Marley, this was a great read and I love the concept and the goals behind it. Full disclosure — I am white. I’ve worked really hard to weed out any unintended biases I absorbed at the hands of racist family members (of which I have far too many, something that bothered me even as a child, thankfully). I agree with you that one of the biggest challenges is that racists are allowed to just behave the way they do without consequence in virtually every situation. There are obviously some exceptions, but that should be the reverse. It shouldn’t be, “hey pat X company on the back for firing that racist employee who went on a tirade on Facebook and got caught for it.” It should just be an automatic that decency prevails.

But sadly, it’s not. And for whatever part I, or my ancestors or family members have played in that, whether deliberately or by virtue of ignorance, I’m truly sorry. I read this piece because I want very badly to be an ally. I want to be helpful. I may not understand racial oppression, but I do still understand other forms of it. And if I want allies in my own battles, I owe to it to other marginalized groups to try to be their allies, too.

Having said that, my concerns about this idea are that, 1. litigation isn’t cheap, not in dollars or in time, which means it may be challenging for a lot of the people who need the help to access it (lost wages, outright losing a job over daring to sue, the expenses of legal fees all come to mind), and 2. the justice system is founded on the very systems that cause the problems in the first place, and often ruled over by people who’ve benefited from the systemic oppression you’re talking about.

I’d love to believe that other white people could learn from lawsuits. I’m just not convinced they would, and as a white person, I feel deep shame knowing that to be the case, which is why I have to say it. I also worry that if they win — because the system is stacked against minorities to begin with — it only imbues them with more bravado and feelings of superiority.

I can’t claim I have a better solution, because I don’t. Other than doing my own part to try to raise awareness and be a better human being, I don’t have answers. I think it would be really interesting to see what happens if more Blacks sued their racists. I’m just worried it might be inaccessible to those with the least amount of existing privilege — the poorest, who are also the most likely to need it (or so I’d imagine, as I cannot speak from firsthand experience), and that it might only embolden the assholes who commit these injustices if they win.