dear white people,

I try to steer clear of posting about my political beliefs on social media. There's not much of an excuse for that, I just hate being controversial. It makes me uncomfortable. Although, lately it's really been hitting me hard that I can't live like that anymore. Honestly, none of us have an excuse to live like that. I am a passionate person, but what good does it do if I don't share what I'm passionate about with the people around me? So here's a letter to my peers. To my friends. To my family. To my acquaintances. To my authorities. To white people.

Dear White People,

Oftentimes, when a tragedy occurs outside of white culture, we tend to neglect the issue, choosing not to respond. However, on the rare occasion that we do respond, we usually use the phrase "All Lives Matter." Of course all lives matter- but by saying "All Lives Matter" we fail, I fail, ignoring the bias we possess.

I feel like I shouldn't even have to say this, but I'm white. I'm a small, Christian, white girl living in Southern California. If that doesn't scream white privilege, I don't know what does.

But do you know what scares me? What scares me is the fact that so many of us choose to pretend that white privilege does not exist.

Now, before you get actively upset, please let me explain:

White privilege refers to the societal benefits that white people have over people of color. White privilege does not mean that white people do not face hardship. It simply addresses the fact that our challenges do not stem from our race and/or our ethnicities. & Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, there is serious bias. (Our lack of acknowledgement is ignorance, by the way. That isn't necessarily bad, it just emphasizes our deficiency of education and/or understanding! In this case, it has to do with how people of color are treated differently because of racial profiling.)

"All Live Matter" calls attention to an issue that "Black Lives Matter" does not address. It claims a lack of focus on white people & how our lives are "equal" to black people and people of color- which is not true. The term "All Lives Matter" requires you to strip attention from the "Black Lives Matter" movement & put it on white people.

Not only does the phrase "All Lives Matter"fail to address white privilege, but it's a lukewarm statement. It's mild. It's passive.

& I'm not going to lie, more often than not, being submissive sounds far more appealing. Speaking up is certainly scary, for sure, but imagine being regularly profiled and preyed on. That, my friends, is beyond scary. But it doesn't stop there.

The fact that there are people in this world who actively believe that they are superior based on their race is sickening. The fact that our black brothers & sisters continue to get hurt because of our faults is gut-wrenching. The fact that the vast majority of us pay no attention to this issue is absolutely horrifying! Yet we choose to say things like "All Lives Matter" or we choose to say nothing! Both of these options are passive!

The ability to speak up is a privilege so how come we're not using our privilege to further push this message? You don't need an invitation. I encourage you, I implore you. Please. Please speak up and speak out.

Much Love,

Delaney Marie Miller