"What It’s Like: A Reflection on Being Black or White in a Divided World"

By Andrea Gary | Reflections Series – Legacy of Silence

Reflections

What It’s Like to Be Black

• Carrying history in your body unspoken, yet felt every day.

• Being seen through a lens of fear or fascination, but rarely as just you.

• Learning early that excellence is required just to be accepted.

• Feeling the power of ancestors who survived what should have broken them.

• Walking with rhythm, resistance, and pride because joy is a form of protest.

• Being strong because you’ve had no choice.

• Loving yourself in a world that told you not to.

• Living with hope rooted in something deeper than circumstance.

  
  

  What It’s Like to Be White

• Moving through spaces that affirm your place without question.

• Being seen as “just a person,” not a representative of a race.

• Feeling safe, protected, and heard by default.

• Learning about injustice rather than living it.

• Having the choice to care, or not.

• Often, you are unaware of how much the system works for you.

• Rarely needing to unlearn history that was written for your comfort.

• Inheriting comfort as the starting line, not the reward.

Written by Andrea Gary Legacy of Silence | Reflections Series

“Two Realities: Black and White Experiences in America”

Seeing the Same Country Through Different Eyes

Summary:

This video collection sheds light on the undeniable contrast between what it means to be Black and what it means to be white in America. From education and policing to daily interactions and generational opportunity, these stories reveal a nation divided not only by history but by experience.

These aren’t just videos. They’re mirrors. They reflect a system where white Americans often move with unconscious freedom, while Black Americans navigate inherited fear, resilience, and survival.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about truth. Watch with an open mind and a listening heart.