An Open Letter to My New White Neighbor

6 min readNov 28, 2020

Photo via Flickr Creative Commons

Hi there! I saw the U-haul out front, and thought I’d drop by and see if you needed anything.

No, I’m not selling drugs.

I wanted to introduce myself. As a fellow white person who has been in the neighborhood for awhile, I thought I could welcome you with cookies, and offer some advice.

Congratulations on the great deal on that house! Nobody can buy in Seattle anymore, so everyone’s moving here and commuting. No one’s mad about that, but with all these new folks moving here, this neighborhood is changing.

So if you’re going to live here, you may as well have a cookie, take a seat, and listen up.

First, tread lightly. This neighborhood has historically been inhabited by people of color, and before them, by the native tribes of our area. Redlining kept black families out of other neighborhoods, so they built a vibrant network of resources and relationships in this place. Your new house was home to an amazing black family who brought home Olympic boxing medals and served our country as soldiers, nurses, and teachers. Four generations lived together. When great-grandma died at home one cold November evening, the whole clan built a bonfire and sang in her honor. Sometimes, you might turn a corner in your new house and catch a whiff of wood smoke or an echo of an old Caribbean song. The people before you leave traces of themselves in this place. Take off your shoes, and recognize that this is holy ground.

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Second, don’t call the cops for stupid shit. When I first moved here, I called in things like people arguing on the street or kids setting off fireworks at 2 am. Our local police department does respond quickly, but they can rarely solve the problem any better than I can by going out in my bathrobe and reminding people that some of us need to work in the morning. Most of the time, folks apologize, the problem is solved, and I can sleep better knowing that I didn’t waste the police department’s time or risk the lives of my black neighbors.

Third, spend some time beyond your property lines. Walk the neighborhood, and learn to say hello in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Cambodian. Adopt a plot in one of our community gardens. Recognize the people experiencing homelessness in our midst and, when you can, offer a sandwich. Learn the names and faces of local fixtures like Henry, Blanket Man, and Sonic Guy. Send your kids to the nearby school, or offer yourself as a volunteer. If you’re going to occupy space in this neighborhood, participate in civic life and be a part of our village.

Sorry to overwhelm you with advice, but this is stuff you need to know if you don’t want to be an asshole. Given how many of my cookies you just inhaled, maybe asshole is a pre-existing condition. That’s not something I can change. But know this: if I perceive your actions as threatening the lives or safety of our neighbors, I will call you out. And I won’t bring cookies.

By the way, do you mind moving your Ford F-250? It’s blocking my Little Free Library.

Thanks, and welcome to the neighborhood!

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https://maiyalily830.medium.com/i-grew-up-in-the-most-hateful-town-in-america-921e8dfee06

An Open Letter to My New White Neighbor

Written by Sarasara