I Know You’re Not Racist …

… but is it possible you’ve been sowing seeds of negligence all these years?

Definition of “negligence”: the habit or trait of failing to attend to or perform what is expected or required.

Every time you’ve heard “white privilege”, “racism”, “institutional racism”, “Black lives matter”, “prison reform”, “affirmative action”, “police brutality” (the list goes on), and rolled your eyes, stuck your head in the sand, or explained it away without any research … you sowed negligence.

Every time a Black person has told you about the challenges they face and you opted to not dig deeper to understand … you sowed negligence.

Every time an unarmed Black person was killed in the street by a cop — not after being sentenced by a court of law to the death penalty … in the street! — and you opted to not find out why, assumed they deserved it, or were more interested in their possible criminal history … you sowed negligence.

Every time a Black friend shared a hurt with you about something you did that was racially insensitive and you defended yourself instead of trying to hear them … you sowed negligence.

Every time you claimed racism doesn’t exist anymore … you sowed negligence.

Every time you were in the presence of a friend who promoted some kind of racist idealogy and you said nothing … you sowed negligence.

Every time a Black family moved into your neighborhood and, instead of welcoming them, you made plans to move out … you sowed negligence.

Every time you saw a black person and thought [insert stereotype] (“loud”, “angry”, “aggressive”, “lazy”, “dangerous”, etc.) … you sowed negligence.

Every time you were annoyed that a Black person brought up race “unnecessarily” … you sowed negligence.

Every time you were disgusted by a riot, but cared much less about the cause … you sowed negligence.

Every time you were silent when your Black friends were hurting … you sowed negligence.

You reap what you sow.
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This is for people who are wondering how they can start engaging with the racial issues they have never tried to talk about before. First, we have to start with what your role in all of this may have been for all these years. Your conscience may be clear about not having been overtly racist your whole life, but that doesn’t make you innocent.

Some of you are waking up to a new world and wondering why Black people are so angry with you now that you understand more or have expressed interest in understanding more. You need to accept that this is the reality you have created for yourself by the seeds of negligence you planted all these years. You are reaping what you have sown. Don’t get mad if some Black people are hurt now that you’ve finally woken up, especially since it took a public murder to get you here.

Sometimes doing wrong is the failure to do the good that is right in front of you. You need to take an honest accounting of your actions and inactions and how many years of negligence you may have sown into the hearts of the Black people around you. If you can express whatever remorse you have about *your* behavior perhaps you can start making real progress in changing your thinking. Perhaps you can build the trust of the Black people around you that you’ve neglected. Perhaps we can then change this broken system for good this time, together.

Or maybe you’ll do none of this and keep sowing your seeds … the ball is in your court. What will you do?