Summary – Anti-Racism Educational Meeting

Definition of Anti-Racism

First off, let’s start with the definition of anti-racism. Officially, the definition of Anti-Racism is the policy or practice of opposing racism and promoting racial tolerance. 

I don’t think anybody said it better than Angela Davis, “In a racist society,it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be Anti-Racist”. Meaning that we not only look within ourselves to make sure we are not prejudiced against POC, but that we actively try to dismantle the system which oppresses them. This can obviously be done in very big and also very small, individual ways. In order to do this, we need to recognize that we live in a racist society, and also learn of the different ways in which racism takes place.

Many people recognize racism as calling people racial slurs, police brutality against POC, and hate crimes. But there are many other forms in which racism takes place, such as Blackface, White Silence, Eurocentric curriculums in schools, dismissing Black struggles by saying “But, All Lives Matter”, Inequitable Healthcare, Fetishizing Black people, and also Denial of White Privilege. 

Definition and Acceptance

As a White ally of the Black community, a massive part of what you do is acknowledging, accepting, challenging, and working to dismantle your White Privilege. This is where quite a few White people in my life falter. Because you need to reach a point where you will actively choose to be uncomfortable. As a White person, you benefit from White Privilege, that is a fact because your ancestors created the system to benefit you, oppress others, and this system still stands today, this makes some people turn away, since they think this means that basically their life hasn’t had any difficulties. 

I feel like I need to mention that having White Privilege does mean one has not suffered or been oppressed due to other factors, such as class, gender, levels of ability, sexuality, and the list goes on. 

But when someone from the Black community points out your White Privilege, the worst thing you can do, besides saying that it doesn’t exist, is making it about you and your various other struggles and why your life is also hard.

Having White Privilege means that you benefit from a system that protects White people, believes White people, benefits White people in the media, in the job market, housing, and frankly every other way you can think of. It doesn’t mean you haven’t experienced oppression, it simply means the colour of your skin is not a reason you are oppressed, it in fact does the opposite.

For an ally, I know that truly accepting this reality is not easy, but if you want to actively fight for Black equality, it will never be easy. It is not easy for Black people, it is not easy for other POC and it will not be easy for White people. 

White Saviorism

This brings me to a point which I’ve been getting really interested in, which is the White Saviour Complex. If you look up the definition, it is defined as a White person who provides help to non-White people in a self-serving manner. A few months ago I started following this organization which some of you may know, it’s called No White Saviours and it is based in Uganda. They are really active on social media so I advise you to follow them if you are interested. White Saviorism is the narrative you see so often in films where a White person goes to an African village, or a Black ghetto neighborhood and practically saves the day. It’s the narrative you see so often with White people joining mission trips, teaching classes, and even working as doctors in Black and Brown villages and neighborhoods despite not having the credentials to do so. I don’t know if you are familiar with the case of Renee Bach, a White woman with no medical background or experience, who acted as a doctor in Uganda, and ended up killing 105 children. So far, not only has she not gotten any jail time, she has been portrayed by the media in a positive light. 

This thought that your mere White presence will be helpful to these people, that they in some way need you despite having nothing to offer, is White Saviorism. Going on mission trips, and taking photos of poor, dirty, or sick BIPOC children to post on your Instagram is White Saviorism. We have become so accustomed to Black people being portrayed in the media while they are dying, hungry, sick, dirty, or being murdered, that we currently believe or do not even think about whether  it would be traumatizing 

or triggering to see and share a video of a Black man being suffocated by the police. 

White Saviors are the allies who are centering themselves. These are the allies who are making themselves the hero of the story. This can easily be something that a White ally falls into, if they do not regularly question themselves and what they are doing. I am not saying I personally believe that an experienced, White doctor going to villages with no medical care is unethical. But posting sick people or their dead bodies on social media, not offering proper explanations to treatments, portraying yourself as a brave, courageous hero, giving treatments which are not up to standard just because you will not be checked as much, is unethical White Saviorist behavior. The intent is not as important as the impact that you will have on these communities. 

What it means to be an ally

So how does one be an ally to the Black community?

Optical Allyship is when an ally serves merely on a surface level, but doesn’t go beneath the surface to break away from the system that oppresses. Many non-White allies can feel a bit lost on how exactly it is possible to improve and be more active.

1. First of all, if you have loved ones who are Black, it is important to check on them during a time like this. The Black community is collectively going through a traumatic experience. If you are a friend, partner, or just have a Black person in your life that you genuinely care about, ask them how they are doing, and what you can do for them. 

2. The next thing which is important to educate yourself is to read up on Anti-Racism works. There are so many books, documentaries, podcasts, articles, and even social media accounts which are dedicated towards Anti-Racism. Make an effort to properly educate yourself. Especially with content which is created by Black people and Black academics and activists themselves.

