Dear Friends,
I have been reading two books that have rocked my world. One is White Fagility by Robin DiAngelo and the other is How to Be An Antiracist by
Ibram X. Kendi (still reading). I believe we have all been blown apart by the racial injustice we see in our country and in the world. For me this was the tipping point for white people to look deeply into our consciousness and psyche to be honest about our thoughts about race.
I read an article on line titled, “Am I a Racist? You May Not Like the Answer” by John Blake, CNN
“One of the biggest obstacles to fighting racism is despair. There’s a belief that racism will never be eliminated because it always adapts to survive,
and humans are too tribal to look past superficial differences in others.
But the modern framework of racism – a racial hierarchy with White on top and Black on bottom – is a relatively recent fabrication. The notion that
people with darker skin are inherently inferior was contrived around 500 years ago by Europeans to justify slavery and colonial conquest, scholars say.
History lessons won’t prevent someone from being a racist. But something else can: genuine, sustained personal relationships with people of color.”
“One of the biggest obstacles to fighting racism is despair. There’s a belief that racism will never be eliminated because it always adapts to survive,
and humans are too tribal to look past superficial differences in others.
But the modern framework of racism – a racial hierarchy with White on top and Black on bottom – is a relatively recent fabrication. The notion that
people with darker skin are inherently inferior was contrived around 500 years ago by Europeans to justify slavery and colonial conquest, scholars say.
History lessons won’t prevent someone from being a racist. But something else can: genuine, sustained personal relationships with people of color.”
“Wornie Reed, a veteran civil rights activist and the director of the Race and Social Policy Center at Virginia Tech, says, “A racist person is a person who commits racist acts.”Those acts, he says, are backed by a set of beliefs that support the idea that race determines human traits and capacities and makes one race automatically superior to another.”If they do racist things, I’m willing to call them a racist,” Reed says. “You can be a racist even if you don’t intend to be one.”And racism? It’s not one thing but many. It’s a system of advantage based on race, scholars say. It’s a collection of stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory behavior. It’s overt and covert. And it operates across an individual, group and societal level.”
“A lot of anti-racism work today leads to talk about “implicit bias,” or “racial bias.” Those are terms that describe how racial stereotypes and
assumptions infiltrate our subconscious. People can act and think in racist ways without knowing it. A classic example of this was a famous experiment in which researchers sent 5,000 fictitious resumes in response to employment ads. Some applicants had White-sounding names such as “Brendan,” while others had Black-sounding names, like “Jamal.”
The applicants with White-sounding names were 50% more likely to get calls for interviews than their Black-sounding counterparts.
assumptions infiltrate our subconscious. People can act and think in racist ways without knowing it. A classic example of this was a famous experiment in which researchers sent 5,000 fictitious resumes in response to employment ads. Some applicants had White-sounding names such as “Brendan,” while others had Black-sounding names, like “Jamal.”
The applicants with White-sounding names were 50% more likely to get calls for interviews than their Black-sounding counterparts.
Racism is individual and more importantly is systemic and structural.”
“The article said, to go beyond the first question ‘Am I a racist?’ and ask
What am I doing to stop racism I see in the world?”
To read the entire article go to:
When I was a little girl, my dad had a friend, colleague and business partner by the name of Togo Tanaka. To me, he was uncle Togo. We knew his family and I played with his children. Togo taught me how to count to 10 in Japanese.
One day my dad tried explaining what happened to Japanese Americans during WW2 I was shocked, mad and I cried. I said, “How could they do that to Togo?” He was almost part of our family. Systemic injustice and racism extends to our Asian, Latinx and Native friends as well.
The point being, friendship, knowing someone on a deeper level, will always trigger something in us to stand up for our friends and loved ones. Foster diverse friendship, and be open to hearing words or ways you may be a racist without knowing it. Don’t be fragile, be honest and real within yourself.
Waking Up and Doing Something,
Abigail and Steve