I wonder if any of you would consider a statue that represents your brothers, fathers, daughters, or siblings being hanged, raped, murdered, and stripped of their names, languages, and identities as art or something that must be preserved for its historical significance because there's supposedly no other way to remember your loved ones & what happened to them but by the artful hands of those who wronged them.
I want to amplify this message.
Hey, white persons! who genuinely do not want to contribute to systemic racism (not thinking of anyone in particular except maybe me): privilege is our blind spots. We have the privilege of not having to think about or listen to or see people who are not like us, which means having to constantly, constantly self reflect and check ourselves. That's what it takes to expand inclusion in the world. It takes a continuous practice to end systemic racism.
White dudes, put your contempt for me aside and hear this one thing: cis het white dudes tend to pool together and you tend to go wherever you want and make it your space without thinking of who else might be there. I'm talking about things that happen through a group of people, not just one. It's largely subconscious, which of course, means we don't see it. dur. But you all go along with it inadvertently. Social influences are invisible to us. Make a point to be mindful of others in the space and do the work of continuously keeping them in mind. That's what it takes to end systemic racism.
We all look basically the same in terms of interacting with Black people who don't know us. And that's why it's so important to be willing to go the extra mile in terms of humility, accepting criticisms, extra respectful. Like, extra respectful to the point where it is obvious that you are humble and safe, wearing a BLM shirt everywhere you go, back up a few feet. No need to talk about how not-racist you are or offer a litany of your activism history. Apologize when someone lets you know that your thoughtless remark had impact. Ask them how you can make amends and how you can be a good ally.
I have two main ideas in terms of practices, one is reminding ourselves of these things every day, just like Stuart Smalley.
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Things like, I am not automatically welcome in this space, who else is here, I'm willing to be embarrassed if I'm wrong and to apologize, etc.
The other is making a point and a promise to actively seek out Black faces and voices, stories, history, etc., and to do that without bothering Black people, and we have the technology for amplifying Black voices without bothering any Black persons! Whatever media you use, seek out Black faces and voices, movies, podcasts, youtube, whatever. News media is a great sort of avenue for this because you'll hear Black voices talking about shit that is happening now. Gotta train those algorithms. (I know you can do that because at one time I had successfully remained ignorant of who the Kardashians were OR who Justin Beiber was for like five years.
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Our discomfort is nothing, nothing, nothing at all compared to centuries of enslavement, human beings treated like animals, babies ripped from mothers, brutality, rape, murder, torture, and even when slavery was abolished, many of these things occurred and still occur wherever white supremacists think they can get away with it. (See Arbery murder). They don't always get away with it, but they believed they would. No number of life sentences can bring back the murdered, so their being imprisoned is not the end of that by any means. There are other Arbery murderers, so impinging on that culture and making them uncomfortable being racists is imperative to prevent future Arberys. (Also see Sonya Massey and numerous others.)
So, as I like to say on FB, be uncomfortable, you cowards!
![Biggrina :biggrina: :biggrina:](/images/smilies/more/biggrina.gif)
And I know I sound like I'm trying to be y'all's mama, but some of these details most of you honestly will not have thought about because you are living your life and not spending 24/7 immersed in DEI and related things and probably have enough discomfort as it is, so I'm saying them to whoever is willing to hear them.
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