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Baldwin said that the only way for a black American to know the racist or anti-racist stance of white America is by the state of their institutions. There is something to be said, from our perspective, for people simply exemplifying anti-racist behavior, because I can never know what's truly in your heart; I can only know you by what you do.

If you learn anti-racist behavior and perform it only to manipulate, eventually you're caught, with ramifications for your life or your legacy.

In any case, white America certainly needs to try to understand black America better, but also of great importance is that they begin to understand themselves better. Their history (e.g., "The Lost Cause" is a myth), their personal and communal psychology (e.g., white fragility and guilt), and their behavior (e.g., white flight and opportunity hoarding); and to square that with what they claim are their higher ideals.