Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 30

 Why Do Black People Get Arrested More Than white People?

This harkens back to past topics, including the school-to-prison pipeline, over-policing of Black and brown neighborhoods, and the 13^th Amendment. All those issues add up to more Black people being arrested than white people. Please believe me when I say this is the system working as designed, it’s not broken.

Black and white people commit crimes at about the same rate, but the justice system, built to benefit white people, works to disproportionately affect Black and brown communities.

You might have gotten the idea in your head that Black people must be inherently more dangerous and likely to commit crimes, and this is because of how the media and entertainment industry reinforced what the legal system already does. We see it, we hear about it, but we never think about why. This is white supremacy in action. We are trained to excuse our own issues. white shooter?-lone wolf, mental illness, loneliness, improper upbringing, etc. But always that one person’s issue, never a collective issue. Black shooter? -Well, what do you expect? This is what society and the media beat into our brains daily.

Black people are arrested more because they are literally targeted more. They are overpoliced and the justice system is set up in such a way that people are encouraged to plead guilty in exchange for lesser sentences because it saves time and is less of a strain on an overburdened system. Even if they are not guilty. Keep this in mind.

We must start seeing how white supremacy works to protect white people from punishments Black people rarely are spared from. And get that idea out of your head right now that there is any sort of inherent criminality or violent tendencies by the Black community. That is just pure racism.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 29

Black-on-Black Violence

Oh, this old chestnut...A lot of white people seem terribly concerned about so-called “Black-on-Black” crime/violence, mostly in Chicago, for some reason. Why are you concerned about this? What does it have to do with dismantling white supremacy? Are you trying to imply that because there is this alleged issue, then white people don’t need to stop white-on-Black violence/crime? This is usually in the form of cops. When there is a high-profile murder of a Black person by a cop in this country, this argument pops up. Like clockwork.

Are you concerned at all about white-on-white violence/crime in this country? If not, why not? Have you ever given a thought to segregated cities or gang violence as a direct result of white supremacy? Do you enjoy Mafia movies and shows while railing against “inner city” gang violence? If so, your white supremacy is showing.

Again, this goes back to staying in our lane. Work on dismantling white supremacy, and stay out of Black people’s business.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 28

Africans Had/Sold Slaves Too...

So, that makes chattel slavery ok? There has been slavery in most societies for as long as there have been humans, and none of it was ok. But chattel slavery, generational slavery, is different from most other forms of slavery, and that must be acknowledged. And it is the basis of our nation. That has to be acknowledged as well. I’m not talking about super long ago slavery, I’m talking about the one that built this country, and all our systems. That’s why it still matters, and why we bring it up even though it was a “long time ago.” Thanksgiving was a long time ago too, but you have no problem bringing it up every November…

The idea of bringing up Africa’s role in the slave trade seems to be an attempt at shifting the blame, but there would be no selling if there was no buying. If there was no market for enslaved people, they wouldn’t be sold. We don’t get to shift that blame. Is that why you bring it up? Are you trying to say that what our ancestors did wasn’t as bad because other people participated in it as well? We shouldn’t have to change our behavior and our systems because others did it too? The other groups didn’t set up a white supremacist system in this country for us to benefit from.

Also, this is a case of staying in our lane. How Black communities in this country and African nations today deal with their past, is actually none of our business. Our business is to dismantle white supremacy. This is a whattaboutism argument of the worst sort.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 27

Irish "Slaves"

This is absolutely untrue. There is a huge difference between indentured service, and chattel slavery. Indentured service is voluntary, and temporary. It’s a set time working off a debt in exchange for money for things like passage to the US from Ireland, in this case. It was not being kidnapped, chained to a boat, sold away from friends and family, and living the rest of your life as a captive, working for no pay, and any children you have being born into that system, as well. Indentured service was not generational.

Did the Irish face discrimination in this country when they first arrived? Absolutely, but they were never slaves. They have also since been inducted into whiteness and benefit from and participate in white supremacy now.

Think of indentured service in terms of today. A good example is a person joining the military to pay for medical school or college. The military pays for your schooling, and you work a set amount of time in the military to pay them back. This is a voluntary state of being, unlike the involuntary state of enslavement. It’s insulting to compare the two. Please stop perpetuating this harmful myth.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 26

Reparations

This is a mostly unpopular idea for white people in the US, because it involves a potential loss of money, as well as formally acknowledging our nation’s and ancestors’ guilt, and the fact that we currently benefit from white supremacy.

