Living Life Abundantly

Chad Hedrick 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist was interviewed by his pastor Troy Champ at Capital Church in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 23, 2010. His goal is to inspire people to put their faith in God and that anything is possible. No matter what your past is we do have a forgiving God! Check out Chedhedrick.com to follow Chad as he participates in The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver – God Bless! Video by: Kelly Johnson of Capital Church

I received this thought provoking and perhaps controversial article via email forward today. I say controversial because I’m certain some will object to the opinions expressed. No matter where you stand on the issue the author certainly provides some serious food for thought. Looking forward to your thoughts on the subject. Thanks for sharing this Coach Ace.

When are we going to get over it? by Andrew M. Manis

For much of the last 40 years, ever since America “fixed” its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African-Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, “When are African-Americans finally going to get over it?” Now I want to ask “When are we white Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?”

Recent reports that “Election Spurs ‘Hundreds’ of Race Threats, Crimes” should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in “Bombingham,” Ala., in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than “talk the talk.” Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame, we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right.

Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan or either of the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was a nonpolitical mental case who wanted merely to impress Jodie Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be black, and we’re back in the ’60s again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we’ve proven what conservatives are always saying “” that in America anything is possible, electing a black man as president. But instead, we now hear schoolchildren from Maine to California are talking about wanting to “assassinate Obama.”

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, “How long?” How long before we white people realize we can’t make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can — once and for all — get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color? How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with nonwhites?

How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations? I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become president of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we start “living out the true meaning” of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that “red and yellow, black and white” all are precious in God’s sight?

Until this past Nov. 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African-American to the presidency. I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here’s my three-point plan during the Obama administration: First, every day that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I’m going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I’m going to report to the FBI anyone I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama. Third, I’m going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can sing of our damnable color prejudice, “We HAVE overcome.”

Andrew M. Manis is associate professor of history at Macon State College in Georgia.

Going Green is the thing and its about time!

While the important issues, like energy, have been down played by diversionary tactics and the same ole politricks… some of us remain focused on the issues. I think the record high gas prices we endured this year has us all convinced that alternative energy is a must!

As we get closer to election day, we should all make sure we know where the presidential candidates stand on issues that impact our daily lives and the future of our planet!

The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:

»Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump

»Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.

»Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.

»Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.

»Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.

»Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. (more»)

My sister Terri sent this one via email, enjoy!

If You were The Boss… which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc.,

This is an unusually critical election year.

Let’s look at the educational background of the candidates and see what they bring to the job:

Obama:
Occidental College – Two years.
Columbia University – B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
Harvard – Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware – B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
Syracuse University College of Law – Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy – Class rank 894 out of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was at the bottom of his class)

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University – 1 semester
Nort h Idaho College – 2 semesters – general study
University of Idaho – 2 semesters – journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College – 1 semester
University of Idaho – 3 semesters – B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire to lead the most influential nation in the world?

~Original Author Unknown~

“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities.” —Sarah Palin

I understand that Sarah Palin’s remarks were an attempt to discredit Barack Obama while showing that she’s qualified to be John McCain’s running mate, but to scoff at community organizers in the process was out of line and indicative of her ignorance and/or disregard of American history.

If it hadn’t been for community organizers Sarah Palin wouldn’t even be where she is today! Hello, the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement were lead by who? COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS…people that believed in change and were determined to make a difference.

Community organizers have always been instrumental in righting wrongs and taking on the responsibilities that elected officials (including small town mayors) have either ignored, swept under the rug, or were unable/unwilling to handle.

Sarah Palin is wrong to suggest that community organizers have no actual responsibilities.

The responsibility that community organizers accept and assume comes down to: Am I My Brothers Keeper? The community organizer says YES I AM! The community organizer actively addresses social disparities and fights to make a positive difference.

While a small town city mayor might be concerned with banning books in local libraries, a community organizer is concerned with empowering people with knowledge, resources, self help programs, and more!

Whereas a former small town mayor turned governor might use a line-item veto to cut funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live, the community organizer works diligently to meet the needs of even struggling teen mothers.

Community organizers have always spearheaded change in this country. Many of America’s greatest leaders to date were and/or are community organizers! I am a community organizer.

