I’m afraid it will never go away He walks into the coffee shop, by instinct I prepare myself for what he might do. I do not try and think this, It just happens. I’ve been taught this way of thinking since I was a child. It was rarely explicit, but constantly implicit. Black skinned men are dangerous, at least most of the time. White people are safe, at least most of the time Black man in a hoodie? Probably a gang member. White man in a hoodie? Probably a hipster. I can’t help it and i hate it. I see a black man on the street at night and I get nervous. Again, I wonder what is going to happen. I want to shove these thoughts in the back my head. Hide them. Pretend they don’t exist. I want to act like I have not been taught to fear black male skin. But I can’t. Because I’m a racist. You are a racist. We all are. Now is the time to repent, to turn towards our nonwhite brothers and sisters. to listen, No, to hear, to empathize. To learn what it is like to not be you. Now is the time to take a pass on judgement, to explain why. Just listen. Hear. But even before any of that maybe finally admit it, you are a racist. Like me.