This was a well thought article. Thanks for taking the time to write but more importantly to examine your life and what it says about the patterns we have normalized here in America. I applaud you taking the time to make an effort to learn about how racism affects everyday life here in America. I appreciate you man. I only wish that other white people would take a lesson from you in critically thinking about how our country’s demographics and neighborhoods ended up how they are today, rather than immediately taking offense and shutting off their ability to empathize because they feel the need to defend themselves. All it takes is an objective look at a myriad of studies and statistics to show how racism has affected America in the past and still affects it today.