Slavery was no accident.We didn't trip and fall into black subjugation.Racism wasn't a bad joke that just never went away.It was all on purpose.Every bit of it was on purpose.

I don't know what to do with what I've learned," she said. "I can't fix your pain and I can't take it away, but I can see it. And I can work for the rest of my life to make sure your children don't have to experience the pain of racism." And then she said nine words that I've never forgotten: "Doing nothing is no longer an option to me.

I'm guessing there were plenty of classes in which Ms. Phillips had to separate two white students for being disruptive. However, by her own admission, this tendency toward disruption was never attributed to their race. Only when the disruptive students were Black did race become a defining factor.

I worked as if white folks were at the centre, the great hope, the lynchpin. The key to racial justice and reconciliation. And so, I contorted myself to be the voice white folks could hear. It’s amazing how white supremacy even invades programs aimed at seeking racial reconciliation.