Reparations is the idea of financially compensating people for wrongs done to them, or their ancestors. It is a huge step on the way to equity. No amount of money will ever make up for our past wrongs or current benefits, but it’s mostly symbolic. Black people, and their ancestors, are owed acknowledgement and apologies for what we did.

There is no current consensus of what or how reparations will be handled, but I highly suggest you start working on your feelings about it now. This is the right thing to do. Our nation has done it in the past, for Japanese Americans interned during the second World War. We must do this for Black and Indigenous people in this country. Whether it’s money or land back, the communities should decide, and we make it happen.

No more excuses. But when we do this, it will not resolve inequity or end white supremacy. It won’t be “wiping the slate clean” or “now we’re even.” It’ll be a step in the right direction.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 25

Yes, the Majority of white People Voted for Trump

I know you can’t fathom that most white people in this country voted for Trump, but the statistics say otherwise. We have to accept the fact that most white people in this country are willing to vote away their own rights in order to maintain white supremacy.

You, like me, might not even now anybody personally who voted for Trump, but we have to accept this hard truth. The majority of white people actively enjoy their white supremacy and will fight tooth and nail to maintain it. Many will say they had no choice, they vote GOP, regardless of the candidate and that it wasn’t about Trump. Whatever the rationale, a GOP vote is a Trump vote.

And on that note, any vote not for the Dem nominee, is a Trump vote. Voting 3^rd party, not voting at all, writing in a name, all that works in Trump’s favor. Another large swath of white voters opted to do this, which helped elect Trump.

So, what do we do about this? The fact that we don’t know anybody personally who voted for Trump, is actually a big problem. It means we’re not reaching out to others enough and having those hard conversations. We need to interact more with people who think differently from us, and work with them on white supremacy. This is our job as white antiracists, to do that hard work.

Stats for the Racial Breakdown of the 2016 Election.

Stats for the Racial Breakdown of the 2020 Election.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 24

Why Education is Vital to Ending white Supremacy; Why it’s Being Attacked. 

Before you started learning about white supremacy and your role in either upholding or dismantling it, you never gave it a thought, did you? You never actively tried to change your behavior or work to make this country equitable for everybody, did you? Now that you’re learning, even if you’re not actively doing that yet, you’re thinking about it. The idea is there. You are becoming more open to it, and to other ideas for dismantling white supremacy in this country. That’s what education does.

The US is founded on violence against Black and Indigenous people. Pretending that isn’t the case doesn’t change it. It doesn’t stop racism. The idea that white children must never be made to feel bad about the past, is absurd. Most children, if I am an example, will feel bad and turn that into outrage, or be inspired to fix the problems our ancestors created. But maybe that’s the actual fear? The excuse of children feeling bad is a red herring for the fact that white adults are afraid of future generations dismantling the white supremacy that makes them feel safe and powerful over others.

If enough white people get educated and outraged, we might act collectively to dismantle white supremacy. We have the power, all we have to do is use it. And that scares a lot of white people.

Sometimes white supremacy seems like an entity outside of us. Like a being that ultimately controls the country and everybody in it. It has nothing to do with us, personally. That’s actually a failsafe, built into it, as a protection. Keeping white people both scared, and insisting on their individuality so they never realize they’re a collective, with collective power, is its greatest protection. This is an “us” problem to get over.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 23

13^th Amendment & School-to-Prison Pipeline

Did you know that slavery is still legal in the US? The 13^th Amendment of our Constitution, while seemingly ending slavery, actually ensures it. It’s baked right into our laws, but nobody seemed to notice. Well, the wrong people did notice it… “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment of crime…” Except…We have an exception for which slavery is still legal: People convicted of a crime and sent to prison can be slaves.

So, if you’re a racist living in a state where slavery has ended after the Civil War, but you still don’t want to live with or work with Black people, this exception to the rule is going to be a focal point for you. You’re going to work with other racists to use the system and make sure as many Black people as possible are convicted of crimes and imprisoned. Policing would be weaponized to over-police certain areas over others. Focusing on crimes in certain places that are overlooked in other areas. Sometimes it would be used to frame people, or force people into committing a crime in order to keep a racial power imbalance. And using the rest of the legal system to make it more difficult for Black and brown community members to escape punishment. This is what developed after the Civil War ended and the 13^th Amendment was enacted. To this day, it is still the system in force. Our laws are often applied more often and more harshly for Black and brown people, than for white people.

