Race: Voices that Matter, like Halstead’s and Hutcherson’s

People often ask me where to get started to learn more about race and the situation with institutional racism in the United States. These two articles are almost always discussed in my college writing classes for a number of reasons, but not because they are perfect. Halstead does do a good job of summarizing a lot of the issues anyone can learn more about, such as colorblindness, white privilege, institutional racism, and the revision of the history of the Civil Rights movement. Hutcherson shares when race shifted her experiences and explains White Privilege by showing it to us. Start with these two voice and listen. Listen carefully and be open.

Halstead is a white guy who uses logic to explain not only why some white people say “All Lives Matter” but why “Black Lives Matter” is necessary. You don’t have to believe everything he states, but this contains some valid perspectives with excellent points.

The Real Reason White People Say “All Lives Matter” by John Halstead

To learn about white privilege, I really needed to hear from someone who wasn’t white. So I zoomed around the internet and found Lori Lakin Hutcherson‘s account of a series of personal stories that connected with race. These stories would have gone differently had she been white. That is the essence of white privilege: white people can turn off and forget about race, but for POC (people of color), race is always on and often a part of their experience (often for the negative).

My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest.

If it helps to hear a (famous) white person summarize it, here’s a story (with video) about Jimmy Kimmel talking about White Privilege. Zoom to 7:40 on the video to see the conversation about white privilege.

I hope these voices help you launch into a better understanding of the white struggle with the issue of race in America.

Do you have articles that you think are fundamental to the conversation? I would LOVE to know more. Please add authors and links in the comments below. If you have time, tell me and other readers why they matter. Thanks for taking the time.