I completely agree that being open-minded is a great place to start! I hear that my article resonated with you and please know that I am not in judgment of you. You remind me a lot of my dad, who's white, in his early 60s, and had a similar upbringing in Iowa. I wanted to share with you his response to my article in case it resonates in any way:

"When you mention Fort Dodge, Iowa it brought back memories that disturbed me. We lived in FD for six years as my Father (your paternal grandfather) taught Biology and Chemistry there.

We often went to the Dam to spear carp. When we had a sack full we would go "below the bridge" to give the carp to the people of color, because they were the only ones who knew how to eat carp. This happened many years before I was ten. So it was instilled as a normal mentality in even the youngest children.

What your article suggests is for us "white" folk to look back at memories like that to understand any need for change. You are absolutely correct. Breaking down just a few of those barriers helps me to understand my own "nice" attitude and how it was built.

Opening a few gaps in that wall should lead us to more compassion and recognition of what causes the hate that forms the foundation of that wall.

Love,

Dad"