What is the “School-to-prison pipeline?” It’s another tool in the arsenal to imprison as many Black and brown people as possible. Starting at school age, Black children are held to higher standards than their white counterparts. They are more likely to be punished, suspended, and expelled than white children for the same behaviors that are overlooked in white children. Leaving young people without education opportunities severely limits their options later in life, setting them up to be more likely to commit crimes, and sent to prison. This is entirely by design…

Recommendations for further education:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

I highly recommend this book, which helps spell out exactly how our system got to the point it's currently in. It's hard to refute when you know the facts and history. The question is, how do we undo it?

13th Documentary

Ava DuVernay's documentary on Netflix is eye-opening and educational and I can't recommend it highly enough. Please do yourself a favor and watch it.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 22

Defunding the Police

All right, now we start delving into some of the bigger concepts, now that we've gone through the basics, and manners. This is definitely just a taste of this subject, there is so much out there that you can research on your own.

Ok, this is a big one. First off, I don’t care if you don’t like the term. Or if you think it doesn’t explain the idea enough. That’s the term that was chosen, and that’s what we’re sticking with. It’s our job to explain it to other white people, so get over it.

Defunding the police does not mean we will have no system of policing in this country. It does not mean anarchy and chaos. Policing in this country was set up as an element of slavery. People were hired to capture escaped enslaved people and return them to their captors. Today, it is used to continue harassing Black and brown communities while protecting and coddling white neighborhoods.

Police in this country also have a lot of duties assigned to them that aren’t truly police work. The idea behind defunding the police is to remove those functions from policing and give them to more qualified people. Think mental-health-related issues, drug or alcohol issues, etc. Why are jails being used as detox centers? This is well outside the realm of police-work. This will actually keep police safer, in the long run, for those of you “Blue” lives matter fans. It will create more jobs for people, too. It’ll allow for things like rape kits to be tested in a timely manner, and at all.

There is a lot online that you can research about it, and I recommend that you read more, because it’s not the terrifying idea you think it is.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 21

I Grew Up Poor/I’m Part of a Marginalized Group Too

white people can absolutely have hardships that have worked against them in their lives. Disability, class level, access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities, etc, can all affect us, just like anybody else. The difference that must be acknowledged is that, our whiteness played no role in it. In fact, those things happened in spite of our whiteness, or randomly. Our white supremacy places us in a position to better recover from our issues.

Non-white people are marginalized specifically because they are not white, and our systems are made to continue damaging them because of this.

Comparing ourselves to victims of racism will always be crass and insulting. Definitely get out of this habit.

This is the last of the "manners" section. Starting tomorrow, we move into a section on political issues. Make sure to tune in!

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 20

POC vs. Just say Black

One of the side effects of being raised to not see color, is to see race as a negative with no positives. This is probably because of how our ancestors treated non-white people, and we definitely know it. We know how our elders and neighbors talk about it, and maybe how we ourselves were raised and may have felt in the past. Because of this, we moved from not seeing color, to seeing only enough to acknowledge it the very least. So, we invented “people of color” or “POC.” It sounds nice, acknowledging that there are non-white people, but it ultimately lumps everybody together in one umbrella term.

The general consensus from different people I’ve read online, is that it’s better to just acknowledge race. Just say Black or Asian, etc. If you’re talking about Black people, just say Black people. It’s not taboo or bad, I promise. To think of it as such is to embrace our racism.

Too often, white people try to do the “we’re all one race, the human race,” mantra to sound accepting and tolerant(the bare minimum), but it really bypasses any of the work we have to do to dismantle white supremacy without actually dismantling it. Saying POC/People/Person of Color is a blanket term, and it’s lazy. We can do better.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 19

Asking Black People to do Our Work for us

So, you’ve just learned something about a new-to-you concept in the world of  antiracism and you want to learn even more, and right now! There’s no time to lose! You want the person you’re talking to to know how much you’re committed to learning all there is, and quickly, so they’ll know you’re one of the good ones. Who better to teach you than the person who just alerted you to this thing in the first place? Or, you just got into an argument with somebody because you were centering your feelings and are now demanding more information so you can be the judge of whether it’s legit. You’ve been in these situations before, and for some reason, it never ended well. Always a fight, always ended up hurting your feelings, and you probably blocked the person by the end of it.

Demanding an education or answers, especially for things that you could find easily through google or youtube, is a bad look. It centers ourselves, still, and expects somebody already living the effects of racism, to set their feelings and needs aside to tend to ours. Especially if you have just been arguing with somebody, why would you think they’d be open to now teaching you about it? Nobody owes us an education or their time, energy, or knowledge. Especially if you haven’t even taken the time to look into this yourself, first.

