* Some people wonder why I address this page to White parents.  There are two reasons: firstly, I don't assume that I can teach anything about race or privilege to anyone who isn't White, since the only direct experience I have is that of being White.  (Parents who do not identify as White may find some of these resources useful anyway.). 

The second reason is that while it would be more accurate to address the page to "Parents Who Have Privilege," if most White parents are like me when I was at the early stage of my journey they wouldn't even recognize that they have privilege.  They might see that title and think "This page isn't speaking to me," and click away.  This is my attempt to meet White parents where they are, and welcome them into this journey.

 

**I've also been asked why I use the term "people of non-dominant cultures."  There are two reasons for this as well: firstly to avoid centering whiteness.  If I call myself a "White" person and everyone else "Minorities" or "People of Color" then whiteness becomes the default; the norm from which everything else deviates - and I think this idea is wrong.

The second reason is that other terms for people of non-dominant cultures don't incorporate the power imbalance which is inherent in structural racism and which I believe should be acknowledged.

I'm not afraid to say "Black," and when I mean "Black people," I'll say "Black people."  When I use "people of non-dominant cultures" I generally mean what others say when they use the phrase "Black, Indigenous People of Color" - with the added emphasis on non-White centering and power.  

While the current Black Lives Matter movement is (rightly) focused on Black peoples' lives, it's my hope that in time it will expand to focus on the many Indigenous peoples whose lives have also been irreparably harmed (and many of them have been killed) at the hands of White people through systemic racism.