Dr. Michael Brown’s Message to a Black Professor
Both white America and black America possess blind spots regarding racism, Dr. Michael Brown says.
His thoughts were triggered by Emory professor George Yancy’s recent piece in the New York Times, pleading with readers to “listen with love” in his letter to white America.
“If you are white, and you are reading this letter, I ask that you don’t run to seek shelter from your own racism. Don’t hide from your responsibility. Rather, begin, right now, to practice being vulnerable. Being neither a ‘good’ white person nor a liberal white person will get you off the proverbial hook,” Yancy writes.
Brown openly admits he is not free of bias, but he rejects some of the letter’s premise.
“Speaking broadly, white Americans often tend not to see racism when it is there. Black Americans tend to see racism where it isn’t there. That’s where we have to listen to each other and learn as much as possible,” Brown says in a new video commentary.
Watch the video to see where we begin.