I was raised in a small, conservative town all my life. When I graduated high school, I went to an HBCU for going on 6 years. My time in both places has taught me a lot. Some of those things that I have learned are: White people who are racist, don’t know they are racist. Saying

Saying “I have a black friend who lets me say the n-word” is racist. The origin of that word was meant to oppress and marginalize an entire group of people. We, as white people, have zero right to say that. I don’t care if it’s in a song, just don’t say it.
Saying my family

“helped” or “took care of” a “little black boy” is racist and not okay. These same people wouldn’t say we took care of “a little white kid”. This idea is instilled in us as we grow up. We are taught to think “they need our help” and realistically the White Savior Complex is

dangerous. It continues to paint a picture that people who look a certain way, can’t get by without white people “stepping in”. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The argument “white people were slaves” is also not true. Irish IMMIGRANTS (not slaves) came the America on

their own FREE WILL as indentured servants. In the eyes of the law they were considered people NOT PROPERTY. This is vastly different than being forced to come to a land where no one spoke your language and be forced to work under conditions we can’t begin to understand.