Come visit Interrupting Privilege at the Northwest African American Museum! Click here to learn more about the exhibit

How Old Were You When You Realized You Were Black or Race Was a Thing?

In this clip, two Black men share stories of when they first “realized they were Black.” One of the men shares that his racial education began when he was 6 and had to have conversations with his parents about why he had to wear his church clothes on the plane to receive good service despite the fact that his father was a captain for the airline. The other man shares that his racial education began when he was 9 and began to observe differences between himself and the other white students he went to school with.

Police and riots are still very triggering to me to this day because of that. During the George Floyd protests and the early part I had policing nightmares for 3 or 4 nights in a row. Very much PTSD inducing.