I will also advise you what I advise other white people: Have white accountability partners, people you can turn to when you have finished researching and still have questions. white antiracists do owe you our time, energy, and emotional bandwidth to handle your questions and demands. We are doing our own listening and learning and are here to help you.

white people invented and benefit from white supremacy. We do not need to demand that Black people teach us about it, too.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 18

 whitewashing

whitewashing is something that happens in tv and movies a lot. It’s changing the race of a character from books or comics, and making them white in movies and tv shows.

Sometimes we will say that the actors had nothing to do with it, that it was the directors, writers, and producers who are responsible, but those actors are in a position to stand up against it. By taking a whitewashed role, they are participating in white supremacy and taking a job from a non-white actor. Nobody makes them take that role, and we will go to the movies or watch the shows where this happens, which is financially supporting it, and thus, upholding it.

We as consumers must demand better from our entertainment. We speak with our dollars by not going to see those movies or watching the shows. This is a “loss” for us, but one we must embrace if we want movie and show-makers to do better.

whitewashing hurts Black actors and creators, further employs already easily-employable white actors and creators, and upholds white supremacy. To dismantle white supremacy, we will all need to make sacrifices. Sometimes that means quitting an acting job, or not accepting one in the first place.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 17

What is Cultural Appropriation?

This harkens back to the idea behind digital Blackface, in that it is a person from outside a culture using and benefitting from said culture. Usually without permission. It’s not necessarily just participation, especially if that comes from an invitation to join in. There is a difference.

Cultural appropriation is white women using hairstyles Black women created, but not getting in trouble with their workplace for it, when their Black coworkers get punished for showing up with the same style.

It is a white person opening a taco stand and profiting from Mexican culture, and keeping an actual Mexican American from being able to open their own taco stand in that neighborhood. We see this with food, a lot. Look at the “experts” we assign in the food world to certain cultures. Why is a white American man considered the authority in this country on Mexican food? Why not an actual Mexican or Mexican American?

We see it in other industries, as well. Why is Iggy Azalea taking from Black culture and profiting from it, and loved by society, yet actual Black women rappers are often disparaged by white people?

Cultural appropriation isn’t always about profiting. Sometimes it’s about taking from cultures that aren’t ours when we haven’t been invited. It’s white women wearing bindis on their foreheads. It’s white people burning white sage when we’ve been told time and again that white sage is difficult to come by, and necessary for Native American ceremonies. It’s white people having Tibetan prayer flags or tiki statues in their homes as cute decorations. And don’t let me get started on Halloween costumes…

white people usually feel free to do whatever we want and enjoy elements of any culture we want with little care or thought as to the impact it might have on people from those cultures. We like to take without giving back.

Equity will sometimes feel like a loss to us, or that we are being left out/excluded, but I like to think of this as good manners. We’ve had our turn for a long time, of taking and taking consequence free. It’s time for us to start doing better.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist: Day 16

Staying In Our Lane

You see a social media post asking a specific group of people a question. It actually says, “Please, only people from this group respond.” You aren’t in that group of people, but you really want to answer anyway, what should you do? Answer: Stay in your lane!

You see one group of people having a conflict with another group of people. Both are marginalized people. You aren’t in either of those groups, but want to get involved to show that you care and support everybody. Or point out how one group is more wrong than the other, in your opinion. What should you do? Answer: Stay in your lane!

white people are used to having every lane be ours, with no questions asked. We need to unlearn this. We are used to butting in and taking over conversations because it’s fun or we really think we have something important to add to the discussion, and we never think about how it comes across to the people with whom we are speaking.

If a question is asked and it specifically asks for white people to not engage, it’s actually disrespectful of you to join in. It’s not reverse racism or discrimination to be asked to sit out on a conversation, it’s just not for us, and that’s ok.

If what is happening is an issue between two groups of marginalized people, our best response is staying out of it, and continuing the work of dismantling white supremacy. Doing that, ending white supremacy, will help resolve most of the issues in this country for all marginalized groups. This is the best way to show your support for both groups of people. But we do not need to be Budinskys and center ourselves in an issue that ultimately has white supremacy to blame.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 15

Black Lives Matter vs. All/Blue Lives Matter

I know you don’t mean it this way when you see “Black Lives Matter” in a post and respond with “all lives matter,” I know you mean “Of course, all lives matter,” that’s your intent. Did you know, though, that it actually comes across as “My life matters too, don’t forget about white people.” Intent vs. impact. It’s time we stop thinking about what we intend to say, and start thinking about how it is received.