Sarah Palin can sleep on the efforts of community organizers if she wants to, but it will be community organizers that will make sure that she does not occupy an office or even sit behind a desk in the White House!

Thank you Ms. Palin for further inspiring me to attend Camp Obama and become a Deputy Field Organizer as an effort to Get Out The Vote.

Sarah Palin Facts:

In Sarah Palin’s speech she said “Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons…The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.” Well she didn’t leave the city of Wasilla better than she found it so why would we want her any where near the White House?

»As mayor, Sarah Palin left the city of Wasilla with almost $20 million in long-term debt.

»Sarah Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is “God’s task.” She’s even admitted she hasn’t thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.”

»Sarah Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Sarah Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to “keep up the good work” and “wished the party luck on what she called its ‘inspiring convention.’”

»Sarah Palin doesn’t believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, “I’m not one though who would attribute it to being manmade.”

»Sarah Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP.

»Sarah Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn’t even support abortion in the case of rape or incest

»As mayor, Sarah Palin tried to ban books from the library. Sarah Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, “news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor.”

»Sarah Palin DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). She claimed that she said “thanks, but no thanks” to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Sarah Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”

“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” — Geraldine Ferraro

For those that thought race was no longer an issue in America its been a rude awakening. While America has made great strides in race relations we still have a long way to go. I believe that despite how things may look, we are evolving, changing our thinking, and healing. It is not an easy or quick process but I see it happening. Is there a 12-step program for America’s race issues? Should there be one?

Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race in America courageously goes where people don’t want to go (at least it seems not in mixed company conversations for fear of political incorrectness). I think that many people forget (or don’t realize) that Barack Obama is biracial (he’s black and white). He identifies with way more people than Hillary Clinton and John McCain combined. So when people accuse the Barack Obama Campaign of playing the race card I think its ridiculous! Are there two race cards, a double sided race card, and/or a half and half race card and which one is his campaign supposedly playing?

“…I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas.

I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters.

I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one…” —Barack Obama

It seems that Barack Obama opposers are the race card playing culprits. Through imagery, symbolism, word play, clever semantics, and audacious statements the Clinton campaign has been using race card tactics since hmmmmm South Carolina. As an American I am ready for change. The more I see and learn about Hillary Clinton the more she represents the same. As a human being I am ready to embrace fellow human beings and breakdown racial divides, this is the change we need. Once again, Barack Obama demonstrates that he represents and believes in the very same change I believe in.

“…I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren…” —Barack Obama

I just took another step towards owning a piece of the political process by making my first donation to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Perhaps this seems like no big deal…but “for the first time in my adult life I am really proud of my country.” Michelle Obama has been criticized and accused of being unpatriotic for making that very statement, but I share and understand her sentiment.

I have never been as excited about the political process, politics, or U.S. presidential elections as I am now. After the 2000 presidential election fiasco with Bush/Gore and the hanging chads… I felt betrayed, voiceless, and like my vote (the American people’s votes) didn’t matter. I had pretty much concluded that ‘they’ put who ‘they’ want in the white house…. (You know who ‘they’ are, the invisible omnipresent nameless powers that be).

The last two presidential elections were demoralizing and brought out the pessimist in me as it relates to American politics. The George Bush reign had dried up all hope. When I heard that Hillary Clinton was running for president, I thought to myself…hmmm, I don’t know…When I heard Barack Obama was running for president, the words of the late great Tupac Shakur came to mind, “we ain’t ready to see a black president.”

Yes, me, the Living Life Abundantly, Change Your Thinking to Change Your Life lady was initially skeptical about whether a woman or an African American could win the Democratic Nomination and the presidency.

Admittedly, I spent too much time thinking about all of the wrong things including what ‘they’ would do to thwart the efforts of a Hillary or Barack. I was reluctant to get emotionally involved for fear of getting my hopes up. I followed the debates and news to stay in the know, while questioning whether or not the Democrats had a chance.

But I found myself getting angry. The mere thought of another 8 years of the same was too much for me. The anger and hurt I felt in 2000 welled up in me like it was yesterday. I asked myself, if you want change, what are you doing to bring about change? I thought about one of my favorite quotes:

“If You don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”

That was my cue to change my entire thought process about this election. As a person that understands the power of thoughts, words, faith, and prayer, I recognize that some of mine were counter productive. (Let that be a lesson to those afraid to vote for Barack Obama for fear of an assassination attempt).

