Racism is bad news. Anyday. Anytime. Anywhere. Many people agree, and you might agree too, that said I’m not racist isn’t enough anymore. People need to go the extra mile to be anti-racist, standing for and enforcing the opposite of racism wherever they can.
The reason racism needs to be actively fought against lies in a sad truth many individuals have failed to “figure out” in today’s current society: Racism is often subtle. Unseen. Unnamed. Racism can shape entire institutions and go unnamed and unidentifieduntil someone blows it all up for everyone to see. The truth is that most people don’t have this sad truth figured out.
Here are two more pieces of info about racism you can add to what you already know.
You Can Be Racist to Your Own Race
Yes. You can.
Most of the time, the general belief is that minorities cannot be racist because they do not have that kind of power to discriminate. But we need to make a crucial differentiation here: There are different types of racism. For example, black individuals like myself cannot systemically or systematically oppress our own kind BUT we can hold racist ideologies to specific races that are negative and harmful (yes even to our own).
The fancy name for the latter circumstance is internalized racism. It is a situation where you believe, for instance, that your race is an inferior one. Psychologists say that it is a form of internalized oppression where the person from a minority (say, African American) adopts the mindset of their oppressors.
What’s interesting about this reality is that it does not, in any way, shield the minority person from experiencing racism. Still, they would’ve closed themselves off from their racial identity and community in what is sometimes a coping mechanism. It should be clarified; however, that internalized racism occurring within individual minorities is usually caused by the larger exterior racist systems in place that have shapes that minorities perception.
Facts are not Racist, but people can interpret them as racist
What do you think about when you read the following statement;
Black or African Americans make up about 14% of the total American population. They also account for more than 50% of arrests for crimes such as murder, manslaughter, and robbery.
The statement above describes factual data you can find on government databases like this one. When you look at it, though, and as a person of color, your first instinct might be to go on the defensive. When that happens, you’re likely interpreting facts as racist information.
Facts are just that…facts. These facts are often corroborated by statistics from different departments in the U.S. judicial system. Now, you can judge facts like the one above, such as asking how the Black or African American community got here. Reading the fact and saying: “black individuals are worse at following laws” now THAT is taking a fact and making it racist. However, instead one should look at this data and ask: “Hmm what systems are in place that are causing these data points, what systematic and systemic practices have been placed on African Americans that we as a community may be playing into that is resulting is such a sad statistic. Now that is taking a fact and avoiding the subtle racist interpretation and instead being productive in the analysis.
Where have you seen or experienced subtle racism or racism interpretations of data and how have you actively fought against it? Let me know in the comments bellow.
I hope this helps!