We are all swimming in the water of white privilege. We white folk get to swim with the current. We also get to wonder why the people of color we see going in the other direction don’t swim faster.

Don’t buy this white privilege thing? Put yourself in the shoes of an African-American mother worrying about her children growing up in Madison. Look at our graduation rates. Look at our unemployment rates. Look at our incarceration rates. Then look at the number of white Madisonians who think that the most pressing social justice issue of 2013 was being able to hold noontime singalongs in the Capitol without a permit.

Third, this is a white person’s problem. People of color know all about the water we’re swimming in.

Fourth, there is surprisingly little genuine interaction among people of different races and cultures in Madison. We white folk don’t exactly seek out opportunities to get to know people of color on their turf. We genuinely wish them well, sometimes write a check to the Urban League or Boys & Girls Club, and tend to think that’s enough to punch our anti-racism card.