I am a recovering racist, working to overcome the lies ingrained in me by white supremacy and a racialized society. The cultural messages I received were products of a racialized society, communicating to me the supposed meaning and value of whiteness versus colored-ness
I have always been a beneficiary of white privilege as a person that fits our culture’s physical appearance standards of “white.”
Until we can admit that we are people in need of recovery from systemic racism and white supremacy, we will never make progress in racial reconciliation; we will never heal the wounds and cancer of white supremacy.
The first step is to step out of our denial. It’s not enough for me to say, “I’m not individually racist,” and think that my work is done.
We must be open to uncomfortable surrender to truth and reality in order to shake ourselves free from the lies we have absorbed about race and whiteness.
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