Remember how white is the default in this country? Everybody knows that white lives matter. The point of the phrase “Black lives matter,” is to point out how white is the default, and it shouldn’t be that way. Because Black lives matter…too. The “too/also” is silent, but that’s what the statement means.

This is another kneejerk response we need to train ourselves out of. We have to do a lot of stopping and thinking before responding.

And the statement “Blue lives matter,” is absurd because there are no blue people. Blue refers to a voluntary job some people hold. All jobs matter, right? What about ER doctors? They’re in a dangerous job too. This is just something we have to stop doing. The police uphold our white supremacist system and are therefore part of whiteness, in general, and as you already know and demand, white lives matter most in this country. They’re covered.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Our You're Racist-Day 14

Not All...

“white people are the worst. Every one of them voted for Trump, and will again this next election,” writes a frustrated Black Twitter user, who has experienced racism their whole life and stands to lose a lot more by a second Trump presidency than any white person will lose. What is our automatic response to this tweet when we see it? “I didn’t vote for Trump, I hate him! Not all white people are Trump voters, please don’t lump us all together…” Please, please, please, we have to move on from doing this. There are only two reasons we might do this, but they both result in the same thing. We do this either to assure the person who made a blanket statement that what they said is not the case, so they don’t need to feel upset anymore. Or, we say it to distance ourselves from the guilty ones. The result, either way, is white people further demanding our individuality, which as we have already discussed, is actually reinforcing white supremacy. It is active racism, and even if that is not our intent, it is the impact.

If a blanket statement does not apply to you, feel free to just move on from it without replying. Not all conversations need to include us.

“Not all” responses never come across as reassuring. They come across as demanding an exception. As if the person who made the blanket statement should respond with, “But not you, Jimmy/Belinda, you’re awesome. You’re one of the good ones.”

This is what I always tell people when I see a “not all” response: Make your actions your “not all.” Vote your not all. Love your not all. Protest your not all. Support Black businesses your not all. Show, don’t tell.

It’s a kneejerk response, and it will take being conscious about it to train yourself not to do it anymore, but it’s worth it. And while you’re at it, maybe take a moment to think why that person made a statement the way they did. Even if not all white people do something, enough of us do. Not all white people, but any white person, which is why we need to work on ourselves and each other.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 13

 What is Digital Blackface?

Digital Blackface is when white people use gifs and memes with Black people’s images. We’ve all done this without thinking about it. The picture/gif/meme is funny, and we just want to be part of the fun. We don’t mean anything by it.

In today’s use of social media, gifs/memes/pictures are used as part of the actual language. Think back to Egyptian hieroglyphs or pictographs. We actually replace part of our written language with those images. Because of that, we are implying that the images are ourselves at the moment, like an avatar. We are consuming the image and making it ourselves. This is disturbing and off-putting for many Black people, because we already have a long history of consuming Black lives for our own purposes, with no financial compensation. It’s just further exploitation.

It's time for us to think about this more and respect when we’re called out for it. We can do better. It doesn’t matter if some people don’t have a problem with it. Enough people do, and we should respect their feelings. This is one microaggression we really should stop.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 12

Capitalize the “B” in Black but not the “w” in white

Again, this might feel unfair. Black people get to capitalize their race, so why don’t we? Isn’t it just fair that we get to as well? Let me ask you this: Do you still claim not to see race? Do you still insist on being treated as an individual only and not part of a larger collective? Does the term “white community” even exist because white is the default in this country and therefore, not truly acknowledged? All of these are reasons why we don’t get to capitalize the “w” in white.

white people have forced Black people to be a collective, a community with a distinct culture, because after slavery ended, they were not allowed to live in white neighborhoods. Because of this, Black culture is strong across the country, and the people from it deserve to have the term capitalized. white people don’t want to be a collective, and we won’t acknowledge our whiteness or the white supremacy that binds us, so there is no reason to capitalize the word. Maybe if we did the work, we could earn that privilege one day.

Media sites that capitalize both words are pandering to us and media and people who capitalize “white” but not “Black” are definitely actively racist. Keep an eye out on social media posts for it. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 11

 Why Karen and other names for white people are not slurs

I know, nobody likes to be called names. It’s hurtful and mean. So when you are called a Karen/honky/cracker/mayo sapien, etc., it makes you feel bad about yourself. When Black people are called the N-word, it must make them feel bad about themselves too, right? So, these words are definitely on equal footing.

