I went to an overwhelmingly white private school in the south. In 9th grade, one of our very few teachers of color suggested all white people were born racist. He said that this country is racist at a deep, structural level and that to be born white in that system is to be born racist, inherently possessing the loaded weapons of white skin and privilege. You could unlearn it, he said, but it was a process. I remember this moment so vividly. Something started for me that day, something that isn’t finished, that will likely never be finished. Like an alcoholic, I’ll always have that learned racism within me, ready and waiting. It requires constant vigilance to try and dismantle that privilege or use it to actively dismantle racist institutions. I’m still learning. I’ll always be learning. It’s never felt more important to do that work. #blacklivesmatter #laprotest