What White People Don’t Understand About Racism

Racism begins with believing that race is a valid means of categorizing people. That is the heart of racism.

“Two Boy” by Elizabeth Olds (c.1935-1943), part of the WPA Collection

I hear white people — especially boomers — grousing about how ‘everything is racist these days’ in tones of bewilderment. There is a lot of unpack from that sentiment, but one critical feature I’ve noticed when pressing them to explain what exactly they mean by ‘everything…