Quick story/thread: Earlier this week, after George Floyd’s death, I was doing virtual speaking about sexual violence for a high school. The classes at this high school are at least ~30-40% Black students, but every teacher I’ve met there is white.

Before I started, I apologized - I said that everything going on was so horrifically tragic and it was hard to focus today, & that I was sure it was hard on the students too.

The white teacher who hired me immediately jumped in, saying “I know, it’s so terrible.” Good, right?

Wrong.

She went on to say “his whole life is ruined now. All because of one quick mistake.” I realized she was talking about the cop who murdered George Floyd on camera. She said “sure, it’s sad for ‘that man’, but I’m just scared for our police. He could’ve really hurt them.”

This is a woman who has sat through probably 30 rounds of me speaking in her classroom about the mistreatment I got from the Minneapolis Police Department as a rape victim. I guess she’s only supportive when a white woman is on the receiving end.

I immediately went on at length about how wrong she was. I talked about his prior complaints, and the history of the department and policing in general. She ended up backing off, and saying “I don’t really watch the news, so maybe I shouldn’t talk about it”.

Fellow white people: I know that it’s easier to just cringe/eye roll at comments like this when you hear them. But you HAVE to speak up. Think about every Black student in that woman’s class. Ask yourself if she would’ve been receptive to them calling her out. The answer is no.

White privilege is only useful when you’re using it as a shield to protect others. Most of the racist white people around you will be in a position of power over a POC at some point. If you don’t set the expectation that other white people will confront them, they WILL keep at it

Confront your family, confront your friends, confront your coworkers. Even if it’s gentle, I promise it makes an impact. People like this get extremely embarrassed and horrified when called out, because they think other white people are on their side.

It’s not enough to be “not racist”. Be anti-racist. Actively look for ways to fight racism instead of quietly judging it, internally labeling yourself “not one of THOSE white people”, and moving on with your day. Silence doesn’t change a damn thing.