Donna Starr from Blaine Free Church UU
Growing up in Pacific Palisades, California in the 40's and 50's, I had only one occasion that I can remember with an interaction with anyone black. One day I was surf fishing with my Dad for our dinner. He had given me a very rare pack of chewing gum, Chicklets, little candy coated pieces.
Down the beach I noticed a little girl who was with her father, also surf fishing for dinner. I ran to her to offer her a piece of gum. She looked up at me with abject terror in her eyes and turned to run away, crying. Her father dropped his pole and ran to comfort her. Only then did I notice that he was not a white man. I returned to my Dad, very confused at why she was scared of ME!
Most of life has been spent in monoculture communities. My experience with the black community is limited, and though I do not think I have a problem with racism, I look forward to attending the anti-racism workshops offered through BUF in later January.
I believe this country has huge problems of disparate justice, education, business practices , and broad historically bound mistakes. There are questions I have and need to know how to dialogue without mistakenly using racist speech and enlarging my world of understanding.
