White Privilege. Yes, it was on display for all to see yesterday. Today, 1/7/21, I talked w/ my students.

White Privilege.  Yes, it exists, and it's true, even at the subconscious level.  In Washington D.C., yesterday, on January 6th, 2021, we watched angry white men with guns storm the capitol, and it appears not many of the thousands were beaten, or arrested.  According to CBS News, 52 people were arrested, and 4 people died.  One was a woman shot as she breached the Capitol building.  If it were black men with guns, I'm sure we would have seen many more ... hundreds probably beaten, arrested, and some probably killed.  Even though only 52 people were arrested, the videos online seem to show controlled action by the police.  I saw videos of police pushing back on the protestors; nothing as violent as we saw how black men and women were treated last summer in the national Black Lives Matter protests.  In those videos, we saw lots of police brutality, and violence.  White privilege should be accepted by all as true, and if you don't agree, then you either haven't given the time or effort to consider how it's true, or you're delusional, or intellectually dishonest.  Accepting the truth is important on this path of societal progress.  Accepting the truth in all its ways is part of the story of human progress.  In my 8 years as the Faculty Advisor to our school's African American Student Association, I've had a special honor to be able to support so many students of color.  In the picture I share here, from a few years ago, you can see us on tour of a local college campus.  Thank you to all my current and former students for engaging in thoughtful, intellectual conversations on so many topics, including topics I spoke about today, including white privilege, racism, and systemic racism.  Since I'm an ESL Teacher, I often approach class conversations from the perspective of a basic review of all important terms, concepts and vocabulary.  Today, in class, my students listened well to my review of many important historical pieces that we all should know.  I briefly covered: the almost 300-year story of slavery in America; the Civil War, including common vocab. such as the North (in blue) vs. the South (in gray), and the reasons for the war; then reconstruction and the terror of the KKK; then the segregation in the South (commonly known as Jim Crow); then Brown vs. Board of Ed. and the Civil Rights years.  I covered a lot in this one class review, but it was important, and is important to keep teaching the facts, as we continue to reveal the truth.  I'm hopeful for the future, though, because it seems pretty clear, that with each passing generation, young people can get more exposed to history, through education, and the spread of ideas can only help to enlighten and open the minds of all.  I know that part of my life journey has been to understand my own tendencies, as a white man in America, or  ways of thinking that I learned from a young age.  It's a journey of trying to be anti-racist, and I will continue to try to grow, and change, and understand my own intellectual shortcomings, including any leftover prejudice, and old ways of thinking.  Reflecting on one's own thinking is paramount to overcoming racism.  Join me.  Thank you, Adam Chiocca ~~ book tour post, for today, 1/7/21 ~~