My sister Sherry sent me an article last summer on race relations and after thanking her for the article, which I wish I could link to here because it would give the thoughts below better context but which I have long since tossed, I wrote her this, well, much of it anyway. I've added a few thoughts, acknowledging that any time someone talks about racism, the first thing that needs to be done is to define our terms:
1 - Pretty much all of us of any color/race/background are racists.
2 - That doesn't mean that all of us discriminate or treat people worse based on their race.
3 - But it does mean we treat them, or at least see them, differently.
4 - There is no such thing as reverse racism. There's only racism.
5 - Doesn't matter who is or isn't racist, or who does or doesn't discriminate, as long as the system is racist, which it clearly is.
6 - The single best way to address racism is improved educational opportunity for minority students...or better - equal educational opportunity for all students.
7 - The most overlooked aspect of racism is that there is also a strong class component to it. Low income neighborhoods of any color will generally stay that way until their education opportunity (read: funding and infrastructure) improves.
8 - That is the form that reparations should take - making sure people living in school districts with the least funding receive more than the schools currently receiving the most, until grades and SAT scores and the metrics even out, and then they should all be equalized.
Some provocative thoughts that might upset folks, but I would so love to talk with anyone of color who disagrees. I have so much more I need to learn about this.
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