Five books on race, priviledge and white America

We sadly have returned to days of protests by people of colour in America because Mr George Floyd was brutally murdered by a white police officer. It has been nearly two weeks now that America has had to face another round of marching and protests against systemic and institutional racism. I have read and watched all sorts of excuses given by white supremacists in this very sad state of affairs. Oh, George Floyd was not a good person, had a criminal record, etc, but then many responded swiftly. The reason why he had to go to jail briefly has been adjudged as wrongful incarceration. I did not know that a policeman could kill someone without any trial or even discussion of a perceived crime.

If you ever lived abroad, you can almost touch the racism, the look they give you if you walk into an expensive shop suggesting you can’t afford it because you are black, the comments by your Professors who have no idea that there is an airport in Nigeria or that you come from an English speaking country. Then there are shocking looks when you speak English really well. What about when a random white person walks up to you without any provocation and asks you to return to your country because you are black? African Americans have spent the longest, walking on eggshells around white persons and defending themselves at all times for reasons that have nothing to do with competency or efficiency but skin colour and losing their children to racism and police brutality. We have no idea how privileged we are when we are all the same colour. Our challenges are a different sort but having to deal with daily racism can be daunting and unpleasant and can lead to death in Floyd’s case. Let’s pause now and take a look at some books that speak to these issues as Americans begin a journey that will hopefully change things around.