Lean In, Listen, and Learn

I'm white.

I am white as a white person can be.

I am white, but I am not blind.

I recognize that I've had some unique advantages in being born who I am.

I was born in one of the greatest cities in the world, New York.

I was born into a culture of diversity, a melting pot of humanity.

I was born white.

No, I don't consider myself privileged. I consider myself, me. I consider you, you. And I consider everyone has their own unique abilities, skills, and is privileged to be born the person they are, because they are born to do great things.

That said, I'm deeply disturbed by what I'm seeing in the news, what I'm seeing in my state, and what I'm seeing all over America as far as racial inequality.

The divide in my country has never been greater.

The hate has never been deeper.

The anger has never been this rage-filled.

People of color in America have always been treated differently. I say people of color, because this doesn't apply only to African Americans. It applies to Asians, brown-skinned people from India, It applies to anyone who doesn't look like, Betty Crocker middle America. White, middle America.

Growing up in a city of diversity, I guess I was blind to the blatant racism around me.

In New York, I didn't see color as a divider, I saw it as a unique trait.

My best friend Phillip Gillespie wasn't my best black friend, Phillip Gillespie. He was my best friend.

My classmate Kamaljeet Guptata wasn't my Indian classmate, no, Kamaljeet was just my classmate.

And my friend Andrew Moy wasn't my Chinese friend Andrew. He was simply my friend Andrew.

You see, racism isn't born, it is taught. Hatred isn't natural, it is indoctrinated.

It is clear to me that the depth of hatred against black Americans is so deep that the only way their voice is heard is through radical action.

I have stood silent for too long. I've seen injustice for too many years and I've chosen to stand in silence because I believed it wasn't my problem. My belief was this is their battle, not mine.

I was wrong.

This is my battle.

This is your battle.

This is our battle.

The only way racism ends is when we stop seeing race and start choosing to embrace each other.

I will stand up to injustice today, tomorrow, and until I take my last breath. Always.

Black Lives Matter.