THERE'S NO NEUTRALITY IN RACISM.
In the word of Ibram X Kendi, the problem with being, “not racist” is that this claim signifies neutrality - A safe and comfortable position of disinterested impartiality.
It’s a sort of, “I don’t want to put my identity on the line, so I’ll just stay right back here and chill and let others put themselves on the line”.
Word Up. There is *no* neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of racist isn’t “not racist” … it’s actively taking a role in being “anti-racist”. There is no safe space of in-between of “not racist”. The claim of “I’m not racist” is a mask for racism. It’s a mask for, “I might be witness to racist comments at work and in my family, but I’ve never spoken these words myself, so I’m not willing to accept this identity for myself”.
IBRAM X KENDI says it all:
We’ve taken on this stance that the word “racist” is a pejorative, rather than a descriptive word. We know that the only way to undo racism is to consistency name it, describe it, and dismantle it. The oppressive move to turn the word racist into a pejorative, turns the word into something unusable and is designed to freeze us into inaction. Its the word that much of the white community wants to separate themselves from, and in doing so, also separates themselves from taking an active role in dismantling power structures and policies that hold racial oppression, racial violence and racial injustice in place.
How many times have you been in an awkward conversation at the dinner table or at work, while your friends or coworkers throw down racist “jokes” and you haven’t spoken up?
How many times have you pulled your purse a little closer to your chest or stepped back in an elevator when a Black or Brown person enters?
We are in a stage of BIG dismantling and undoing. We need to be here. We need to undo and tear down before we can rebuild. Grasping onto colourblind & not-racist dynamics just holds suffocating and dangerous practices in place.
Keep going. Take a breath. The best gift you can give to Black, Indigenous and racialized communities right now is to move out of the passive “not racist” + into learning how to be actively anti-racist.