Steve Drake, Princeton
In a white neighborhood roughly 35 minutes from Ferguson, Missouri, the mere presence of a rapidly unfolding racial incident was an invitation to move from confusion and avoidance to constructive engagement. I opted to be part of the solution and not part of the problem when a white friend nudged me to participate in a year’s worth of courageous conversations with African Americans held in their St. Louis church.
I learned that white privilege applied to me and over time I could see how the media, government and society in general influenced my distorted views of African Americans.
One of the appeals of waking up to the realities of how African Americans experience race is that it has so much to offer the heart, mind and the human spirit. The experience has been transformational. What’s holding you back?
Steve Drake
Princeton