If you're a white American it's hard to take an objective look at your own views of racism. Most of us believe that we aren't racists and we'll sometimes defend ourselves with specific examples of why we aren't racist. Sound familiar?
I just finished watching a video interview of Ibram X. Kendi, author of the book “How to be an Anti-Racist” and he has some interesting ideas on racism. Watching the video made me a bit uncomfortable at times because it forced me to reconsider my own views on racism.
He starts by saying there is no such thing as “not being a racist.” He claims you are either racist or anti-racist. That makes a lot of sense! If we’ve ever said “I’m not a racist …” then we’re denying our racist views because we have been raised into an inherently racist society.
When we say “I’m not a racist” we’re only rationalizing or justifying our actions that might not seem racist to us but are viewed as racist by those of color. Ibram says it is much better to admit you’ve had racist thoughts, said racist things, or done racist things and then work towards eliminating those thoughts, things, and actions from our lives. That is being anti-racist.
Or if we see or hear something racist we should take a stand, call out the inappropriate words or actions, and then talk about ways to avoid those things in the future. We stop being a racist by actively working to be anti-racist.
Yes, we’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. If you need any proof, look at the unfortunate incident this past week of racial slurs at Richmond High School that resulted in a canceled basketball game or the racist graffiti drawn this past week on the walls of the press box at the football stadium for Blue Valley High School.
Our world has no place for this kind of hatred and especially in our schools, bastions of higher learning for teenage students who will soon joining the adult world, working along people of color and raising their families in a world filled with people who don’t look like them. The reaction decrying these events was swift and strong by the schools, parents, students, and the community. Parents and teachers can use these events to reinforce why we have MLK day each January and to continue the fight to be anti-racists.
Let’s not forget that Jesus was a different color, from a Jewish family, living in a middle-eastern country, amongst Romans who in many way looked like many of us and were the predominant world power. How would we treat Jesus in our communities if he were walking amongst us today like he did 2,000 years ago? I’d like to think we’d treat him differently, but recent history suggests otherwise.
For more on Ibram's video or events at local high schools mentioned in this article, click on these links:
Ibram X. Kendi interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCxbl5QgFZw&ab_channel=TED
Image from City of Iowa at https://www.icgov.org/city-government/departments-and-divisions/equity-and-human-rights/martin-luther-king-jr-day-2023
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