by Isolde Raftery | June 2017
On a gray day last October, teachers across Seattle wore a shirt that read BLACK LIVES MATTER. They knew there might be criticism. John Muir Elementary in south Seattle had done this in September and received a bomb threat and hate mail from across the U.S. But they did, and the day was, by most accounts, uneventful. Some kids got it – most didn’t. Just another school day. And then, a backlash, but this time not from outsiders. White parents from the city’s tonier neighborhoods wrote to their principals to say they were displeased. A Black Lives Matter day was too militant, too political and too confusing for their young kids, they said.
TAGS: [Individual Change] [2010’s] [Black Lives Matter] [“All Lives Matter”] [White Culture]
by Tamerra Griffin | February 2015
The article, written by a Black woman begins: “You don’t hear overtly racist language very often these days. Here are some words with a subtler implication. She then provides 28 examples of sentences and how they are perceived in some contexts by some Black people, in a “what you say” “what we hear” format.
TAGS: [Individual Change] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Implicit Racism] [White Culture] [White Supremacy] [2010’s]
by Deesha Philyaw | September 2016
True or False: Gender oppression is way worse than racial oppression.
True or False: I am aware that Black women experience both, but feminists should stick together and focus on fighting sexism, instead of getting distracted by what divides us.
True or False: Racism is mostly about personal slights and hurt feelings, not a systematic form of oppression.
True or False: I am aware that white women directly benefited from American slavery and that enslaved Black women were routinely raped by white men, but that happened a long time ago and has no bearing on our lives today.
True or False: I am aware that Black women’s low-wage labor as housekeepers and nannies made it possible for white women to enter the workforce in record numbers decades ago, but we are natural allies in the fight for equality today.
True or False: I’m a beneficiary of white supremacy, but I’m sick of Black women making everything about race. I think they just look for things to be offended about.
You may be surprised to learn how many “true” answers you give.
TAGS: [Individual Change] [2010’s] [White Fragility/Tears] [Accountability] [White Culture]
by Dr. Robin DiAngelo | June 2015
“White people are all too quick to cite their good intentions. Unconsciously, they aim to preserve white supremacy…. Racism as a default system that institutionalizes an unequal distribution of resources and power between white people and people of color….[and] works to the benefit of whites.”
TAGS: [Individual Change] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Implicit Bias] [White Culture] [White Supremacy] [Systemic Racism] [2010’s]
by Angela Watson | September 2017
Most of this white teacher’s wide-ranging detailed guidance for other white teachers also contains many links, guidance and reminders that appear useful to other white Americans. “Begin the lifelong habit of rooting out your own biases…. We ALL have internalized anti- blackness (even people of color!) because our ways have thinking have been influenced by living in a white supremacist society…. Understanding and working through your own limitations and prejudices is the MOST important thing you can do, and will better equip you to begin doing the actual work of fighting for racial justice.”
TAGS: [Individual Change] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Teachers] [Implicit Bias] [Anti-Racism] [White Culture] [White Supremacy] [White Blindness] [White Privilege] [White Fragility/Tears] [Colorblindness] [“Reverse Racism”] [Systemic Racism] [Accountability] [2010’s]
by Kirsten West Savali | July 2016
Another black body on hot asphalt, heartbeat colliding with bullets in his chest, breathing becoming labored as an executioner in a uniform steals his life from him. This time, his name was Alton Sterling. This time, he was 37 years old.This time, he was a father of five. This time, he was selling CDs in front of a store. This time, the Baton Rouge, La., Police Department is responsible for his death.There are no new words. There are no new thoughts. There are no songs to sing nor chants to scream that will make this soul-crushing feeling of inevitability go away.
TAGS: [Racial Terrorism] [2010’s] [Police Shootings] [Policing] [Black Lives Matter] [-ing While Black] [History] [Systemic Racism] [White Supremacy] [White Privilege]