I decided not to spend any time worrying or thinking about things that I didn’t want to happen; realizing that the law of attraction works even in politics.

I kicked that defeatist attitude and replaced it with:

• Pride
• Determination
• Resilience

The YES WE CAN in me emerged! I am Fired Up, Ready to Go, inspired, encouraged, hopeful, and have a renewed faith in not just the political process but in my fellow Americans. People of all ages, races, and genders are proactively, eagerly, and purposefully participating in the election of our next president! I am proud to be one of millions stepping up, taking ownership, and responsibility in getting the candidate ready on day one elected!

My time and energy is better spent thinking about the type of president I want in the white house when Bush is finally out! I want a president that believes in government for the people and by the people. I want a president that will look out for the best interests of all Americans. I want a president that has the audacity of hope and represents change for the better. I want Barack Obama to be the the next president of the United States of America.

There is action behind my words. The “Change You Can Believe In” movement is in full effect. Change begins with individuals like you and me. If you want change, what are doing to bring about change?

Join My.BarackObama.com:

• Build your own profile and connect with supporters near you
• Find or create your own local or national group
• Create your own personal fundraising page and track your progress
• Find events near you or plan your own
• Chronicle your campaign experience on your own blog

 

“Lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States. Although America leads the world in spending on health care, it is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage.” —Institute of Medicine

I find it absolutely mind-boggling that America spends the most money on health care yet ranks #37 out of 191 countries. How does a country spend more money than any other country on health care but its citizens have a lower life expectancy than countries that spend less? Where is all the money going?

Instead of Americans being healthier we are seeing increases in:

• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Obesity
• Cancer

How is it that citizens in countries with free health care systems (France, Canada, and UK) have longer life expectancy rates than Americans? I told my husband last week we should consider moving to France. He looked at me like I was crazy. But France has the best health care in the world and its free!

I know a middle class family of 5 (husband, wife, & 3 kids) paying $900/month for health insurance! Hello…. $900 for health insurance is alot when you also have to pay mortgage, utilities, car insurance, put gas in the car, food on the table, clothes on backs, plus other living expenses and incidentals! This is why so many Americans do not have health care insurance. Barack Obama is right, “people want health care but can’t afford it.” Hillary Clinton is right, “everybody has got to be covered.” John McCain is right, “we need to reduce health care costs.”

We Americans are often quick to turn our noses up at at other countries. We often think we are better and have all of the answers. Perhaps its part of our conditioning or mis-education. We are spoon fed lies that we actually believe about the evils of free health care for every American. Our American wisdom tells us that free health care for all Americans is too much like socialism and socialized health care is the enemy… If so called socialized programs are destructive then how do we explain our current systems for police, fireman, schools, and libraries?

With our infinite wisdom, wealth, and resources our health care system is ranked #37!

As our people grow sicker and deeper in debt with medical bills or die from inadequate medical care; health insurance and health service providers like Humana are literally raking in Six BILLION Dollars! What is wrong with this picture? Read the full story

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” —John F. Kennedy

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.” —Thomas Jefferson

“Change is inevitable. Because it is driven by expanding knowledge and technology, it is accelerating at a speed never seen before. Your job is to be a master of change rather than a victim of change.” —Brian Tracy

“If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.” —Charles Kettering

After 219 years and 43 United States presidents, there is a strong possibility that 2008 will go down in history with the the 44th president being the first African American or woman elected.

The word change has been used by all of the presidential candidates…however, only two truly represent change, and perhaps one more than the other.

Hillary Clinton represents change because she is a woman. However, her family and the Bush family have dominated the White house for the last twenty years! I don’t see how having her as president would equate to any real change. Hillary would make history as being the first female president but would the American people would get more of the same by electing her? Would it really be about her and Bill picking up where they left off?

When I think of change in America I think of new leadership… a fresh face in the White House with new ideas and a fresh perspective to lead the United States in a new direction. To affect change in this country we need a president that not only embraces change fearlessly but is the embodiment of change. Is having Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States change we can believe in?

Happy Super Tuesday! Get Out and Vote!

