What I thought is not what it was.
As I have gotten older, I have continued to learn more about the world than I ever thought I needed to know. My world was without cares or worries, and I held the belief that others lived in that same world. I believed that the treatment I received was the same as others received. I grew up loving everyone and believing that everyone was my equal.
I was so naive as a child. I was gullible to think that my simple carefree world was not what others experienced. As I grew, I began to see the cracks in that world. I started to notice small spaces where others were not getting treated like myself. It was when I began questioning why that was so that I really started to see the world for what it was:it was unfair.
I decided to make a change within myself and get uncomfortable with how I feel about things or what I believe. My first adventure in this new journey was to be part of the Tour of Racism in Detroit. This event held an intimate group of people, some white and some African American – men who opened up and shared with us parts of history that they lived and how it has affected them and their families.
The stories they shared were ones I had never heard. Their points of view were never a discussion I was part of. The worries and hopelessness that they shared came at me like a ton of bricks. How could people of privilege be allowed to literally build a wall between them and those that were not like them? How could people of privilege feel the need to suppress others that they did not deem as worthy? How do people get to be privileged and get to make the decisions for everyone? This is not the world I thought I lived in. Where is the equality I so naively thought everyone had?
My heart was heavy when the tour was over. My heart was heavy to come to terms that I am part of the problem, I am part of the privileged, I am part of the past and present. I will be part of their future, but I plan to be a partner and walk alongside them as we move forward. I will be seeking more ways to get involved and be a listening and helpful participant in making changes –no matter how small.
But I will make a change somewhere. I will no longer be part of the problem. I will be part of the hope to share and heart to listen.
