Let’s talk about it.

We were all sickened, appalled, and frustrated this weekend as the events in Charlottesville unfolded. But we had no right to be shocked. We live in a country where our racist history has been relegated to textbooks, glossed over as something that “was” rather than confronting what really and truly still is.

We shove away attempts to discuss how the real and painful effects of slavery still exist in our society, saying “I’m not racist” and claiming someone else is the problem. We take to social media (and occasionally to the streets) to share our outrage – wanting to align ourselves with the right side of history, but can’t stand up to grandma at the Thanksgiving table, begging off with “it’s just how she was raised.”

It’s time we talked.

To each other.

Openly.

Honestly.

About race. About history. About our shared legacy.

Will it be uncomfortable? Hell yes. But we will never be able to move forward as a country until we truly confront the racial legacy we have tried for generations to cover up.

Because it’s not covered up. It’s out there on the streets everyday. It’s a white mob wielding torches as police stand down while a peaceful march following the police murder of another black man gets tear gassed. It’s a President who says “many sides” were at fault. It’s a noose left at the Smithsonian. It’s claiming a baseball bat is a threat, as long as the hand holding it is black.

At Curious, we stand for inclusiveness, community, and intelligent exploration. We stand for fairness, progressiveness, and equality. We condemn all forms of hate, racism, and violence. We advocate fiercely for a world in which understanding and difference is appreciated and valued, and we recognize and understand the legacy of our past deficit in these same areas.

If you share those values, let’s talk about our racial legacy.

APPROPRIATE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins lays bare our insidious history of racism in America, and how inequality is perpetuated in our world in ways both evident and invisible. It’s not about understanding “them” — they don’t care, and they never will. It’s about understanding us, and working together to reclaim a country that we can all be proud of, and reflects our values.