An Unintentional Accomplice

Book excerpt: AN UNINTENTIONAL ACCOMPLICE: A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON WHITE RESPONSIBILITY by Carolyn L. Baker follows a white woman's journey growing up in segregated Southern California coming of age in the counter-cultural 1960s. Baker's "aha" moment came, decades later, in her mid-sixties during Black History Month when she first learned of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. From this revelation, Baker shares her personal journey and observations on her awakening of cultural white privilege and unintentional racial harm to becoming an ally in building a more humane community. An Unintentional Accomplice recalls America's reality versus the American dream, highlights institutionalized discrimination, and calls for a redesigned feminism. Of particular importance to Baker are the principles of "nothing about us without us," and the role of the community to heal and sustain all of its members. Her goal is to create a space for individuals who, like the author, might recognize themselves in the midst of the racial divide, and to challenge, inspire, and uplift them to do the personal work required to foster a bridge of respect among all people. AN UNINTENTIONAL ACCOMPLICE is a non-judgmental personal narrative designed to encourage readers to appeal to, and act upon, "the better angels of our nature."