Listen to a conversation with KellyAnn Tracey who is white and Steve Muhammed, who is Black.
(Transcript edited for clarity)
Steve: My name is Steve Mohammed. I'm a member of the Nation of Islam.
KellyAnn: My name is KellyAnn Tracy. I was born white. I've been a caregiver for a Black family since January.
Steve: KellyAnn, what are some of the things that may have surprised you about Black people?
KellyAnn: I expected there to be some distance between us immediately, and that was not the case. One of the main things, to be honest, is food. Part of my job is to feed them. And it's been really a challenge learning what type of food that they like, how they like to have their food cooked. It's been really completely different. I can make brown beans and cornbread, but they can't eat just off of brown beans. Right. So, Steve, do people that, you know, use racial slurs?
Steve: I've worked around people coming from Tennessee and Kentucky, real country white boys, if you will. Right. And I'm pretty sure that when they go home that they use that N-word.
KellyAnn: I remember my parents had a friend of theirs from Louisiana that came to visit us, and that was the very first time I ever heard the N-word. My dad worked at an auto parts store, and they had an older black gentleman. He was probably in his eighties, something like that. I remember he had a limp and he was really, really kind to me. And they called him "Boy." Why would they call him boy? He's an older man. And my dad said, it's a way of making sure he knows where his position is.
Steve: Hmm.
KellyAnn: So, Steve, what are you struggling with right now about racism in America?
Steve: Coming from the Nation of Islam and the teachings of the most honorable Elijah Muhammad? We, of course, believe that the best solution is separation. We have been in America for over 400 years. The black man, black woman. And still today, we get no justice. You know, all of this tension between black and white is best resolved by separating.
KellyAnn: That really hurts my heart. And it's saddens me to hear really large religious organizations, that sounds to me, doesn't have any hope.
Steve: I understand where you're coming from. And my hope is that if white people feel comfortable with their history and their heritage and they don't want it dismantled and they want to live in an all white community. I don't see anything wrong with that.
KellyAnn: The children bring me hope. Because they don't have this messed up stuff that we do. And they really realize how messed up it is. They're the ones that are pointing it out to us, you know? Unfortunately, I think that the good ole' boy club is going to have to die off.
Steve: You know, one of the things that a lot of Black people liked about Trump is that he said, what we know why people really feel right. You have white people who are directly racist, but then you have white people who don't really move to end that type of behavior among whites. And that white privilege is nothing more than treating everybody with freedom, justice and equity. See, the system is what we're trying to separate from the system of white supremacy. KellyAnn, do you think racism exists in structural systems such as education, health care, jobs, etc.?
KellyAnn: Absolutely. Because I was a hiring manager and I had a belief that colored people that would come to apply would likely not be as highly educated, not be articulate. I really had no experience being around people of color, so it literally was what I heard from others or what I had seen on television. And I believe that a lot of white people have those same responses due to those same things.
Steve: Thinking outside the box. Right. I see white, I see black, I see yellow as a creatures of God. Right. I'm looking not at the individual, but I'm looking at the system. There is an understanding that the two races can't get along in peace. Relationships is a very difficult topic to talk about between Black and white. I want to thank you, Miss KellyAnn.
KellyAnn: Well, Steve, it's been a pleasure to meet you today and very informative in your honesty and candor.