I used to think « I don’t see colors”, not realizing that I clearly did. I used to think “there is not a racist bone in me”, not realizing I had grown with a bias which society had imprinted on me. I used to think the justice system was fair, that those supposed to protect us actually did. I used to think “they won’t shoot if you don’t run”. I used to think humans viewed each other as equals.
I woke up.
I started to gain awareness of my own privilege in 2016, when the Black Lives Matter movement arose. I started opening my eyes to what had been taken, without credit, from Black culture at large, to the violence, to the fear, to the hatred I thought of as so 1950s.
It is not. It is real. It is happening right here, right now.