Let me begin by admitting that I have been stalling about writing this blog. Sadly, I am just beginning to learn about racism. I say sadly, because it is a social reality that has affected me all of my life and I will be the first to admit that my ignorance has not served me or others well.
So I begin this blog by stating a few disclaimers, numero uno: I am not an expert on this reality, but I do have impressions and opinions based on my limited knowledge and experience as a Black woman of Caribbean descent who was born and raised in Canada. Numero dos: I do not speak for all people of Afro-Caribbean descent, I just speak for myself. That being said, please feel free to speak and share about the subject matter or content of this post from your perspective in the comment section below. My request is that you freely assert your opinions and thoughts with the intent to promote dialogue (a shared space for a mutual learning environment) rather than debate (a promotion of an "I'm right and you're wrong" attitude). Alright, time for me to reflect on an experience that will probably take me a lifetime to unpack!
On September 19th and 20th, 2014, I attended Racial Equity Phase 1 (REI) training in Durham, North Carolina. The training was put on by the Racial Equity Institute (www.rei.racialequityinstitute.org). I must admit I did not know what to expect walking in to the training session. To be honest, I think I thought that I'd be launched into some type of Race Class as conducted by Ms. Jane Elliott. You can check out what that is via the link here: (http://youtu.be/TZKWkhnSb5k). I highly recommend that you watch the video. So as I was saying, I was bracing myself for a highly emotional and intense experience. Well REI was not Race Class in delivery, but it definitely offered periods of emotional intensity.
Things I realized, based on my experience at Racial Equity Phase 1...
- The presenters offered up a definition of racism, which included terms such as, social and institutional power, prejudice, system, and oppression. I have refrained from using their definition so as not to encourage a debate on the particular definition used. To debate this would be to detract from the realities that they helped to reveal. So none of those terms nor the definition itself was particularly alarming to me. However, what was illuminated to me was that racism is a social construct. I had never considered it that way, but I must admit that it provided me with some sense of comfort to have it named as such. I feel very uncomfortable with reducing racism to an us versus them phenomena. I feel that doing so ignores the elephant in the room. I will speak of the elephant in the room later. The reality that racism is a social construct was brought home when I began to understand that it is a system that not only oppresses People of Colour, but also people within the own group that it is designed to protect and promote. The fact that there are some White people (particularly women and children when you look at racism's contribution to poverty) who also experience oppression as a result of racism brought an odd ray of hope to the discussion for me. The odd ray of hope came in the form of this, when seen as a social construct racism becomes a reality that really any of us could have been privy to building had we been a part of the "right" group. What I mean is, understanding racism as a social construct means that I can understand it as a problem of humanity, rather than a problem of White people versus Black people or People of Color. If it is a fact that White people have benefited from political, social, and economic institutions and systems that were built on racist ideals. And if it is also a fact that there are sub-groups within the White race who also suffer from those same race biased institutions and systems...then in my estimation the enemy of People of Color has never been and never will be White people. The enemy is something else. The enemy has been masking as a White vs Black issue, but it is actually something else. This was my odd ray of hope. I believe that it is a necessity to identify and label how racism has been operating in systems and institutions. It has been operating as race prejudice over those who are non-White. Period. However, I also feel like it is imperative to our discussion about race to add that the players in this thing could change given the right amount of time and the right amount of resources. And it's quite possible that the players could have been different given there was sufficient opportunity. I think it is important to remember that racism is a social construct and that there is an insidious yeast that has been dumped into the bowl, which ignored can create more damage than racism itself.
