Introduction
To be racist is to discriminate against, hate, or commit acts of violence to a person or group of people because of their race. When confronted with the issue of racism, many people shy away and justify themselves to be a “non-racist”. However, being a non-racist is not enough. By being a non-racist as opposed to an anti-racist, you are compliant with the unequal racial hierarchy embedded and normalized in our everyday institutions. To be an anti-racist then, is to fight against – rather than perpetuating – institutional racism in sectors such as education, housing and the workplace. As award winning author, historian, and leading anti racist scholar Dr. Ibram X. Kendi points out in his book How to be Antiracist, “One endorses either the idea of racial hierarchy” and “allows racial inequities to persevere” as a non-racist or “locates the roots of problems in power and policies” and confronts them, as an antiracist (Vox). Thus, Kendi contends that merely being “non-racist” and neutral “is a mask for racism” because it supports the status quo where institutional and systemic racism remains entrenched within our society.
In such a society that privileges white people, our perceptions are informed by white standards and policies that normalize racist ideas in our culture and institutions (Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture). This creates implicit biases and perpetuates harmful stereotypes against communities of color. All of us are situated in positions of power and privilege that we’re not even aware of because of our race, ethnicity, class, religion, etc. Thus, making visible our privileges, as well as our biases, is the first step in combating racism and being an anti-racist. It is only by challenging and uncovering our unconscious biases and privileges will we begin to understand how extensive systemic racism is. Confronting our biases means that we accept that we have been raised in a society that elevates white culture above all others (npr). Systemic racism then, induces endemic trauma in non-white bodies that are marginalized and othered.
Conclusion
Once you acknowledge how systemic racism may have shaped your biases, learn more about the history of racism and educate yourself on anti-racism. By reading this module, you are already taking the necessary steps to rewrite your understanding of racism. Some notable resources on anti-racism include How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad, and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (npr). Additional resources will be linked below. When you begin to research these complex issues, examine how you’re feeling and investigate the root of why you feel the way that you do. If you follow this line of thinking, you’ll stumble upon roadblocks and resistance. Take your time and think about it. Let yourself be uncomfortable. This is when you will have the best opportunity for a breakthrough. Listening when people of color share their experiences with white supremacy is another. Believe them.
Next, seek out films and TV shows that will challenge your perceptions of race and culture. Avoid “feel good’ TV shows and films that have Black people overcoming racism with the help of “White Saviors”. Instead, consume anti-racist media that is provocative and subversive. It is when we watch films such as Deep Impact and shows such as Dear White People, that we begin to get an unadulterated yet limited view into the Black experience and their daily truth. Viewing these types of media creates a scaffold for empathy beyond sympathy that bypasses racial prejudices and stereotypes (npr).
Finally, get involved in local organizations promoting anti-racism. Uplift their voices and ideas (npr). Go beyond knowing better, to actively doing better. Assess your power and spheres of influence. Where can you make the most difference in challenging policies that advantage whiteness and disadvantage others? At your home? At your school? At your workplace? An anti-racist is someone who fights for the rights and equity of all races.
References
Abad, M. N. (2021). “‘I’m Picking a Side’: Thick Solidarity, Antiblackness and the Grammar of the Model Minority.” Race, ethnicity and education, 24(3), 303–318.
Choi, Adriel, and Cheryl L. Dickter. “Allyship behaviors among people of color.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 27, no. 3 (2021): 411-424.
Foster, Krys E, Christina N Johnson, Diana N Carvajal, Cleveland Piggott, Kristin Reavis, Jennifer Y. C Edgoose, Tricia C Elliott, Marji Gold, José E Rodríguez, and Judy C Washington. “Dear White People.” Annals of family medicine 19, no. 1 (2021): 66–69.
Glasford, D. E., & Calcagno, J. (2012). The Conflict of Harmony: Intergroup Contact, Commonality and Political Solidarity Between Minority Groups. Journal of experimental social psychology, 48(1), 323–328.
“The BIPOC Project.” The BIPOC Project, www.thebipocproject.org/.