Racism

FROM THE JUNIOR Black Americans of Achievement series onward, I had been taught that racist ideas cause racist policies. That ignorance and hate cause racist ideas. That the root problem of racism is ignorance and hate. But that gets the chain of events exactly wrong. The root problem—from Prince Henry to President Trump—has always been the

So many white people think that racism is not their problem. But white privilege is instrumental to racism.

And I understand that after white people begin to get it, it’s even more uncomfortable for them to think about how their whiteness has silently aided them in life.

Sovereignty: Who is ultimately in control, and how? Is there too much reliance on external resources? What happens to the value that derives from labor and culture? How easy is it for individuals and communities to exit if they so choose? • Democracy: How can participants be part of the flows of power? Are those flows explicitly stated and widely

Mine is a joy born not of laughter but of peace. This is okay.

As I’ve written, critical race theory has its uses and its flaws, but I wonder—how many critical race theorists are in conservative Christian pews? But how many more election conspiracy theorists and Christian nationalists are sitting right there, including in my own denomination, fervently believing lies and fervently praying for actions and

Well-meaning friends never failed to warn me, if a white guy was attracted to me, that he probably had an Asian fetish. The result: I distrusted my desirousness. My sexuality was a pathology. If anyone non-Asian liked me, there was something wrong with him.