Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/ideas-for-training-staff-the-journey-to-become-a-white-ally/5014071/
This winter I discovered that I had upset a colleague of color and perhaps angered others. I had been hasty in seeking some quick input around handling a racial incident. I'd like to dismiss the wrangle I created as a communication snafu or a cross-cultural misunderstanding, but I know it was deeper than that. Once again, there were important lessons for me in striving to be an ally with people of color. I'm moved to write more about my journey to unlearn racism because I long for more public dialogue among white people who seek to become further aware of our white privileges and racist errors. And, I want to issue an invitation - a challenge, to those who aren't yet on this journey wholeheartedly. We have so much to discover about ourselves, the important work before us, and the contribution we can make.Because I think of myself as a knowledgeable, sensitive person, dedicated to the principles of equity and justice, I'm always aghast when I discover yet another way my middle class, white-skinned privilege has blurred my understandings, thwarted my best intentions, and possibly damaged (no doubt more often than I know) an experience for a person of color. I've ...