I was really happy to read both the chapters for this week. It made me feel good because they discussed all the things that I've been concerned about my entire life. I feel that I am one of those low-prejudice people that has been in the middle of an awkward situation because I was scared that I would say something wrong or that a black person would think I was implying something that I wasn't. White people need to work not to place negative judgement on a Black person, or any other person of color, but the same goes the other way. It's hard to do anything good when you feel you are being negatively judged all the time. Like Tatum said, we need to talk to each other. We all need to know where others are coming from so that we can all understand what others mannerisms really mean. Some people's intentions are good, but their body language is interpreted as negative when all they are trying to do is act positively. I also feel exactly the way one of the White woman in Tatum's chapter does, that it feel so go to talk about race and racism. It feels good, but this class is the first time in my life where I'm in a situation to talk about race freely. I've been talking to my friends about race a lot, because it feels good, but I wouldn't have known how good it feels if I wasn't in this class. How many White people on this campus feel the way I do? No one knows because race isn't talked about. Of course, I know that this isn't a new realization, but I feel it's important to keep stating it.

This past weekend a friend of mine reminded me of a thought that I forgot I used to ask myself everyday: How do blacks expect me to know what to do or think when I observe from Black people isn't real? I didn't know that Black people's hair wasn't naturally straight. I think that the hair Black people get in a salon is beautiful, but it's not because it looks more like "white hair." I also love the way Black people's natural hair looks like, but my point is that I didn't know what the naturals hair looks like until college.

Everything comes back to talking to each other. There's no end to what people can learn by talking. Everyone places judgement of everyone else, but it doesn't have to be negative judgement. I don't want to deny everything that I've read about in class, I just don't want anyone to forget about those White people would mean well but just don't know somethings, with no fault of their own.