Growing up white, I was conditioned to stay away from discussions about race. It was just a topic that I was supposed to avoid because I was white and it wasn't my place. Of course I learned about black struggles in school and befriended and talked to black people, but bringing up blackness and whiteness on my own as a white girl was very much advised against because it would likely be offensive and start trouble coming from me, regardless of what I said. (Although, I should acknowledge that I do recall having briefly discussed race in some of my writing, interviews, and other arts analysis.)