In 1972–3, I taught Junior High-High School at an almost entirely black school in the old black belt (cotton belt) of Georgia (most of the white students had fled to the all-white “Christian” high school). I thought I was a cool liberal and that I would sit on the desk like a reverse Sidney Poitier in “To Sir With Love” and everything would be cool. It was not to be. One of my braver students told me in class something like what your father told you: “My daddy told me not to trust any white people.” (The student in question actually did respect one of the white teachers — she was genuinely concerned that everyone get a good education regardless of race. I unfortunately was more of a pretender.) In retrospect, I believe that the advice from the student’s father was accurate (and still is). Any white American who wants to gain the trust / respect of any black American should first earn that trust — as that respected high school teacher had done. Nobody gets a free pass.

The system is still tilted. I won’t say it’s more racist than in 1972 or 1962 for that matter. But it’s not much better. And after all that time, it should be better. And if you’re white: whether you endorse the tilt or not, you still benefit from it.

To my fellow white folks whining about reverse racism: if there were institutionalized racism against white people commensurate with systemic racism against black people from colonial times to the present, you would not have electricity, let alone a computer with which to type your complaints. Pointing out instances of racism is NOT reverse racism. It’s counter racism.