I’m Black But Look White. Here Are The Horrible Things White People Feel Safe Telling Me.

Posted in Articles, Autobiography, Media Archive, Passing, Social Justice, United States on 2021-12-10 18:41Z by Steven

I’m Black But Look White. Here Are The Horrible Things White People Feel Safe Telling Me.

The Huffington Post
2021-12-09

Miriam Zinter

The author. “I’ve had people tell me it ‘disgusts’ them to see interracial couples,” she writes. “They’ve told me they don’t understand why Black neighborhoods look so ‘ghetto.'” COURTESY OF MIRIAM ZINTER

“Many of these people are educated, and hold jobs or positions that give them some form of power or influence over Black people.”

I was outside my house gardening a few weekends ago when a neighbor, whom I had known for almost 30 years, stopped by so I could pet his large, fluffy dogs. I took my gloves off, squatted down to give the dogs a really good scratching around their ears and felt the sun on my back. What could be better? And then my neighbor said: “Why do you have a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign on your front lawn when all those people do is kill each other?”

My lovely day screeched to a halt.

“You know I’m Black, right?” I said, standing up as tall as my 5’4” frame would allow, the sun shining on my blond hair. I continued to pet his dogs, because I needed the comfort of petting dogs at that moment, and because I needed to keep my hands busy so they didn’t slap that man’s face…

Read the entire article here.

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