withoutsanctuary.org

[dbattle]

I am an African American woman, and my first reaction was one of anger. Then outrage. This is nothing new. I have seen these types of pictures before. Seeing them always fills me with rage, and my opinion of whites has changed.
I grew up a military brat..used to being the only black kid in the classroom. But there were kids who I got along with and some I didn't. It was no big deal. I believed we were all the same, color didn't matter, blah blah blah. But then I grew up and lived OUTSIDE of a military installation. And I noticed the white woman who would clutch her purse when I entered the elevator with her. I noticed the white cashier who would go over my check with a fine tooth comb even though white customers before me breezed through the line with their checks. I became one of those people who will see a story on the news and say: "Humph, if that had been a black man he would have gotten a stiffer sentence" or "Why aren't there more black people on (name any orginazation, t.v. show..anything). I hate that I have these feelings now when I didn't when I was younger. Am I becoming more and more distrustful of whites as I get older? Am I looking for racism in situations where it does not necessarily exist?
I don't know if revisiting this part of our history helps ME. What I need is more affirmation of what CAN be, not more evidence of what WAS.
But that's just my 2 cents.