White Fragility

How does that change your calculus toward racism? — White supremacy is the breath we breathe. It surrounds us. It lives within us and everyone around us. It is practiced in all of our institutions and organizations. Does that give you comfort or distress? How about both at the same time? It deeply distresses me to know that human…

I’m leading a group discussion circle on “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla F. Saad. I’m taking the journaling challenge daily throughout February even though I’m not white. If you happen to be white, why not take the challenge? If I can do it, you can do it too. — - — - If it seemed like there was some redundancy in this week, that should come as no surprise. Just as intersectionality of identities compounds and exponentially alters the ways in which privilege manifests, so too do the principles covered in week one overlap and interplay. If it feels…

Reflections on tourism and white American guilt — Several years ago I traveled to Accra, Ghana with a group of peers from university. I wrote the following piece reflecting on my white American guilt that arose while touring the country: The most impactful part of the trip was the coming and going, the physicality of being there and…

Absolutely nothing. Instead, she allows space and listens. — Context: It is the Monday after the video release of the murder of Tyre Nichols. I am welcoming my students into my small experiential learning class that exists within the larger construct of a majority White suburban high school. …

I transformed myself from an influencer to a sexual deviant by just asking the wrong questions — This morning, I go about my preparation to be a good citizen and content creator; I check that my social media accounts all connect. I clicked my Instagram link on my Youtube account, only to realise that my Instagram account does not exist. Not on google, not on Instagram. …

Bypassing white fragility and defensiveness through sex — My Film With Andrei (2021) was a response to the explosion of Asian hate crimes during the pandemic. In my discussions with white people, this has wholly drifted into the periphery — overshadowed by the towering weight of the pandemic itself…

Defining everyone and everything exclusively by a racial dimension oversimplifies and obscures — Every person has some idea about race, and virtually every situation at least touches on or involves race. But that does not mean that every person is racist or that every situation is fundamentally about race. …

Africa has always been on my mind and in my heart. My father grew up there, in Kenya. …