Preface from Tim: I am usually very hesitant to do any posts like this. The last time I did one even remotely close, one reader wrote to grumble about how this is not why he comes to the site. OK, fine. Skip the post. But TNRevolution has been such an important Sloper, and his contributions so generous, I’m going to bend the rules. I appreciate his hard work here, and his openness.

Why do I care?  Why do I care about the state of race relations in black America?  I am white.  For one, I am a human being.  To be a healthy human being is to have a measure of empathy.  I am no different.  When I see people hurting, my initial instinct is to help.  Whether it is tornadoes ripping through Nashville, Covid-19, or black Americans being abused, I want to be a part of the solution.  Second, it’s personal.

I grew up in rural America, in the suburban country north of Nashville, TN.  In the school I grew up in there was only one black kid.  I only remember him ever being in one of my classes.  Everyone I knew in my world was white.  That changed rapidly as I left home to attend college.  Students from around the world attend Georgia Tech, and living in downtown Atlanta was a dramatic counter to my all-white childhood.  I loved it.  As college passed, I met and made friends with people from all over the world.  However, I didn’t have any black friends.  Why was that?