Should I have black or POC friends?
White girl here.
Often I see conversations online about white people being red flags if they don't have any friends who are BIPOC.
In elementary school (I believe first grade), we had assemblies focused on diversity. It didnt feel very organic as I only recall having white, able-bodied classmates. But I understood the message, as I had exposure to different people on television and in other media.
My father is quite conservative and over the years I learned he had quite negative views toward other ethnicities, exposing that he had chosen the location of my childhood home to keep me away from "those people". I never agreed with his attitude and the way he spoke, even toward 2 of my 'uncles' who are black (they are in relationships with my aunts, but never married). He's also kept me away from a lot of my extended family, but some of that is mainly due to relatives who turned out to be pedophiles or misused drugs/alcohol.
I've had coworkers of various ethnicities over the years, and we've gotten along just fine, but not to the point of staying in contact through multiple moves across the country.
I'm neurodivergent and have a difficult time making friends with similar interests in general. But as a nontraditional college student (30-something commuter), I want to find more ways to be a better ally. But I also don't want to try and seek out conversations with people just because of their skin color in fear of inciting tokenism. There's a high level of diversity at my school, but I dont engage in any extracurricular activities mainly due to my schedule.
What do ya'll think?