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For this blog I wanted to bring attention to one sentence in Ann Russo's “Between Speech and Silence: Reflections on accountability” that changed my thinking on the article. Throughout the entirety of Russo's article she wrote about about how certain people depending on your race, culture, sexual identity, etc need to know when it's appropriate to speak out. People need to understand their surrounding, people need to know who there in a room with before they make a claim about a certain group of people that they are not a part of, but there is sometimes (even if you're not part of a certain group you should speak up). In Russo's conclusion she says this, “I believe strongly that white people need to step up and speak out in the face of injustices, and yet to do so without making ourselves the center of power and knowledge”. This is the sentence that made me rethink everything I had just read. Russo writes about not crossing power lines in debates/ conversations if you're not too familiar with the topic. Her points and power lines and knowledge on a topic is valid. But to go back to the sentence I pulled from the article this is probably the only time I believe power lines in communication should be crossed.

White privilege is real. And that is why I completely agree with Russo when she said white people need to speak up in the face of injustices.  Racism is obviously a huge problem in The United States. There's hundreds of hate groups all over the country. These are groups that hate people because of their skin color, beliefs, where their from, and so much more. In times like this it's appropriate for white people to speak up and stand up for these injustices. Using your white privilege to fight against racism is the best thing you can do with this privilege. Not only are you speaking to the African American community, the Latino community and whoever else is dehumanized because of the color of their skin. You're speaking to the racist white community. Someone in a hate group like the KKK are do not look at people of color as people so when they fight for equality it is completely looked over. But if a caucasian person fights for a equality and is able to speak and get the attention of people in hate groups it can get begin to get these people attention. I decided to look into ways that white people can use their white privilege to stand up for racial injustice. On a website called Everyday Feminism, the author says that it's important to get involved with the black community, show support in ways that we can. If white people start showing their support for these communities and standing up to racist hate groups I believe we will start to see differences in the United States.

So to bring everything together it's crucial to know your place in a conversation, and use what ever privilege you have to benefit a problem or a debate.