3. One thing which I have noticed recently is the large amount of people who are sharing videos or photos of police brutality towards the Black community. Sadly, often these videos are needed in order to have any sort of evidence or to mobilize people. But it is important to remember that these images are traumatizing towards the Black community. I have spoken to friends who are having nightmares of the videos they have seen, and I have nightmares as well. So, as with any triggering topic, it is extremely important to add proper content warnings and trigger warnings, so that if a Black person wants to avoid seeing these images and videos, they can make that decision.

4. Do not center yourself. It is something I have also noticed frequently. While it is wonderful for allies to empathise, and show extremely strong emotions towards injustices, it is not appropriate to make the narrative about you. Or about your personal experiences. Instead, try to amplify Black voices. 

5. For those of you who are financially able to, it is also extremely valuable to donate to Anti-Racism organizations. Obviously, as with any donation, it is important to do proper research to make sure that the organization is credible. 

6. And finally, it is extremely important to continue being an active ally after the media wave is over, after the outrage calms down. Many people fall back into regular behaviours once this happens. Start holding your colleagues, friends, family members, classmates, professors, hold them accountable for both intentional and unintentional racist behaviours they might carry out. This is uncomfortable, but extremely valuable and necessary in order to educate White and non-Black people within your immediate circles. 

7. Be critical of the media you consume. The media in the Netherlands most often views the news through a White lens, meaning also that only what is seen as important from the perspective of Whiteness is shared in this kind of media . But there are for example magazines which are led by Black people. And other ways of informing yourself which does not view the Dutch news from always a White perspective. 

DISCUSSION

Question: When trying to explain how certain behaviors are racist, many people get very defensive. How can we make our arguments more effective?

Answer: It helps to explain to those people how the oppression of Black people is different than oppression due to other factors. The person we are talking to might relativize that oppression by saying, for example, that they themselves go through many hardships and even that they are also oppressed. Acknowledging those facts and making them feel understood might help them to be a bit more open towards learning about racism. However, after this it is important that we are firm and call them out if they make racist comments.

Question: When we are in groups, should we call out people for racist comments immediately within the group or should we approach them later privately?

Answer: There are different approaches. Some people prefer to call them out immediately, because racism can simply not be allowed and we shouldn’t let the group of people to laugh or agree with racist comments, so acting immediately is encouraged for these reasons. However, this might cause defensiveness and dismissal from the part of the person who makes the racist comment, because they might feel a stronger need to defend themselves in front of people. However, if the person you are going to call out made a racist joke, something you can say to them is: “why do you find that funny?” This will make them and the rest of the group go through their own thinking process that brought them to make/laugh at the joke and hopefully realize that what they said is racist.

Possible positive outcomes of the second approach are that the person who made the racist comment will feel less embarrassed, and that will make them be more receptive to the criticism. Of course, they could still be very defensive, so choosing which approach you carry out should depend on how you think the person would react, and if you estimate that calling them out within the group would be more appropriate or not depending on the circumstances.

Question: If there are Black people in that group, would they want their friends to confront racist comments immediately or later privately? I am a trans/non-binary person and personally, I get very anxious when people make transphobic comments, so I prefer my friends to call them out privately, as otherwise I would get even more anxious. I wonder how this is for Black people.

Answer: This depends on the person and the context of the comment. We would have to pay close attention to how the black person is feeling: maybe they are hurt and an intervention would be welcome, maybe the comment did not offend them (enough) to get bothered by it and would prefer to just go on with the conversation, or maybe they wouldn’t like to be defended by a white person. With people we don’t know, we need to keep into account that there are different ideologies within the Black movement. One of those ideologies is broadly supported by the GFN and its members, which believes that white people need to be anti-racist allies who amplify the voices of black people and who take the responsibility of educating themselves and do their part in dismantling white supremacy. However, other ideologies believe that white people should be separated from black people, who do not need the intervention or help of white people to accomplish Black liberation. Both ideologies need to be respected, and there are people who might fall in between. We need to do our best to estimate what is needed in each moment.

Question: Having a conversation with a friend who is black about internalized racism, I could relate to her situation by thinking of my own experience with internalized homophobia. Was it okay that I talked about my own situation or would that be an instance of centering oneself?

Answer: If it is somebody you are close to, you might know what can help in that specific case. If you are a non-black person who has a black person as a friend/loved one, you should make it clear that you want them to correct you if you say something problematic, and that this will not have negative consequences for the relationship. If you are able to use your own experiences of oppression in order to relate with the experiences of a Black friend/loved one, that might be useful in certain cases, but it is important to remember that your ability to relate has many limitations and to not center yourself.