I have become an anti-racist because
a) a loved one may or does suffer from racism
b) it is the right thing to do
c) like Miss Clavel in “Madeline”, you woke up one night, turned on the light and said, “something is not right!”
I know I am an anti-racist because
a) I believe that racists are ignorant
b) I believe that racists are ignorant and I tell everyone so
c) I support racism-awareness campaigning through donations and/or volunteer work
d) I have educated myself on the full meaning of racism
e) I speak up when people make racist remarks
f) I write to the media when I come across examples of institutional racism
g) I educate others about the insidiousness of systemic racism
Got your answers?
Think on them.
Is your answer to the first question related to yourself: heart, mind and soul? Or only one of the three?
Will the actions you describe in answer to the second question really make a difference, however small, to the equality of human beings?
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February 1, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Sue
Before kids I might have said b and c (I love c btw) to the first question, but that would have been disingenuous because I grew up with a brother who was transracially adopted and did suffer and I knew it, even when we were kids.
I have to be honest and say that my kids are my driving force nowadays and I cannot separate them from my heart mind and soul. I hope that even when they have flown the nest I will still be fighting.
I can say “sometimes” to most of the second answers. It’s a process. And it requires taking risks that I have a choice about not taking and the rationalizations for not taking risks are as insidious as the racism itself.
I appreciate the second question as a checklist to refer back to.