HUMAN RIGHTS/AMERICA
For White Americans Only
It will be our little secret…
Was there a moment when you were growing up when you realized you won the genetics and geographical lotteries? Of all things, how did you get lucky enough to be born with white skin AND American?
I was in elementary school when I realized my dumb luck in the genetics lottery. The only thing that could have made it even better was being born male. They had double the fortune. But did I want to give up dresses, makeup, and girly hobbies? Absolutely not.
I also felt lucky to be born American. I even silently thanked God for that a few times during moments of prayer in Sunday School in the Southern Baptist church where I was a member. To be born a citizen in the land of the free has to be pretty special, right? My teachers taught me that America was the greatest country in the world, and I believed them.
How naive I was.
As I aged, I became more aware of the advantages my white male counterparts possessed. Although as a child of the 70s, gender roles were changing, the traditional rules were still somewhat enforced by society.
