Cost vs. Wage

Dear Claudia Rankine,

What struck me was the cost of being black compared to the wage of being white. White people in American society have access to a host of physical and psychological benefits, all constituting a "wage." On the other hand, black people face a wide array of injustices, which are particularly striking when looking at them through the lens of silence. Being black means accepting instances of injustice because what is the alternative? Black people are faced with so much injustice and so many microaggressions for passively existing, so why would an angry reaction help? Even in a state of invisibility, the disdain towards blacks in our society is apparent, and this is the psychological cost.

Uma

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