Holy Moly, it has been a while since I have posted anything. About four months. A LOT has happened in four months. A lot of stressors have popped up all over the board. COVID hit us, and then the deaths of numerous BIPOC occurred and also came (again) to the white American conscious. Everyone is experiencing stress in different shapes, forms, and ways. None of these is more “right” than the other. I tend to deal with stress by lingering in a corner, gathering information, forming an opinion, and then re-entering the fray. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few months; donating to charities that help BIPOC; becoming more educated on the struggles of BIPOC in America, and shifting my privilege into a tool to be used to help others.
Image by Johanna Warberg. Follow her instagram, check out her art, and remember to say their names.
TIPS & TRICKS
There is no “quick” tip or trick when it comes to being antiracist. As Ibram X. Kendi states, "being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.” It requires you to be mindful of the thoughts you’re having and to question your knee-jerk reactions over and over again. We then have to look at, and change, the systems and policies that perpetuate this.
“To be antiracist is to think nothing is behaviorally wrong or right- inferior or superior- with any of the racial groups. Whenever the antiracist sees individuals behaving positively or negatively, the antiracist sees exactly that: individuals behaving positively or negatively, not representatives of whole races. To be antiracist is to deracialize behavior, to remove the tattooed stereotype from every racialized body. Behavior is something humans do, not races do.”
Further Reading:
How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility - Robin DiAngelo
Between The World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo
Until next time, be antiracist.
-Ben