My first inkling that I might have some personal learning to do about race occurred in my freshman year of college. Standing in a large lecture hall, I tried to tell the person next to me who “Professor Smith” was. I explained that he was about 13 rows up, five people in and had elbow patches on his jacket. My classmate looked at me strangely and said, “You mean the black man?” I couldn’t say the words “black” or “African-American.”

A few years later, as a resident adviser in the dorms, I called security because a group of black men were being loud and disturbing the other residents. I was challenged by the black student caucus in the dorm, which suggested that my decision to call security — rather than simply ask them to quiet down — was racially motivated. I was horrified, flatly denied it — I was not a racist! But (fortunately) also began to wonder if it could be true.

I have since spent years unlearning the beliefs about race and racism that I absorbed naturally as a white person in America. Through classes, readings, workshops and conversations, I am still learning.

Here are five things I think white people who want to be part of the solution can do to become authentic partners in the struggle for racial justice: