What Does It Mean to Be Anti-Racist?

I thought for so long that the end of my racial equity journey was when I was no longer racist, when I passed some test, some mark, some way of showing that I'd shed all my racist thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. But I recognize now, I will never be at that end. This blog in itself is a testament to that -"The Waking White." Not the woke white. Not the "I have no racism in me" white because I know this is a life-long journey and one that will be with me as long as I breathe.

So, what does it mean to be anti-racist? First and foremost, if you are white, it means that you never stop self-reflecting and learning. It means that, each and every day, you work on your own racism and that begins with admitting you have racist thoughts, feelings, or even behaviors. Oh yes, you do - we all do. We are enculturated into it through society, the water we swim in that tells us white is the norm, the standard, and sets the rules of engagement. Our reflex that makes us grab our purse a little tighter, walk a little further away, fear the teen with a hoodie, look around more cautiously, all because the man on the street is black. The reflex that watches the news and passes over the photo of a victim of violence as just more "black-on-black crime" without empathy and grief. It's fearing protestors because you assume they are black and you call them "rioters" and "looters" without noticing all the white faces or how peaceful they are even with their loud voices. It's fearing what "element" the black family who moved in will bring to your neighborhood. It may not be your fault that these are your instincts but it's now your responsibility to do something about it.

So what does it mean to be anti-racist? It means that each and every day you work on your own racism. Once you know, you have to keep knowing, and you have to keep educating yourself. You have to keep intentionally fighting the very things that have been ingrained into the fiber of your racial being. (Yes, you are a racial being even if you are white and don't think about your own race as part of your identity - but that's a topic of another post). It doesn't matter how many black friends or family members you have. It doesn't matter how much work you've done. Your work is never done - that is being anti-racist.