Here are a few details and rules that will help make the voting process run smoothly. Make sure to share these with your friends:

• Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to at least 8:00 p.m. Anyone in line at the time the polls close is allowed to vote.
• Voters have the right to cast a provisional ballot even if their name is not listed on the voting rolls. If a voter is at the wrong polling location and has time to get to the correct polling location before polls close at 8:00 p.m., they should go to the correct one and vote with a regular ballot instead of voting with a provisional ballot at the wrong location.
• If you declined to select a political party when you registered to vote, you can still vote for Barack Obama if you request a Democratic ballot from the poll worker. Make sure you mark “Democratic” in the appropriate space or the vote might not be counted.
• Voters have the right to return a completed vote-by-mail ballot to any precinct in their county.

In Honor of Veterans and military personnel currently serving with a special shout out to my uncle Willie :

They Did Their Share

 

On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.

 

Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years; Read the full story

Should African Americans Get Reparations for Slavery?

When the topic of reparations comes up people get very heated and opinionated… oftentimes without even knowing the facts or history behind reparations. Read the full story

My friend Hollie sent this to me this morning and with her permission I’m sharing it.

MORE DAMN TOY RECALLS……

OK, me, Hollie….is requesting that we all stop purchasing lead filled toys made in China.

We all know that there are issues between the United States and China (and every other country in the world, thanks to Bush). Clearly they are trying to kills us, by what? Killing our children first and foremost. This will prevent us from having a great military force to fight against them later….you know after we lose half the damn military to the billion dollar a month “War on Terror” in Iraq.

They will try to kill us by any means necessary…poisoning our dogs and cats…they know damn well Americans care more about animals than people (just look at the whole Michael Vick issue).

Please be real with your children and explain why they cannot have their favorite batman toy or their favorite doll. All of the toy companies are manufacturing in China. Reid and I have for months stop purchasing toys made in China. Reid is eight years old, if he can do it so can you. Feel free to call Reid and let him explain it to your child…it may come across better from another kid.

Seriously, please stop purchasing lead filled toys from China. If we stop buying, start complaining Mattel and the other manufacturers will have to make a change. It is not just about the toys, but the life long damage to our children from lead exposure. Read the full story

Note: This article appeared in the Baltimore Sun newspaper and was written by a Caucasian professor of Journalism at the University of Texas. The article appears here on Living Life Abundantly Marenda.Biz with permission directly from the author.

White People Need to Acknowledge
Benefits of Unearned Privilege © by Robert Jensen

Here’s what white privilege sounds like: I’m sitting in my University of Texas office, talking to a very bright and very conservative white student about affirmative action in college admissions, which he opposes and I support. The student says he wants a level playing field with no unearned advantages for anyone. I ask him whether he thinks that being white has advantages in the United States. Have either of us, I ask, ever benefited from being white in a world run mostly by white people? Yes, he concedes, there is something real and tangible we could call white privilege. So, if we live in a world of white privilege – unearned white privilege – how does that affect your notion of a level playing field? I asked. He paused for a moment and said, “That really doesn’t matter.” That statement, I suggested to him, reveals the ultimate white privilege: The privilege to acknowledge that you have unearned privilege but to ignore what it means. That exchange led me to rethink the way I talk about race and racism with students. It drove home the importance of confronting the dirty secret that we white people carry around with us every day: in a world of white privilege, some of what we have is unearned. I think much of both the fear and anger that comes up around discussions of affirmative action has its roots in that secret. So these days, my goal is to talk open and honestly about white supremacy and white privilege.

White privilege, like any social phenomenon, is complex. In a white supremacist culture, all white people have privilege, whether or not they are overtly racist themselves. There are general patterns, but such privilege plays out differently depending on context and other aspects of one’s identity (in my case, being male gives me other kinds of privilege). Rather than try to tell others how white privilege has played out in their lives, I talk about how it has affected me.

I am as white as white gets in this country. I am of northern European heritage and I was raised in North Dakota, one of the whitest states in the country. I grew up in a virtually all-white world surrounded by racism, both personal and institutional. Because I didn’t live near a reservation, I didn’t even have exposure to the state’s only numerically significant nonwhite population, American Indians.

