"No, I am Not Okay"

The subject of this post is complex, but read this to understand why: www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/no-i-am-not-okay-a-black-journalist-addresses-his-white-friends

It may be behind a paywall for some, so I'm going to quote only one thing that stood out, and I encourage you to think on it and read the full article if it's available to you. There is a theme here that also touches on other ills brought to light; look for root problems and then how to address them.

"We need white Americans of good conscience and faith to not only march with us, but also to march with each other in confronting the rot of racial privilege and expectation from which you and your ancestors reaped reward, whether you’re comfortable acknowledging it or not. We need you to understand James Baldwin’s observation that “in the most private chamber of his heart always, the white American remains proud of that history for which he does not wish to pay, and from which, materially, he has profited so much.” We need you to raise your kids to ask questions of you and society about why “whiteness” connotes purity and goodness in people; why white men are afraid of black men’s sexuality; why brown people must speak English and not have the comfort of their respective first languages; and why America will never be great as long as a black man, in 2020, has to plead for his mother—while being killed on video, while at the mercy of four police officers? The burden of work is on those who have historically reaped the spoils of white supremacy, now reckoning with the opioid crisis, the coronavirus, and black and brown rage on the streets in these Divided States."

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