Friday, March 29, 2024

Racism

Posted

We don’t see racism here; everyone here is so nice. Why do people have to bring skin color into it? Can’t we all just get along? We’re all human. I don’t see color. What about reverse racism?

All are comments I hear from people in Hood County, regularly. They are said, mostly, by well-meaning people. No one wants to think of themselves as having racist views.

Most white people have people of color in their lives whom they love dearly. We truly do want everyone to get along. So where is the disconnect? If we all agree that everyone should be equal, why can’t we get there as a society?

These are questions that are much bigger than I, and I don’t pretend to know all the answers. But I am trying to learn.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently wrote in the LA Times in which he said, “Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible – even if you’re choking on it – until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.”

Learning that, indeed, racism is everywhere was really eye opening to me. I had to stop thinking of racism as belonging to a single person or even a group of people.

While an individual can definitely hold racist views, racism is an entire system. This system is so entrenched in our culture, most aspects of it are not even things we white people take notice of.

For example, when I buy makeup I can always find many options that match my skin tone. Band-Aids are made to match my skin.

When a child goes to a toy store, she has many different white dolls to choose from and maybe one black or brown one.

When I check my race on a form asking for my ethnicity, I know “white” will be the first on the list.

We may take notice of a black person in a position of power and leadership, while a white person’s skin color, in that very same position, is racism seeps into our daily lives.

The impact of years of systemic racism has made the experience of life in America different, depending on the skin color into which we were born.

Statistically, black Americans have access to less health care, less income, less employment, less political power and less housing than white Americans.

I can hear what you may be thinking, something like, “My friend Jim is black, and he has a great job, health care and a nice house.”

Again, we are talking about a system, not individuals. Acknowledging these societal inequalities do exist, and being open to learning about them is a small step in the right direction.

Other steps:

Listen. Listen to people of color and really hear what they are saying without judgement, getting stuck in your own ego or trying to come up with a counterargument.

Speak up, when it’s appropriate. If someone says something racist in front of you, call them on it. Silence implies acceptance. Speaking up against racism does not mean speaking over or speaking for people of color. In that case, we can be supportive by going back to the last step of listening.

Practice empathy. We may not able to walk in each other’s shoes, but we can empathize.

I have not lived my whole life watching myself and my family being treated unfairly; I do not know personally what that feels like. But just because something bad doesn’t affect me personally, I cannot deny its existence. Keep that in mind if you sit in judgement of Colin Kaepernick or those protesting in the streets.

Individually, we will never be able to totally abolish inequality. But we can do our part. We owe it to our great country, our children, and our fellow man to shine a light on racism in our community, in our homes and even in our own mindset.

As Maya Angelo said,

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

We can do better.

‘We owe it to our great country, our children, and our fellow man to shine a light on racism in our community, in our homes and even in our own mindset.’