Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

I grew up in the ’60s, in a very middle-class, very white enclave in Marin County, California. And I mean very white. Exceedingly white. Like, “I can count on one hand the number of black kids in my senior class and still have my thumb available to hitch a ride”, white. Everywhere I looked it was white, white, white.

My folks, bless ’em, were were what today we’d call “allies” in the Civil Rights movement. They worked phone banks, volunteered at organizations, and such. They tried to counter the incredible whiteness of our community and educate my siblings and me about the broader world. They socialized with black families, all us kids playing together. They talked to us about race issues. They tried to instill in us a sense of “color-blindness,” so we wouldn’t treat people of color differently than we would white folks. Seeing everyone as an equal, as a default, that was their goal.

I believe they were successful in that. All of us, my siblings and I, have endeavored to treat all people equally, and to disregard race, religion, disability, gender, orientation, or anything other than “the content of their character” when dealing with other people.

But it isn’t enough. (more…)

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