As a privileged white man, I’ve always been cautious about writing about race, thinking that it was a topic best left to others. Like many liberals I’ve assumed that whenever race was discussed my best response was to listen to what my black brothers and sisters had to say. Nonetheless, in the face of the growing “Black Lives Matter” movement, I feel compelled to speak.
First, black lives do matter to me. (As do those of all the people-of-color who are part of my community.) My life is made richer and fuller by your presence. When you hurt, physically, psychologically, spiritually, it hurts me, too.
That said, my community – privileged white Americans – is responsible for the current state of race relations. The string of deaths and disgraces – from Trayvon Martin to Sandra Bland – is our fault.
When Barack Obama was elected President, many in my community were hopeful that the event signaled the end of widespread racism. That hasn’t happened. A recent New York times/CBS News poll finds that “nearly 6 in 10 Americans, including heavy majorities of both whites and blacks, think race relations are getting bad.” (After President Obama entered the White House, two-thirds of poll respondents ‘believed race relations were generally good.”)
The responsibility for the decline of US race relations falls on people like me, members of the white male power structure. We should have done more to build upon the positive feelings generated by the election of Barack Obama.
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