Things some white people might consider NEVER saying to an African American person.......

1. Call a Black person “articulate.”

Instead: Because of a long history of oppression, degradation, and dismissal of the talent and skills of Black people, understand that such a statement coming from a white person is often construed, and meant, as meaning “articulate-ness” is something unusual in a Black person.

2. Say ”one of my best friends is [black, Latino, person of color, etc.].”

Instead: Ask yourself first: Do you know where that person shops for groceries? Where they go to church? Where they get their hair cut? What their children’s/granchildren’s names are? Have you ever been to their home? These are the things you know about a best friend.

3. Say that the success of [Oprah, Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, etc.] show that there’s no longer any racism.

Instead: Ask yourself about Madame CJ Walker. She was a millionaire, the first black millionaire, in the early part of the 20th century.  Lynchings were still going on.  No one would say things were equal then, but she was a famous millionaire.  The real question is how many more people like Oprah etc would there be if there were equality?

4. Say that if anyone works hard they will get ahead.

Instead: Understand and accept that this is one of the operative myths of our culture: the meritocracy. Any comparative statistic of all the socio-economic indicators shows that structural inequality is the reality. A lot of people who are working hard are not getting ahead.

5. Say that it doesn’t matter what color Jesus was, it matters what Jesus did, while insisting that pictures of him must be white.

Instead: Consider that if it really didn’t matter to you, we could make him Black.

6. Say that if we could just all be friends, everything would be all right.

Instead: Consider that friendships are nice but they are not a substitute for equity and justice.

7. Say that you need a safe space to talk about race.

Instead: Consider why you feel there is a danger zone and why.

8. Say that you “don’t see color.”

Instead: Consider that saying this is not a compliment because the implication is that having color is a diminishment. Are you trying to bestow some kind of “honorary whiteness” on a person of color? They don’t want it.

9.  Say that we should just trust and respect each other.

Instead: Consider whether that isn’t a part of any genuine relationship and why it needs to be highlighted in this instance. Who broke, and continues to break, the trust? Respect has to be earned.

1. Say things like, “Look at [Condaleeza Rice, Ben Carson, Colin Powell]. Why can’t other people of color get ahead?”

Instead: Ask yourself why you didn’t invent the atom bomb. Every culture has its exceptional individuals. But most of us are pretty ordinary.

11. Lecture African Americans and other people of color on how they need to let go of the past.

Instead:  Acknowledge that racism is here in the present.  Whites still benefit from white privilege; people of color are still oppressed by racist institutions. Asking people of color to let go of the past history of racial injustice in this country is actually to ask them to deny the present reality that such injustice still occurs.

12. Excuse yourself from responsibility for racism because you weren’t born yet when people were enslaved.

Instead:  Recognize that every white person alive today benefits from white privilege, right here, right now, in the 21^st century.  You may not be responsible for enslavement in the past, but that doesn’t change your responsibility for how you knowingly or unknowingly perpetuate racism today.

I am Ward......