'Not Here To Blame'

Chris Doucot, a founding member of the Hartford Catholic Worker House, warned students last night at a lecture in Arjona that, like new glasses, his lecture on racism in the United States would make them see things differently, but it might give them a headache first.

"I'm not here to place blame on anyone but to ask about responsibility," Doucot, a Boston native said while opening his lecture. "Blame won't help us move forward."

Doucot asked the audience to look at racism through what he called a "lens of white privilege." Doucot said that he believes there are structural institutions in the United States that create and perpetuate white privilege. He recalled speaking with a white South African who had lived through apartheid and told Doucot that at least in South Africa they were open about their racism.

Doucot said he believes that colorblindness is not the answer, that if color is used against a person it does matter. "We created white because we had to define non-white," Doucot said.

Doucot shared a story from a family photo of his children and some kids from the predominantly black neighborhood in which he lives. He discussed how one child, P.J., was able to graduate from high school and get a full-time job, even though he was homeless at times and came from

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