By: Dustin Schweitzer

 “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite” – Nelson Mandela. 

My love for people has made processing the last two weeks incredibly challenging. I am having difficulty understanding the visceral hatred that has pervaded our country. As a grandchild of two Holocaust survivors, bigotry and hate have deep and personal meaning. We were taught to love, not hate, even if our history was marred by lethal and reckless vengeance against the innocent. 

In 11^th grade I was fortunate enough to spend an entire semester studying race. One activity in particular I will never forget; and for that I am forever grateful. The experience of this day as a teenager made me truly grasp the power of White Privilege. One afternoon during the race unit, all 200 kids in my class were blindfolded by our teachers and then guided to our school’s auditorium. Once there, we were positioned by all the teachers before we could take off our masks. After the entire class of 200 students were strategically situated around the room, we were instructed to remove the covering over our eyes at once. What my eyes and ears witnessed next has been entrenched into the depths of my soul ever since. All the White students were standing on chairs in a large circle. Standing below the White students in a smaller circle, but not standing on chairs were all the Asian students. And, in the center of the circle, sitting on the floor, were all the Black and Hispanic/Latin students. 

We were all shocked. “What had just happened?” “What is this?” “What are they making us do?” The murmurs were quiet, but then the silence sunk in, as the teachers allowed to us soak in and really grasp what we were each experiencing both individually and collectively. After about a minute or two of silence, one of the teachers on the loudspeaker said, “Welcome to ‘The Fishbowl’ and to your current socioeconomic structure. How does it feel?” I immediately felt horrible and wanted jump off that “High White Privileged” chair I was standing on in order to be on the same level as some of my closest friends. But we were not allowed to move and the emotions around the room began to boil. One by one, each student was asked to discuss how it made them feel and whether or not they felt their current position was just and warranted.

The impact of this experience was momentous for me.  Tears were shed, anger was expressed, voices were heard. This was the day that made me believe change could exist if only the message could be effectively conveyed.   If this brief exercise was a wake up call to my class, there is no reason the right message presented in the right way could reach others, perhaps the entire country. Sadly, in the last 15 years since experiencing this real-life exercise, no substantial systemic change has been made. As we sit here today with 2020 unfolding in front of us in the most profound ways, we are at a crossroads with humanity. Change must be made, and it starts with every single person doing their part. We must stand up against hate and racism and create avenues of opportunities by supporting the black and minority communities. 

How one gets involved is always a personal choice but continuing to stand idly or by only saying “I’m not racist” or “I have minority friends” or “I listen to rap music,” is not going to cut it anymore. In fact, that type of inaction has been the blanket response for far too long and only fuels the perpetuating systemic issues at hand. Dismantling “White Privilege” to be rebranded and permanently restructured as “All Privilege,” must be the future of our country. I am confident it can and will be done. Real change, real action, and real support needs to be the vehicle for that change. If you are struggling with finding ways to get involved that is ok. Getting started in anything is always the hardest part, which is why I have provided a list of resources to those who want to begin taking action today because if not now, then when?

As always, my door is open. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you wish to carry this discussion or any discussion for that matter further. I love hearing from each and every one of you. Wishing you all safe and healthy vibes. Let’s keep this alive! 

Information and things you can do to support the movement right now!

https://www.onecommune.com/social-impact-courses-sign-up

https://www.grassrootslaw.org/

https://colorofchange.org

https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

https://blacklivesmatter.com

https://officialblackwallstreet.com/directory/