Herink - COLOR LINE

I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in North Omaha, as a result of this, most of my childhood friends were black. As a child I had little problem empathizing with my black friends, I had little problem feeling apart of them and forming deep friendships with them.

When I began junior high, my mother and father moved us to West Omaha and I started school in the Millard Public Schools system. There I had little interaction with black individuals. All of my friends were white, all of my teachers were white and now all of my neighbors were white. The article helped me to realize just how much my high school years had informed my perception of race and how approach relationships with individuals of another race. While I do not consider myself explicitly racist, I do think that I along with a majority of America demonstrate implicit racism. This article really discussed this concept of a lack of ability to empathize with individuals of another race and a disservice this does to white individuals. Being a member of the dominant culture it is my responsibility to attempt to approach individuals of other races and try and form friendships with them in similar ways I would do with a white individual.

1) Is it bad to be implicitly racist?

2) What can be done to help curb the tensions that exist?