June — antiracism reckoning
Favorite book: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Least favorite book: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Read I would recommend: How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Memorable quotes:
“When we are willing to check our privilege, we are not only identifying where we are perpetuating oppression, but we are also identifying where we have the power and access to change the system as a whole. Where I benefit the most is where I have the most power and access to change a system that disadvantages others. ” So you want to talk about race by Iljeoma Oluo
“You have been racist. You will be in the future even if less so. You are racist because you were born and bred in a white supremacist society. White supremacy is insidious by design. The racism used to uphold white supremacy is woven into every area of our lives. There is no way you can inherit white supremacy from birth, learn white supremacy’s history in school, consume racist and white supremacist movies and films, work in a white supremacist work force, vote in a white supremacist governments, and not be racist. This does not mean you have hate, you may intend to treat everyone equally, but it means you have absorbed racist thoughts in this society.” So you want to talk about race by Iljeoma Oluo
“You have been racist. You will be in the future even if less so. You are racist because you were born and bred in a white supremacist society. White supremacy is insidious by design. The racism used to uphold white supremacy is woven into every area of our lives. There is no way you can inherit white supremacy from birth, learn white supremacy’s history in school, consume racist and white supremacist movies and films, work in a white supremacist work force, vote in a white supremacist governments, and not be racist. This does not mean you have hate, you may intend to treat everyone equally, but it means you have absorbed racist thoughts in this society.” So you want to talk about race by Iljeoma Oluo
“At times it seems never-ending, like no matter what you do, you are doing something wrong. But you have to try to adjust to the feelings of shame and pain that come from being confronted by your own racism. Fear of facing the worst in ourselves. Instead, fear unexamined racism. Fear that you are contributing to the oppression of others, even if you don’t know. Do not fear the opportunity to do better..” So you want to talk about race by Iljeoma Oluo
“Claiming to be not a racist is a claim of neutrality. “I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.” But, there is no neutrality in the racism struggle - the opposite of racist isn’t not racist, it’s anti-racist. What’s the difference? One either endorses the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist or racial equality as an anti-racist. One either believes problems are rooted in a people as a racist or locates the problems in power and policies as an anti-racist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere as a racist or confronts racial inequities as an anti-racist. There is no safe space in between as a not racist. The claim of not racist neutrality is a mask for racism.” How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
“Fear is a choice. We do not have to be fearless like Harriet Tubman to be anti-racist. We have to be courageous to be anti-racist. Courage is the strength to do what is right in the face of fear. We gain the insight of what is anti-racist, we gain strength from fear while many people are fearful from what can happen but I am fearful of what would happen if we don’t resist. Fearful of cowardice, cowardice is the inability to amass the strength to do what is right in the face of fear. Racist power has been terrorizing cowardice into us for generations..” How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
“All our phrasing – racial chasm, race relations, race justice, racial profiling, white supremacy, etc – serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience that dislodges brains, rips muscle, cracks muscles, breaks teeth. Remember the sociology, history, economics, regressions, etc - all land with great violence upon the body.” White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo