The term white supremacy makes me uncomfortable.

I started hearing it more frequently around our foundation a few years ago – from the staff, partners and others in our sector. And while I was uncomfortable expressing the emotion at the time, it made me cringe.

I believe in building bridges in dialogue. I want to meet people where they are and persuade them to hear me out. I think this is particularly true in conversations about race, which are often uncomfortable. White people can quickly get defensive on the subject, so I haven’t wanted to use a term that I think shuts down the very people I’m trying to persuade.

But why does it shut white people down?

When most well-meaning white people hear the term white supremacy they think of men in white hoods at cross burnings in the early 20th century, or the violent “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, when a white nationalist deliberately drove his car into a crowd, killing a young woman in Charlottesville, Virginia. These are people who believe white people are superior to other races and belong to organizations that run on fear and intimidation, and in some cases, violence, to promote their views. In other words, they are not us. I’m not that kind of white person. So, when the term “white supremacy” is used, it’s an excuse for white people to opt out of the conversation because we don’t think we’re implicated by it.

Read the full article about white supremacy in America by Jeff Raikes at Forbes.