Maybe It's Easier to Hear From A White Person

It is difficult to unpack whiteness.  Now tie that in to the most recent events this past week in Baton Rouge and St. Paul; if things were not complex enough as is.  Luckily writer Justin C. Cohen offers " modest advice to other White folks who are trying to figure out how to be good allies" in Advice for White Folks in the Wake of the Police Murder of a Black Person.  

Below I've plucked some very on point statements.  Thanks for keeping it 100. 

1. If you’re White, don’t look to your friends of color for
    answers today.
      "if you’re eager to learn, talk to other White people
       who have been engaged in this work, as one of their
       primary roles as allies is to lessen the burden that
       people of color have for the education process around
       issues of justice."
2. What happened to Alton Sterling is, in fact, about race.
       "police kill Black people at a rate disproportionate
        to both criminal activity and their presence in the
        population at large."
3. Be aware of a few standard, and racist, media tropes
    about Black victims.
        "the notion that the real problem is “Black on Black”
         crime. Bringing this up is an attempt to change the
         subject away from the extrajudicial killing of Black
         people by the police"
4. As a White person, you are in a unique position to
    influence the perspectives of other White people.
        "the more you talk about race, however, the easier
         it will become."

To further bridge these ideas, check out Cohen's response to the shootings in Dallas on Thursday in Neither the Color of Your Skin Nor the Color of Your Uniform Justify Your Death. 
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​And also for your convenience...

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