Please re-read what I just wrote. When you read and wrote the names above, do you way and spell the full words for white people but use “the N-word” abbreviation? Then that answers your question about if it’s on equal footing or not.

white people have not been threatened or had negative consequences from being called these names, unless they actually did racist stuff, were called out, and had consequences for their actions. Black people have had centuries of consequences for being called the N-word. It’s not even comparable.

Remember the discussion earlier about prejudice vs. racism? This is part of that. white people being called names has no systemic power behind it, but white people using the N-word against Black people, does. It’s insulting to compare the two.

Also, this connects back to equality vs. equity. Equality would be treating those names as the same. Equity means sometimes we just have to deal with hurt feelings, and get over it.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 10

 Microaggressions

We have finished the section on "the basics" and are now beginning the section on "manners." This section will focus on a lot of the behavior we are guilty of as white people, and why we need to work on ourselves. First up, is "microaggressions."

You may have seen the word and wondered what it meant, but then forgot to look it up. Microaggressions are exactly as they sound. Small acts of aggression people have to deal with on a constant basis. We are all guilty of doing some of these, no matter how much we want to deny it. And one time might not be too bad, but if you’re the 100^th person to do it in a month, it doesn’t matter that you only did it once. It’s just too much.

Here are examples of some common microaggressions:

-Touching a Black woman’s hair without her permission.

-Commenting on a Black person’s intelligence in surprise.

-Saying a Black person is articulate.

-“No, but where are you really from?”

-Asking a Black person at a store where something is without knowing if they even work there, because you assume they work there.

One microaggression I think is very important for us all to work on is when a Black person tells us about racism they have experienced and we respond along the lines of: “What? No, really?! Maybe that person just…” “I’m sure they didn’t mean…” or other responses expressing our disbelief in their experience and trying to explain away what the racist person did. We don’t need to be the devil’s advocate for racism, and expressing disbelief, even if it’s meant as a form of sympathy, still places the burden of proof on somebody who already experienced racism. Also? Please don’t respond to such things with your own experiences. Any discrimination you have ever felt has nothing to do with being white, so how can it possibly compare? Just respond with belief from the start, anything else shows that you don’t really believe them.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 9

 What is Race?

Like time, holidays, nations, and almost everything else in humanity, race is a social construct. We made it up, because we like to categorize things and label everything possible. We invented nationalities, ethnicities, all to distinguish one group from another.

I must admit that this particular topic is something I am still learning about, myself. Like me, you probably grew up assuming race is all about pigmentation of the skin. Perhaps that’s how it began back when Europeans wanted to find people to work for them, unpaid, and have an easier way to distinguish who was who. Skin color was a convenient distinction. People went from being European and African, or British and Senegambian, to Black and white.

We also know, though, that not all groups of people considered white today have always been considered white. Italians and Irish are famously known in the US as not having been considered white when they first started immigrating to this country, until their numbers were so great that the advantage of considering them so made admitting them to the club worth it. That had nothing to do with skin pigmentation.

We know too, that things like the one-drop rule we invented also worked to determine who is and isn’t considered Black. Before DNA testing, it was based on lineage. Anybody who could be proven to have a Black ancestor was considered Black, regardless of pigmentation. People with light skin can be considered Black, where as white people who tan well, are still considered white, regardless of their pigmentation.

And now in the age of DNA testing, it shows the one-drop rule to be arbitrary, as well. Somebody like me, a white person who has a small % of African DNA, is still considered to be white, with all the advantages that comes with it.

All of this is arbitrary and made up. We all know this. But when we say things like “there is only one race, the human race,” it comes across as disingenuous, because that platitude refuses to see us and our ancestor’s role in white supremacy. In getting us to where we are now. It’s trying to weasel out of the work, and people can sense that. We have to put in the work to undo all of this.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 8

 What is white culture

I’m going to go ahead and stop you before you even start. I know what’s about to come out of your mouth. It’s not Scottish dancing, your nonna’s tiramisu, or German polka. Ethnicity and nationality are not the same as race. Yes, every white person has an ethnic heritage we’re proud of, and that is wonderful and nobody is trying to take that away from you, but it does not unite all white people together. Your lutefisk does not call to me, and maybe you can’t stand the sound of bagpipes that stir my heart. And that is totally ok!

