Things white activists say to activists of color

Tweets by @NewBlackWoman

My short skirt is not an invitation
a provocation an indication that I want it
or give it or that I hook.

My short skirt is not begging for it
It does not want you to rip it off me or pull it down.

My short skirt is not a legal reason for raping me,
although it has been before it will not hold up in the new court.

My short skirt, believe it or not has nothing to do with you.

They take my kindness for. . . . . WEAKNESS.
They take my silence for. . . . . SPEECHLESS.
They consider my uniqueness. . . . . STRANGE.
They call my language. . . . . . SLANG.
They see my confidence as. . . . . CONCEIT.
They see my mistakes as. . . . . DEFEAT.
They consider my success. . . . . ACCIDENTAL.
They minimize my intelligence to. . . . . POTENTIAL.
My questions mean I am. . . . . UNAWARE.
My advancement is somehow. . . . . UNFAIR.
To voice concern is. . . . . DISCONTENTMENT.
If I stand up for myself I am too. . . . . DEFENSIVE.
If I don't trust them I am too. . . . . APPREHENSIVE.
I am defiant if I. . . . . SEPARATE.
I am fake if I. . . . . ASSIMILATE.
My character is constantly. . . . . UNDER ATTACK.
Pride for my race makes me. . . . .TOO BLACK.

If by a "Liberal" they [opponents] mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." John F. Kennedy, Sept. 14, 1960