Well said, Diya. We are living in a time when all such shadows need to be brought into the light, personal and collective. One of the white privileges I can readily account is the inherent belief that when I was a teenager, no matter what stupid thing I would do, if I would be caught, they would see that I as a good kid, and all would be well. And it proved to be true a couple of times, where I was let off.

Another one that comes to mind, was after my Peace Corps service in Cameroon, I hitched across the back roads of America, starting in Florida to home in California. I did this to gain a better appreciation of the South, which I did not have. I did know then that I being a white man my experience would be far different than if I was a black male, or woman, or black woman. Or in fact any other description. As it was, I had some very interesting and iffy experiences.

I have also been blessed to have been married to an African American woman from Chicago, who showed me a whole other world--a world that is so rich.

It saddens me, not just for my black relations who suffer under this spell of ignorance, but also for my white ones who miss out on the richness of black culture and beingness.

White people can be so stiff!