So, what does unite white people in this country? What are the thoughts, customs, and social institutions that bind us as a people? What binds Scottish, German, Italian, Greek, Irish, and Swedish(among others) Americans? The answer is very simple, and you’re really not going to like it, but here it is: white supremacy. white supremacy connects all white people, and determines who is and isn’t considered white in the entire western world. It surpasses any and all nationality or ethnicity-based cultures. Also, please don’t come at me with the groups of people who used to not be considered white. You’re here now, with the full privileges whiteness grants us, so you don’t get an exemption.

Study the links below about the different elements of white supremacy culture, and see yourself in them. I promise you that you will. Of all the aspects of white supremacy, I think the most pervasive and damaging to others is our insistence on individuality. Seeing ourselves as single people and not part of a greater collective is what keeps us from dismantling white supremacy. It’s the built-in mechanism that keeps white supremacy from ever being dismantled. It’s our greatest hurdle to overcome, and the reason why we’re even having this conversation in the first place, because you’re just you, right? You’re a great person and you don’t hate anybody, and that’s all there is to you. But what if you and I teamed up? What if you and I and all our white family and friends and neighbors teamed up? Suddenly we’re are a stronger group. A collective. We are mighty. We can actually act collectively and make a change. This connects back to “white as default.”

white Supremacy Culture

15 Pillars of white supremacy by Johnathan Perkins

6 Additional Pillars of white Supremacy By Johnathan Perkins

To dismantle white supremacy means to destroy the culture that binds us. It means destroying the white race, whiteness, and leaves us equal to everybody else in this country. It sounds pretty scary, but if we remember that everybody else in this country just wants to be treated with respect and equity, and isn’t out to “get us,” we can see there’s nothing to fear.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 7

 white as Default

“What is ‘white as default?’” you may be asking right now. The world we live in in the US is white as default. It’s the way we think in terms of white and not white. It’s “people of color” and “people”. See how the white fell away, not even mentioned or thought of? white people don’t think of ourselves as being white or having race or racial issues. Racial issues are for other people, not white people. It’s being asked what you are in a work function for racism and responding with “just a person” or “plain” or “normal” or something along those lines. Race is something we don’t have to think about. That is white as default.

Why is it bad? Because it dismisses everybody else and makes whiteness “normal” and everything else “not normal” or “good vs. bad” etc. It means we don’t have to see ourselves as part of a group. I’m just me, and you’re just you, but “they” are a collective.

When white is the default, we will never see ourselves as having a race, or being a collective/community. We will never see it as something that needs to be fixed because we assume everybody experiences life the way we do.

We have to learn to see how race impacts us too, as much as every other group of people in this country. We don’t often see our advantages; we just know they’re there. We only remember them, it seems, when equity comes up in conversation, and then usually it’s framed in the context of preserving it…

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 6

Intent vs. Impact

 “I didn’t mean to be racist.” “That’s not how I meant it.” “You’re just misunderstanding me.” “Why are you being so mean to me?” These are things we have all said when confronted with our racism. If we didn’t mean it to be racist, then there’s no reason to be called out or need to make amends or change our thoughts and behavior. It’s not actually our fault, right? People are just being too sensitive and need to take the time to understand where we are coming from. Right? Wrong.

What we intend when we act or speak doesn’t matter much when the impact is has on the target is hurtful or harmful. That we didn’t mean to hurt somebody doesn’t change the fact that we hurt somebody.

When we try to excuse away our racism, we are being defensive when we are in the wrong and should be more concerned with who we offended or hurt. Does it usually make you feel better when somebody hurts you and then tells you they didn’t mean to? Then why do we do this to others?

When we do or say something racist and are called out for it, just try an actual apology and do better the next time. We aren’t owed forgiveness or absolution from the one we offended. Just take in the information, sit with our feelings, and really contemplate where we went wrong and vow to do better. And then do better.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist: Day 5

 Why Colorblindness is Bad

Many of us white people were raised with a colorblind attitude, to “not see race/color.” We thought it was good manners because of how previous generations had handled racism. But what if I told you, that we were wrong?

Why would we think of it as good manners to ignore somebody’s race, unless we see it as inherently a bad thing? And something that white people also don’t have?

Colorblindness actually continues to make white the default. It pushes equality instead of equity. It makes us live a lie, because of course we can see color. Why do we want to deny such an important part of a person’s life in order to accept them? Colorblindness centers white people and our feelings.

