My husband and I were at U of C and it being Ivy League n all, we felt smug and privileged.

The campus was/is? an island of whiteness in an area steeped in black American culture. Guess what? I hardly saw black students wandering the campus. Token ones here and there Shock. Disbelief. White private police force prowling 24/7. What the? We were ‘cautioned’ not to go beyond a certain street! We being brown, of course felt an affinity with the area. All I got wandering beyond u of c island were compliments on my looks. Curiosity. Questions. Gorgeous food.

Being ignorant of the transport system, peasant that I am, once I got on a bus which simply kept going deeper into ‘danger’ zones. A very kind gentleman, black of course, put me on a bus going in the opposite direction back to u of c. There were drug gangs of course but no one ever bothered me. Same is true of my excursions into the heart of dc back in the 90s.

I ve had my fair share of ugly racist incidents, being threatened by white bullies. Now that was scary.

My point is, I feel sickened by propaganda prevalent even today. It’s become part of the genetic imprint, so to speak, of white America.

Nothing much has changed over the years. But it must.