Institutional racism in America isn’t something a lot of people care to understand. People who grow up in middle-class neighborhoods where minorities are virtually non-existent see the world through the lens they were given. Even those of us, myself included, who feel like we understand have never actually lived it, leaving that understanding with a naivety that we may never shake.
The fact is, we don’t know what it’s like to live with the socioeconomic isolation that began with the abolition of slavery. We were there to protest with our friends and neighbors during the civil rights movement and we’re there with them to this day, but when we get pulled over we aren’t immediately fearful of being dragged from our car and arrested — or worse. We don’t know how it feels to have the suspicious eyes of a store clerk watch us because of the color of our skin. We don’t exist in the eyes of the courts to provide steady fine income and an inmate population to keep the privatized prison industry happy.
The girl in this video has heard about enough from her teacher about how racism works, and she lets him know that as a white man, he doesn’t truly understand. Some would be critical and assert that you don’t have to live something to understand it, but when that something is engrained in the very fabric of a person’s being, is that really true?
She gives him a 30-second lesson he’ll never forget. To his credit, he allows her to. As would I, as would anyone who struggles with the very thought of racism being somehow acceptable. Still, we don’t truly know, do we?
If you truly believe you understand but haven’t lived it for yourself, pay attention. You may learn a thing or two.
Watch a teacher get a lesson in racism he’ll never forget below:
Featured image via screen capture