If we truly want to treat all others with love, respect, and acceptance, then we have to start doing exactly that. We have to see our differences, and celebrate and embrace them. Not live in fear of them and pretend they don’t exist.

Our laws and how our systems treat people shouldn’t depend on sameness. It should depend on fairness for all people, for exactly who they are.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 4

 Our Feelings

When we discuss racism, oftentimes we get very caught up in how it makes us feel. Our hurt, our feelings, us, us, us. We tend to let it control how we react and interact with the person who called us out. When we focus on how we feel, we center ourselves.

If we can learn to stop and step back, try to see it from the other person’s point of view, then we can start thinking instead of feeling. It isn’t that our feelings don’t matter or aren’t important, but when somebody is experiencing racism at our hands, even if we intended it or not, the wronged person is the one whose feelings matter at this time.

The key to dealing with our feelings, is stopping before responding. Contemplate your feelings and why you are so hurt. Why are you more hurt than the person calling out racism? Could it be that there is something you can see in yourself or your words/actions that makes being called out hit home? Are you maybe not as not-racist as you’ve always thought? Just sit with you feelings, be with them, and even write about them, if you must, but keep them to yourself.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 3

Reverse Racism

 Please stop with this one. It’s not real. In the US, racism can only be enacted by white people. If an idea like Affirmative Action feels like “reverse racism,” but you don’t support any other means of making our systems equitable for everybody, then you want to maintain the status quo. You want to keep marginalized groups excluded and white people with all the advantages. This is white supremacy.

Equity, to white people, will feel like discrimination or being left out. This is why we tend to stress equality over equity, because with equality, we are still being centered and advantaged. Equity means acknowledging that we have already gotten our needs met and had all the advantages, and that other people will be getting their turn now.

There are still plenty of jobs, school acceptances, and elected positions that white people are getting, so the idea that we are being discriminated against, is false. It’s only our feelings making us think this. And as we have already established, prejudice and racism are not the same thing. And prejudice will never, and can never be racism in reverse.

Antiracism 101: So You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 2

 Equity vs. Equality

These two concepts sound a lot alike, and some people may use them interchangeably, but they are very different ideas.

Equality means everybody gets treated the same. They are given the same things, or treatment. It’s “Everybody gets three marshmallows in their hot cocoa.”

Equity means everybody gets what they need, and it might not be the same. It’s “Billy, you get three regular marshmallows, but Sally, you get sugar-free cocoa and marshmallows, because you’re diabetic.” Sally needs something different than Billy, and that’s ok. Both Sally and Billy get what’s right for them, though it’s not equal.

In this country, white people have had and still have every advantage because our systems were made to benefit us, and have given us a 400+ year head start over every other group of people. If we stress the idea of equality, everybody gets the same thing, then white people will always be ahead, because haven’t addressed how we have gotten so many advantages up to now. If we stress equity, then we have the chance to even the playing field for all of us. We, as white people, have to decide if that scares us too much to work for it, or not.

Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 1

 1-Prejudice vs. Racism

The first thing to understand, is that “racism” and “prejudice” are no longer one and the same. I know change is hard and irritating, and the idea that words can change meaning over time, especially without running it past you first, can be a real pain. But we have accepted the change in certain word meanings over the decades. We no longer use words like “gay” or “terrific” the way they were used originally. This is no different. And yes, I am asking you to ignore the dictionary’s definition of the word “racism.” The people who experience racism have corrected the definition. They are the only ones who should be defining what it is. 

“Prejudice” is a feeling word. Anybody can have anger or hate against another group of people, for whatever reason. All people have to deal with this issue, nobody is immune from it. Non-white people can be prejudiced against white people.

“Racism” is systemic. It is our government, education, health, policing, and judicial systems. These systems were set up in this country, and the western world, by white people, to benefit white people, at the detriment of all non-white people. white people benefit from racist systems, automatically, from birth, as did our ancestors, whether or not they were enslavers.

Many say that the concept of racism is “prejudice plus power.” Anybody can be prejudiced, but in this nation’s systems, only white people have the actual power. Racism is generally used interchangeably with the term “white supremacy,” which makes sense as that implies the power structure. Because it’s systemic, our individual feelings and actions don’t really matter. We don’t need to take it personally when our benefitting from a racist system is pointed out to us. Because it’s systemic, it must be worked on collectively. And because white people built this system to benefit only us, only we can dismantle it. It’s literally not personal, it’s just our business to get rid of it and rebuild a system, with everybody, to be equitable for all.