All white people benefit from racism. Prejudice + privilege = racism (privilege is power and without power, racism is just a form of prejudice or bigotry). Because your only understanding of racism is ‘bad’, your level of understanding is bound to be compromised by your own white fragility and racial ignorance.
In regard to your child, regardless of what he is mixed with, if Black is in that mix he is Black. His skin color is secondary to the Black blood in his veins. All privilege is canceled out in the face of Blackness. When he is denied by a job, profiled by the police, and made fun of because of stereotypes that don’t exist — that’s the Black side they’re after. It doesn’t matter that you are white, you are simply a white woman with a Black child. I highly suggest reading more about the experience that biracial people as well as racially ambiguous people go through navigating through a country built for white people. It will help you properly parent your child (white parents often fail their Black children by harming them with their racial ignorance).
“If you want to see even stronger racism on a day-to-day basis…” lady, what on God’s earth leads you to believe that I want to, or that I haven’t? The fact that it even crossed your mind to tell a Black woman where to really find racism is nothing short of disturbing. It’s one of those awkward privileges that only a white person could indulge in. I am not here to make a top ten list of racist places against Black people. I am still trying to piece together a family tree that slavery and the Great Migration ripped apart. I have lived and most likely will die on American soil and still not know all there is to know about what my ancestors went through, from the Atlantic Slave Trade until now. I refuse to marginalize their legacy, and I ask that you refrain from doing so as well.
Also, this idea that your perspective is so unique and exceptional that you cannot possibly be racist is a very white way of thinking. The fact alone that white fragility got you to a point where you had to challenge before you could process these words is telling. Rather than wasting time trying to convince me of something different, work on yourself and do some self-reflection. You’ve got a lot more to learn about racism than you realize (starting with the definition).
Lastly, this anger you speak of is a projection. I wasn’t angry while writing this, and I’m not angry now. Even though I have a right to be, I’m coming from a place of direct honesty. White people have a tendency of portraying Black women as though we are maniacal or angry, unhinged in some way. You’re repetitive mentioning of an anger that I do not possess plays up to that stereotype (remember prejudice + privilege = racist… you took a pre-judgement, and with your privilege, weaponized it to take my proven, well-backed break-down of racism and make it like I’m just a furious Black woman. That’s an act of racism, believe it or not). I’m not obligated to be calm, or gentle, or fit in any form of respectability expected of me. I’m not angry, however, I am a bit underwhelmed at your lack of comprehension to this piece.