I have struggled to resist that racist training and the racism of my culture. I like to think I have changed, even though I routinely trip over the lingering effects of that internalized racism and the institutional racism around me. But no matter how much I “fix” myself, one thing never changes – I walk through the world with white privilege.

What does that mean? Perhaps most importantly, when I seek admission to a university, apply for a job, or hunt for an apartment, I don’t look threatening. Almost all of the people evaluating me look like me they are white. They see in me a reflection of themselves – and in a racist world, that is an advantage. I smile. I am white. I am one of them. I am not dangerous. Even when I voice critical opinions, I am cut some slack. After all, I’m white.

My flaws also are more easily forgiven because I am white. Some complain that affirmative action has meant the university is saddled with mediocre minority professors. I have no doubt there are minority faculty who are mediocre, though I don’t know very many. As Henry Louis Gates Jr. once pointed out, if affirmative action policies were in place for the next hundred years, it’s possible that at the end of that time the university could have as many mediocre minority professors as it has mediocre white professors. That isn’t meant as an insult to anyone, but it’s a simple observation that white privilege has meant that scores of second-rate white professors have slid through the system because their flaws were overlooked out of solidarity based on race, as well as on gender, class and ideology.

Some people resist the assertions that the United States is still a bitterly racist society and that the racism has real effects on real people. But white folks have long cut other white folks a break. I know, because I am one of them. I am not a genius – as I like to say, I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I have been teaching full time for six years and I’ve published a reasonable amount of scholarship. Some of it is the unexceptional stuff one churns out to get tenure, and some of it, I would argue, is worth reading. I worked hard, and I like to think that I’m a fairly decent teacher. Every once in a while, I leave my office at the end of the day feeling like I really accomplished something. When I cash my pay check, I don’t feel guilty. But, all that said, I know I did not get where I am by merit alone. I benefited from among other things, white privilege. That doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve my job, or that if I weren’t white I would never have gotten the job. It means simply that all through my life, I have soaked up benefits for being white.

All my life I have been hired for jobs by white people. I was accepted for graduate school by white people. And I was hired for a teaching position by the predominantly white University of Texas, headed by a white president, in a college headed by a white dean and in a department with a white chairman that at the time had one nonwhite tenured professor. I have worked hard to get where I am, and I work hard to stay there. But to feel good about myself, and my work, I do not have to believe that “merit” as defined by white people in a white country, alone got me here. I can acknowledge that in addition to all that hard work, I got a significant boost from white privilege. At one time in my life, I would not have been able to say that, because I needed to believe that my success in life was due solely to my individual talent and effort. I saw myself as the heroic American, the rugged individualist. I was so deeply seduced by the culture’s mythology that I couldn’t see the fear that was binding me to those myths.

Like all white Americans, I was living with the fear that maybe I didn’t really deserve my success, that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it than brains and hard work. I was afraid I wasn’t heroic or rugged, that I wasn’t special. I let go of some of that fear when I realized that, indeed, I wasn’t special, but that I was still me. What I do well, I still can take pride in, even when I know that the rules under which I work in are stacked to my benefit. Until we let go of the fiction that people have complete control over their fate – that we can will ourselves to be anything we choose – then we will live with that fear.

White privilege is not something I get to decide whether I want to keep. Every time I walk into a store at the same time as a black man and the security guard follows him and leaves me alone to shop, I am benefiting from white privilege. There is not space here to list all the ways in which white privilege plays out in our daily lives, but it is clear that I will carry this privilege with me until the day white supremacy is erased from this society.

Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center http://thirdcoastactivist.org.He is the author of: The Heart of Whiteness: Race, Racism, and White Privilege Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (both from City Lights Books) Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream (Peter Lang) Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity Robert Jensen can be reached at [email protected] and his articles can be found online at http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/index.html1234567890

United States Slavery began in 1619 and was abolished in 1865. The ideas, attitudes, and beliefs formed prior to and during slavery about Black people did not end or disappear upon the abolition of slavery. Hence, the term US Slavery Residue. As defined by the dictionary, Residue = Something that remains after a part is removed, disposed of, or used; remainder; rest; remnant.

What exactly is this ‘residue’ and how… if at all does it affect us today? In order to answer that we must take a close honest look at American history with fresh new eyes. So few are willing to do that…Are you willing? Read the full story