*Ibram X. Kendi takes us on a journey through his upbringing and the various stages of racism and anti-racism that he has seen and participated in as well. All quotes in this post come from Ibram X. Kendi’s book, “How to be an Anti-Racist.”
There is no amount of quotes or summaries that will do this book justice. This is a must read for everyone (or listen on Audible as I did), as the Anti-Racist movement is not as simple as simply ‘don’t be a racist’. If we are not willing to open ourselves up to consider that we can do better, be better, know more, love more, support more, and be more, then we will continue to blindly participate in a system that treats people differently based on the color of their skin. As author Ibram X. Kendi states: “Denial is the heartbeat of racism.”
As I used to say - and what I hear many people say when I engage in this conscious conversation - is, “I am not a racist, just ask ‘x’ or listen to these examples of my non-racist behavior.” Well, it’s a lot easier and a hell of a lot more comfortable to acknowledge where we are obviously not-racist than it is to see our blind participation in a racist system and the toxicity of our unconscious actions. I see people get defensive and angry; appalled that anyone would challenge their identification as a “good person” by pointing a finger and accusing of them of racism. And as Ibram X. Kendi so graciously explains, having a racist idea or behavior does not make you “a racist” and even people who have lots of racist ideas and behaviors, does not mean necessarily that they are a bad person. This is not about labeling some people as racist and others not, rather, understand that each one of us - regardless of skin color - can have racist ideas, beliefs, thoughts, actions, or judgments, even if/when we don’t identify as a “racist person.” This is a human problem, and as humans, we all need to acknowledge where we can do better.
This is complex and I admire Kendi’s ability to show compassion and his own humanness as he acknowledges his blind acceptance and participation in racism as well. I particularly enjoyed Kendi’s explanation of why race neutrality is not helpful. He describes the opposite of racist to be anti-racist, and that the safe middle ground of not-racist is actually a mask racism wears.
“The construct of race neutrality actually feeds white nationalist victim-hood by positing the notion that any policy protecting or advancing non-white Americans towards equity is reversed discrimination. That is how racist power can call affirmative action policies that succeed in reducing racial inequities ‘race conscious.’ And standardized tests that produce racial inequities ‘race neutral.’ That is how they can blame the behavior of an entire racial group for the inequities between different racial groups and still say their ideas are ‘not racist’. But there is no such thing as a not-racist idea, only racist ideas and anti-racist ideas.”
One of the important perspectives that was illuminated for me while ingesting this book was the notion that there is more genetic differences within racial groups than between racial groups. We are so much the same, and have used color and race to create a divide and separation that is illusory.
“There is more genetic diversity between populations within Africa, then between Africa and the rest of the world. Ethnic groups in Western Africa are more genetically similar to ethnic groups n western Europe than to ethnic groups in eastern Africa. Race is the genetic mirage.”
Kendi goes on to explain that while ALL LIVES MATTER and potentially removing all racial categories may be the final step in the process, the first step is to acknowledge the mirage of differences that are built into our system and that we blindly accept. We cannot declare ALL LIVES MATTER when we haven’t first acknowledged and rectified the fact that our system does not operate with the Modus Operandi that ALL LIVES MATTER.
“To be Anti-Racist is to recognize the reality of biological equality - that skin color is as meaningless to our underlining humanity as the clothes we wear over that skin. To be anti-racist is to recognize there is no such thing as white blood, or black diseases, or natural Latinex athleticism. To be anti-racist is to also recognize the living, breathing reality of this racial mirage, which makes our skin color more meaningful than our individuality. To be anti-racist is to focus on ending the racism that shapes the mirages. NOT to ignore the mirages that shape people’s lives”
Police brutality towards Black Lives is another sad truth that has been an issue for many generations. When I hear people defend the police and blame the black person who resisted, I am overcome with anger and disbelief. Why do you think he/she had the impulse to resist? How does resisting arrest equate to a life being taken away? Why is it the victim’s responsibility to calm the nerves of the over-reactive fearful “superior” with the weapon? When Kendi connected police brutality and victim-blaming to the similar discourse around women who are raped, I had to stop the audio and sit in silence for a couple of minutes to let that sink in.
“Black people are apparently responsible for calming the fears of violent cops in the way women are supposedly responsible for calming the sexual desires of male rapists. If we don’t, then we are blamed for our own assaults, our own deaths.”
Ultimately, this book taught me to question my behavior, beliefs and thoughts and to stay humble and compassionate as I acknowledge my blind-spots, forgive myself for blindly participating, and then get educated and make a new choice. We need to stop generalizing individuals behavior as if it tells us something about an entire race, and we need to stop generalizing an entire race as if that tells us something about the individuals that are in that racial group.
“To be an Anti-racist is to recognize that there is no such thing as Black behavior. Black behavior is as fictitious as black genes. There is no “black gene”… All we have are stories of individual behavior. But individual stories are only proof of the behavior of individuals. Just as race doesn’t exist biologically, race doesn’t exist behaviorally….Anti-racism means separating the idea of a culture from the idea of behavior. Culture defines a group tradition that a particular racial group might share but that is not shared among all individuals in that racial group or among all racial groups. Behavior defines the inherent human traits and potential that everyone shares. Humans are intelligent and lazy. Even as that intelligence and laziness might appear differently across racialized cultural groups.”
It makes me sick to my stomach when I suddenly become aware of my own racist beliefs or ideas that I no longer am willing to stay blind to. My white privilege has brought shame and confusion as I see it more and more and question how and what I can do to be a part of this shift from oppression to elevation. I know that if I get stuck feeling sorry for myself or paralyzed by the overwhelm of frustration or confusion, I am likely to become blind once again to my participation in this systemic problem. Yeah it’s uncomfortable and I am stumbling through this learning process sometimes with grace and other times with so much awkwardness it pains me. Yet this is the work, and I have learned time and time again that when I lean into the discomfort and choose the “hard” path, I grow and evolve in ways that serve my highest good.
As Brene Brown said in her recent podcast episode with author and activist Austin Channing Brown: “I am here to get it right, not be right.”
So with that, I encourage you dear reader to focus more on IMPROVING rather than being defensive or trying to prove you’re not a racist. Just accept that you probably have some racist ideas and beliefs deep within you, that it’s not your fault, AND it is now your responsibility to do the work.
xoxox