I am reposting an article from Michael Twitty’s blog Afroculinaria because it is a beautiful teaching about racism, a subject that surrounds us but which most of us don’t understand.
I encourage you to read it and pass links to it among your circle of friends. I also encourage you to click the “Donate” link on the right side of Mr. Twitty’s blog. Supporting a teacher of Torah is an important mitzvah, because it preserves Torah for the next generation.
– Rabbi Ruth Adar
Whenever I am asked about my race, I leave the question blank or if asked in person say, “I prefer not to answer.” There is an exception however I admit, if it has to do with a health issue, and then I ask in return if what the questioner is looking for is my heritage. That is generally the true answer, and that answer is “Ashkenazi Jewish”, not “Caucasian”.
I recognize the need for the question, because it’s one way of making sure that more are served than merely the majority. I answer “white” because while my ancestry is almost exclusively from the British Isles and I am a Jew, my skin color generally gives me white privilege. Police see a white lady when they look at me; so do security people in stores. I find it helpful to be reminded of it, too.