How NOT to be an anti-racist: top 5 ways
With everything going on in our world today, many of us want to help, but don’t know exactly how to do that. There are several articles that teach how to be an anti-racist, but not enough talk bout how not to.
Before we dive in to how, let’s first discuss the what. Anti literally means against. So anti-racism is being against and actively fighting against racism. So that’s anti-racism, and thus an anti-racist is someone who is out there on the front lines, whether that's the front lines of a protest or the virtual front lines of a petition. If that’s you, keep reading and discover how not to be an anti-racist. From this moment on, you’ll be referred to as ally.
#1:Say “All Lives Matter”
Ally, we know that all lives matter. We know that humanity in general matters. That is not something that society has questioned. There is a question in society at large as to whether black human beings matter. For this reason, saying all lives matter is counterproductive to saying Black Lives Matter. You see, by saying Black Lives Matter it doesn’t mean that the lives of non-Blacks don’t matter, but by saying All Lives Matter it’s like an attempt to take away the spotlight from those who are hurting and in need of attention. Does that make sense ally? Basically the “All Lives Matter” takes away the spotlight from the Black Lives Matter movement. People are hurting and just generalises with “all” which can be offensive for those fighting for black lives. We see you, we know you matter too.
#2: Not See Colour
Colour exists ally. Whether we choose to see it or not, it exists. If you’re on our team we're going to need you to make a note and internalise the fact that colour does exist. We realise it, society realises it, so by saying that you don't realise that colour exists it makes it difficulty for you to be an ally. If we are all the same colour how can the racial divide truly exist? These cultural and racial injustices that we fight… how can they if there is no cultural or ethnic difference? How could there be a racial divide or racial inequality? Do you see where I’m going with this ally?
So by saying that you don't see colour, you're saying that this issue that the Black Lives Matters Organization, this issue that so many community members and the people of colour are talking about, it doesn't make sense because there is no colour. To be an ally, we have to come out of that denial state, we have to not say that we don't see colour, but say that we recognise it and that you and I together are in the fight to ensure that this colour that we see is on an equal basis. We see the injustices being served for people for their different colour and we don’t want to see that for future generations.
#3: Deny That White Privilege Exists
I’ll try to keep this short and sweet ally, but white privilege is an entire article or even a book in and of itself. By definition, white privilege is the societal privileges that white people have over people of colour (POCs). What does that look like in real life? Well, for example in a job interview let’s say that there are two candidates one white and one black. These candidates graduated from the same school with the same degree and have very similar work experience. The white candidate is two times more likely to get the job than the black candidate. On the other end if a white person and a black person are being charged for the same crime, the black person will likely do extended jail time for the same crime.
Now, ally I know some people say “I grew up poor” , “I’ve been to jail too”, “I didn’t have a silver spoon life.” I understand, but note that white privilege doesn’t mean that a person doesn’t have a tough life. White privilege means on top of the other tragedies and negativity of life, a white person doesn’t also have to worry about difficulties because of the colour of their skin.
#4 Be A White Saviour
We love that you want to help ally. In fact we need your help, but we don’t need a saviour. Jesus already did that for us. Now don't be offended, being the white saviour means a person try to come in, take over and make it your own. It basically means helping in a self serving, “look at me helping the poor blacks” type of way. Sounds horrible doesn’t it? Well, people do it all the time. Brands, businesses and individuals trying to slice a piece of the “do good” pie and use the Black Lives Matters movement to push them to the front of the line. Don’t be like them ally. Support us. If it’s a protest, go and act. If it’s a petition go and sign, but don’t make it about you or do it with a self serving purpose and make sure not to try to overtake the operation. If you were going to war and your ally took over your commander, you wouldn’t like it right ally?
#5 Feel Like You Know Enough
Ally, the only way to be true to your namesake is to be learning every single day. I want you to think of this article as the appetiser. You have to do the research. There are books, there are podcasts, there are even Netflix series that you can watch to get a better understanding of the history of racism and how that influences the black lives of today. So if you don’t do the research, there’s no way you can authentically be an ally.You have to know what you're speaking up for. You have to understand the injustices and yes, I understand that you'll never be black, and yes, I know that you will never have the black experience, but if you read a few books, if you listened to a few podcasts, if you hear a few real stories about what people are going through right now, you'll be a much more fit ally. One of the keys to defeating this monster called racism is cultural awareness and before you can do the work externally you’ll need to do the work internally first.
