To say that white people who fought alongside African Americans in the Civil rights movement didn't risk something is preposterous and frankly out of touch.

As a minority (Latina/Sicilian, daughter of immigrants) I agree - the way we are treated during elections is embarrassing and borderline demeaning. He is not recieving a special commendation just for being white and showing up, he is recieving it in the context of his civil rights record vs. Someone else's. His stance throughout the years vs. Clintons.

Do I think it was harder for white people to support civil rights? No, but I have opened a history book and I can see that supporters of civil rights of all colors took huge risks, they accepted the danger, the hatrid, they were abused for being supporters or activists, they were killed, beaten, but they too stood to stand and take it on their shoulders also. You can't deny that, and I don't see why you'd want to? It doesn't take anything away from AA who fought for those rights, it shows the brutality that went into holding those that chose to speak up down, and the bravery it took from AA and their allies to speak. It puts it into context. It tells us that speaking up for what was right didn't come easy, it didn't come free, it didn't come without punishment.

Whoever was/is brave enough to stand shouldn't be discounted because their skin color wasn't the same as the people they were standing with. (Imo) We can agree the struggle of those being heald down was absolutely greater. We should stand together, not be divided.

In my opinion, what should white people have done if not stand? What can they do now to support without being out of toucn? I've read through your other comments and I'm curious.