who gave me the realness from a young age. I can remember thinking she was so stuck in the past for telling me that I couldn't do or say or wear certain things, that I could not stay out as late as my white friends could, that I could not "experiment" with any of the things my white friends did. I struggled so much with . . .
White privilege doesn’t mean what you think it means
There was an article making the rounds this week in which a Princeton freshman does a “take down” of white privilege. It has been widely circulated as some kind of gotcha moment for people to subscribe to the idea that racial inequity is a thing to be concerned with. And while I hesitate to connect issues of racial equality to a political party because I strongly believe that racial reconciliation should be a bi-partisan effort, I’ve been disappointed to see the glee with which certain . . .
White privilege, and what we’re supposed to do about it
The case of Trayvon Martin’s death has sparked a national conversation around race. People seem to be polarized in their reactions to the recent verdict, and as such I’d love to avoid more conjecture on that in this post. Rather, I really want to explore some questions about white privilege, since that is a term that has been widely used in the past week, and hopefully shed some light on what it means and what, exactly, we white folk are supposed to do about it. White privilege is a difficult . . .
What I want you to know about being a young black man in America.
What I Want You to Know is a series of reader submissions. It is an attempt to allow people to tell their personal stories, in the hopes of bringing greater compassion to the unique issues each of us face. If you would like to submit a story to this series, click here. Today’s guest posts is by Wesley Hall. Man, I'm just glad I had a mom who gave me the realness from a young age. I can remember thinking she was so stuck in the past for telling me that I couldn't do or say or wear certain . . .
Finding justice for Trayvon: seven actions steps for our outrage
"I take for granted that I belong wherever I happen to be." -- Joan Haskins photo via NerdyWonka Any plausible deniability about the negative bias that black men face in our country was pulled out from under me during our first adoption process. Americans love to see themselves as “colorblind” . . . to describe our country as a post-racial melting pot with a black president and a smug sense of satisfaction for not being as racist as the previous generation. But race preference in adoption . . .
Defending Paula Deen: what the national reaction can teach us about race
There has been a lot of press about the recent lawsuit filed against Paula Deen, alleging (among other things) that she tolerated blatant racism towards the staff in her company’s restaurants (including separate entrances for black employees) and referred to black men as “n*ggers” to another employee. At this point, the case is a bit of a she-said, she said, with Paula denying most of the allegations. While I suspect the truth lies someone in the middle, I’m going to focus on the things . . .
transracial adoption isn’t a big deal. until it is.
One of the questions I’m often asked by prospective adoptive parents is . . . how hard is it to raise a child of another race? This is such a tricky question, because it many ways, it really isn’t hard at all. Race isn’t something I think about in our day-to-day routine. By and large, parenting my boys is no different than parenting my girls. I still have the same hopes, dreams, fears, and insecurities as a mom . . . I’m still largely concerned with the day-to-day minutiae that . . .
white privilege and the impulse to help: some thoughts on #Kony2012
You’ve probably already seen links to the online film Kony 2012. The 30-minute documentary produced by Invisible Children has gone viral, and #KONY2012 has been trending on twitter for days. Of course, as with anything that garners immediate and national publicity, there has been some criticism as well. Several people have asked for my thoughts on the matter, and I thought I’d weigh in. But first, here’s the video. You really should watch it if you haven’t yet. . . .
describing vs ascribing: digging deeper into talking about race
Last week I talked a bit about how often I notice people dancing around racial descriptors, and how this has led to some awkward interchanges. A friend pointed out that perhaps I was glossing over the context of racial descriptors, and so I want to talk a bit about that. In fact, I think it’s relevant because I think some of the negative context around pointing out someone’s race is what has led to the general unease about acknowledging or discussing issues of race in today’s . . .
the time I referred to “the black guy”, and other tales of racial awkwardness
A couple weeks ago, I posted a list of resources for talking to kids about racism. As it happens, a few people “pinned” the post onto Pinterest. As a blogger, checking Pinterest is interesting, because you can see commentary on your posts from people who don’t necessarily read your blog (or know anything about you). Last week, I noticed a comment on a pin of that post – the description was “how to talk to kids about race”. A woman replied (I’m assumed without having . . .