Okay, let’s do this. You’re a white person. A Black person has pointed out that a harmful thing done by white people. A few possibilities: you have done this thing in the past; you have never done this thing; you continue to do this thing. NONE OF THESE NEED TO BE RELAYED TO (1)

YOUR NEAREST BLACK PERSON. Black people aren’t our collective therapist and they aren’t our mood stabilizer and they aren’t our comfort item. What you can do: rest safely in the knowledge that you don’t do harmful thing! Way to go, you. You’ve untangled one thread in the knot (3)

Of your internalized racism! Keep going. But what if you do do this thing? BIG YIKES. Immediately stop. If you’ve been called out by a Black person, apologize. Don’t ask them to explain how it’s harmful. Trust their word. Don’t expect them to do labor to help you understand. (4)

Read some books about race. Read books by Black people. Diversify your media consumption. L I S T E N. Do your best to absolutely never ever do the harmful thing again. Tell other white people when you see them do the harmful thing. (5)

What is the common theme here? You don’t have to report any of these things to a Black person. Either you’re searching for an ally cookie, which is gross, or you’re searching for absolution, which is grosser. (5?)

Use your own energy and your own space and your own resources to deal with your racism. Every single white person has racial bias to unpack. If you can’t acknowledge that you do, you’re part of the problem. Get it together. (6)

/thread