Dear White People: Stop worrying about becoming a minority

Why are so many White people afraid? Why is there terror in their eyes when they hear that by the year 2050 White people will be a minority in this country? I am here to tell all those concerned White people not to worry.

When you become a minority we will never insist on you going to separate and unequal schools. We will not teach history from only our perspective. We will not ignore your heritage or belittle your cultural experience by concentrating your history into one month, the shortest month of the year. And, when it comes to reading lists for the school curricula, we won’t have only Black authors and Latino poets.

We won’t forbid you from eating in certain restaurants or make you use the back door or forbid you from sitting at the counter. You will never see signs that read, “People of Color Only, No Whites Allowed.”

When you go to get a bank loan, we won’t make the restrictions harder on you than on anyone else. You will be able to qualify for credit based on your income, not your appearance. We won’t even charge you higher interest rates just because of your skin color.

Just because you are White and no longer the majority will not mean that law enforcement will target you, shoot you when unarmed or beat false confessions out of you. And, should you find yourself before a judge, don’t worry, we won’t exclude your White peers from serving on the jury and you will get a fair trial.

I promise we will not make you live in restricted areas or make you pay higher rent, leave steeper security deposits or refuse to show you a house just because it is not in “your” neighborhood. You will be able to live in any community of your choosing. And you won’t have to ride the back of the bus to get there.

You will be welcome in our spaces and safe in spaces where you choose to gather on your own.

There will still be plenty of White actors on your favorite TV show. You won’t have to run in from another room and cheer when you see a person with your skin color on a commercial. Your popular music won’t change at all.
It will be okay to wear your hair natural without needing a special law to permit it.

We will never hire or not hire you simply because of the color of your skin. And, should you land the job, we won’t pay you less than we pay the people of color. Your chances for promotions will be based on your ability not because of your skin color.

Please, please, stop worrying about becoming the minority in this country. We are not like you. We won’t do the things to you that you have done to us.

I promise we will never deport you back to Europe. We will never separate you from your children and put them in cages. We are not like you, so stop worrying. Your world will not come to a crashing end in 2050 when White people become the minority. It won’t.

I am not sure why so many White people are so worried about becoming a minority in this country. Maybe it’s guilt?

Gabriel A. Fraire has been a writer more than 45 years. He is currently the copy editor of The Carolina Peacemaker. He can be reached through his website at: www.gabrielfraire.com.