Defining me

W.

The other day I wore a W on my chest. It wasn't because I am supporter of G.W., it was not because I am a woman.

I wore it because I am white.

It was a scarlett letter in many ways, symbolizing something that will never wash away. I wore it for my good friend l o t i who is an amazing photograph and is doing a show centered around society identifying us by our race. She is using her images to help people remember that we are all still "fucked up" when it comes to how race plays a factor in society and our identity. We have moved past law demanding segeration into an ignorant form of passive racism. l o t i photographed me, along with 24 other people and asked us to describe what race we circle when asked to idenitify ourselves. Here was my response:


"I circle white everytime. There is no confusion, it is clear as day.
I am white and those three words have given me priviledge even before
I could say them. It is not something I asked for or earned, it is not
just or deserved. I am white and that means I supposedly have it made.
Those three words give me an unwritten power, a power I do not deny
and do not want. This is how society defines me, a society constructed
by colonial white men I will never know. I do not want to be defined
by someone who does not know me. Like someone who simply sees the
penciled circle around a five letter word."

Check out the show at All City Coffee in Pioneer Square for the month of October.