- It appears that the average White person lives life with an unconsciousness of their race. What I mean is that there are people who are White who walk around daily and never or rarely give thought to the fact that they live in a body that is clothed in White skin. This reality was most clearly demonstrated by an exercise that allowed workshop attendees the chance to share about what they liked about belonging to their specific race. For example, "Three things I enjoy about being White is..." [Note: For the purpose of the activity, everyone had to identify themselves as being a part of a dominant race group. As there were only two race groups in the room, either you were Black or White. The sense of forced selection of racial identity represented a reality that the presenters had aptly revealed. In America, like many other nations, you have to choose. Historically people have been categorized and this categorization has helped to create definition about who has been in receipt of power and resources. There is more to say on that reality, including that the definition of whose White has changed and evolved in the course of American history in order to serve and protect political and economic agendas. However, I have sufficiently digressed and there's no way I can include all that I've learnt in this one little ole blog :)] So back to the exercise from REI... So the question was posed and those people who were White in the room shared that they enjoyed several things, namely the privilege, anonymity, invisibility, and freedom that comes from being White. As I listened to the responses, I sat in my chair truly stunned. Could it be that there are people who walk around daily without an awareness of the skin they live in and how that skin color impacts others? This concept was surprising to me. I have always been aware of my race. I don't know if there's ever really a time where there has not been some consciousness of my race. I hadn't realized that not every one walked around with this same awareness. This epiphany, that White people did not have to be race conscious, caused me to be grieved. (I warn you that I will use this word several times to describe my response to the days' events. However, that word is the one that most accurately relays the heaviness that I felt). I was grieved because the social construct of racism has allowed for people from the same species to become so divided about matters in which they have no control over. How else can you explain it but division, when one racial group has experienced anonymity, while others walk around ever conscious about how their race affects their outcomes and impacts the outcomes of others? The social construct of racism has caused us as humans to bear burdens surrounding our race, which is ludicrous considering that no one not one had the opportunity to choose their race before birth. I say that humanity has borne this burden, because I've met White people who have expressed a gamut of emotions from pain to shame about the realization that their race has granted them a privilege that they themselves had no control over. I say that humanity has borne this burden, because I've met Black people who have expressed a gamut of emotions from pain to shame about the reality that their race has granted them a gross disadvantage concerning outcomes that in a lot of instances were key to their survival and ability to thrive. The fact that we all bear some sense of burden for that which we are unable to control should not be ignored. It is an indication and a reminder of our humanity and our call to each other to redistribute the burden until it is equally held and not experienced any more or less by another. I am certain that this statement sounds very "Pollyanna," but I reject the idea that one burden should be esteemed over another. Yes it is true that Black people and those members of other racial "minority" groups have been given the fecal covered end of the stick because of their race, especially when you look at how racism as a social construct has impacted them economically, socially, politically, and the list goes on. Period full stop. In the same breath, White people have experienced a burden that has impacted them in all the same areas just differently. The fact that there are some people who have been desensitized or There is a burden for those who have been oppressed and a burden to those who have oppressed. I hesitate to exalt one over the other, simply because I believe in the call to "share one another's burdens," even if your burden has come as a result of your oppression to me. I have seen in history what happens when burdens are shifted and borne by each other. I will label this phenomena as, "loving your neighbour as yourself." When I love my neighbour who has persecuted and oppressed me, I demonstrate an understanding that I too have the potential to be an oppressor and so I offer grace to one who may be too blind to acknowledge that they are in need of it.
- There is a depth to systemic injustice that I had not previously comprehended and still do not completely comprehend. This depth goes beyond the racial profiling that we consistently hear about today. It is insidious because it is namelessly woven into the fabrics of everyday society and the majority of those who benefit from it are unaware and those who are oppressed by it are often unaware too. Racism as a social construct fuels this raging fire of injustice. The fire of injustice is stoked by power and greed. Racism as a social construct has long defined who can and cannot access power and resources in not just the Western world, but in all the world. The reality of this is deeply grievous to my spirit. So what does all that mean? Let me provide an illustration, I used to be perplexed and feel that I belonged to a people that were broken and lacked a strong sense of family. I refer to my Caribbean heritage. I was always perplexed as to why families who immigrated from other parts of the world came with their families intact and why it was that my people's story was so different. Why was it that my people left children "back home" for years and even decades while they found a "better life" in Canada (a.k.a. foreign)? It wasn't until my early twenties that I obtained the answer. There were only a limited number of ways to enter into the country as a immigrant from the Caribbean. Racially biased immigration laws like the West Indian Domestic Scheme forced women to claim they were single with no dependents so that they could obtain "status" and eventually "send" for the rest of their family members. My grandmother recollected for me that the fear was real of being deported, and that she recounts friends that she studied with being deported once it was found out that they had children. She also recounted a woman who refused to "send" for her children at all, choosing to create a new life instead. If you didn't know than you must, that racism such as that accounted in the illustration above, continues to affect and dictate the quality of life and the quality of relationships that People of Colour have presently. I have chosen to no longer be ignorant, because when you're ignorant you are more likely to support and promote the injustices that you say you abhor. There are countless other examples both in Canada and America of how institutions have used racism as a social construct to oppress others and deny them equality. So it was one thing to hear how racism as a social construct determined the systemic injustices of the past such as the government home ownership programs post-WWII in America, but it was completely another shocking thing to see how those same injustices although "gone" created a ripple effect to create continued injustices and lack of equality for People of Colour today. This is most noted in the wealth disparity that currently exists between races today in Western countries. This is yet another matter that I could go on about, but I will hold my peace.
Racism as a social construct, is just that a social construct. It is something that can be dismantled just as it was assembled, if WE commit to seeking for equality and justice not just in our speech, but more importantly in our actions. This will require a careful analysis of how we ourselves contribute to and promote the multi-layered systemic injustices that currently exist due to the presence of racism as a social construct. It will also require a humility and a willingness to desire the same good for others that we desire for ourselves and ours. Is this impossible? I am hopeful not. It is my understanding that an inhibitor of yeast is salt. I believe that with more people acting as salt than we can see racial injustices righted.
So where do I go from here? I keep learning. I keep hoping. I keep listening. I keep speaking about it and calling it out. I keep challenging myself to find ways to reject systemic injustices supported by racism and other 'isms. I keep grieving. I keep forgiving. I keep loving. Everyone. And I encourage you to do the same things too.
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