My new friend Tessa and I had a fantastic conversation about race, Black Lives Matter, being tone deaf to what's around you, and how we can all come together to be better people.  She even has suggestions on how people, who have been lucky enough to be privileged in their life, can think differently about how race is perceived in the year 2020.

The conversation, as mentioned in this interview, started from her comments from a meme she saw on our FB page. She wrote how the meme came off as tone deaf, and how we could be doing much better in helping the cause for Black Lives Matter. At first, I was very defensive, as I felt I had spent much time trying to explain how offensive 'All Lives Matter' is, and why it's wrong. As a privileged white male, I knew it was a risk to put it all out there, and I felt I had done my part, or at least a decent attempt. So at first I responded saying that I HAD done what she had wanted us to do, but in hindsight, I realized that I didn't know what message she wanted us to get out there. How could I, unless I asked her? So, I did...

Thank you so much Tessa for taking the time to help educate me from direct perspective of a black woman living in Canada with a bi-racial family. Thank you for the conversation, for becoming a friend and for being an advocate for something that is truly needed at this time.