Perhaps one of the most defining moments for me in recognizing race was while watching The Green Mile with my parents. I understood that John Coffey had been wrongly convicted for a crime, but I was confused as to why. There was very little evidence backing the claim. I recall my parents pausing the film to explain to me that Coffey was the main suspect simply because of his skin color. I was taken aback. I thought racism was a thing of the past.
Looking back, I suppose my obliviousness stemmed from my white privilege. Growing up in a white-centric society, I’d never been disadvantaged because of my race. In addition, my family was mostly silent about issues concerning race. Only as I began raising questions did my parents begin teaching me about it. As a result, my perceptions on race were shaped almost entirely by the media. I was, of course, taught about race in school. However, sitting in a classroom with predominantly white students and being taught by a white teacher didn’t allow me to fully grasp the concept. Furthermore, the lessons were never very in depth. They briefly covered slavery and the civil rights movement, but left out white privilege, the racial hierarchy, and modern-day oppression.
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Racism is still a problem that needs to be discussed and taught so that society can go about reinventing its understanding of race. Additionally, I find the operation of advantage and disadvantage particularity interesting, as they must exist together. Despite their unity, it is often forgotten that if Blacks are disadvantaged by race, then Whites are advantages by it. I’ve learned that racial bias is embedded in the American