If my story made you think there was more to it, then I've done my job and you've made my damn day!

I'm a mixed-race army brat from Oromocto. I come from slaves on one side and Quakers on the other...way back. My 6th great-grandfather, Paris O'Ree ran from a SC rice plantation at 15 and gained passage to Canada at 19. He's in the Book of Negroes.

But, as you can see, I look whiter than white people.

People of all races claw themselves out of poverty the hard way. My example with Monopoly was to take the sting out of the word "privilege" to explain it didn't mean that being white meant a free pass to a shit-free life, because it doesn't.

But, there's an added layer to the example. When's the last time you were pulled over for being white in a nice neighbourhood? When's the last time you were followed around a store for "looking ...let's say Irish"? It's a complex topic that I've reduced to very simple terms in order to sort of open a dialogue with the white community to let them know that white privilege exists and that it in no way takes away from their individual struggles.