Member-only story
Dear Black People, I’m sorry
I’m sorry it took global outrage for me to appreciate your pain.
I’m sorry it took protests for me to stop, listen, and start educating myself on the history of your oppression.
I’m sorry I had to listen to dozens of well-spoken activists to finally recognize my own life of privilege.
I realize that I am part of the problem. For that, I will forever be sorry.
I didn’t fight for you. I didn’t defend you. My whole life, I never stood up for you. I’m sorry.
The same system and the same media platforms that have failed you, have failed me, too. They didn’t teach me that the world was so unfair. They didn’t show me the hurt you carry. They didn’t explain to me that what I receive so easily in life has been made much more challenging for you.
Instead, what they taught me was that you can run faster than me. Jump higher than me. That you were more well-endowed than me.
They also taught me that I should fear you. That you were more likely to be a criminal than I was, and that you were probably poorer than me.
For years, I watched and listened, but I never came to your defense. It is not because I didn’t want to. It is because I didn’t know I had to. When I read stories about you, I should have known the media was against…
