First, I had to develop an understanding of racism not just as an individual character flaw but as a system of ideas, beliefs, and practices that divides people and gives some people better life chances—opportunities to live a happy, healthy life—based on their skin color and ancestry. I had to realize that individuals are born into these systems, absorb them, learn to operate within them, and make choices over time that will build them or dismantle them. My initial education in this took about a decade; it continues every day.
