Dear White Person From My Past

Hello friends,

It’s another of those letters I never sent, saying things I never said at the time. See how this lands…

Dear white person from my past,

This may come as a shock to you, but you've probably been racist towards me at least once. You probably didn't even realise. And if we're still connected, it's because I probably decided to let it go.

I've likely done that a lot, because as a Black woman - as a woman - I've been socialised to not rock the boat. And as a Black woman living among the global minority I've learned that my thoughts on racism don't count for much, or at least they didn't until recently.

Most likely, your offence was a microaggression - one of those questions or statements that let me know I didn't belong: something about where I'm really from, what I'm doing in this country, about the texture of my hair, about my level of education, about my homeowner status or something similar. Don't worry, if you're still in my life, you have never called me the N word, treated me like a sex object or told me to go back to where I came from, as others have.

Subscribe to Premium Membership to read the rest.