This country can continue to put bandaids on open wounds and make empty promises, but nothing will fundamentally change when it comes to race relations without a serious look at how racism is so engrained in American culture. Nothing will fully mend until we face our history, structural racism, and lack of nuanced thinking when it comes to healing and talking about race.
I feel like I’ve had this conversation and regurgitated the above sentiment ad nauseam, but until there is significant change in the way we operate and discuss racism, it still needs to be repeated. I’ll never stop saying it.
Black History Month feels like one of those bandaids that’s meant to be some sort of gesture of an attempt at equality, but in that gesture holds an even more dastardly sentiment- black history should be separated from American history. I think at this point, it’s time to examine what this month should really mean and how it should be celebrated. Instead of companies changing the colors of their logos and highlighting black clients or creators or whatever black person tangentially represents their brand, it’s time to get cracking on equity and how these companies can actually spread information about history. This month has turned into a contest amongst companies of who can appear the most “woke” in this era of skepticism and scrutiny. I think if we really want to accept this month as a period of time in which we talk about black history that we actually talk about black history. Let’s talk about the hurtful past, but also uplift the myriad of beautiful, happy, and humorous stories of our history. Black history should not just be about how black people have contributed to society, because - well, there’s been a consistent glossing over the extent in which black people were forced to put their literal blood, sweat, and tears into BUILDING this country. Why don’t we talk about our entire history instead of the past 80 years? It’s because the US cannot face its violent acts.
It’s increasingly clear just how opposed this country is to rectifying the past or trying to build a better future due to the outrageous reactions to Critical Race Theory (CRT). I want to start this off by saying nobody is teaching 5 year olds Critical Race Theory. As defined in Wikipedia (as a side note, my 12 year old self would be aghast at using Wikipedia as a source….how far we’ve come)-
Critical race theory is a cross-disciplinary intellectual and social movement of civil-rights scholars and activists who seek to examine the intersection of race and law in the United States and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice.
It’s a complex concept as a whole and while aspects of it are being encouraged to be taught in schools, it is misleading to use the term as a catch-all for what’s really being taught, which is an unabridged, more thoughtful teaching of this country’s history. CRT ties many components together to form a framework for positing the reasoning behind racial disparities in society. For instance, that institutional racism and injustice have an indelible bearing on how black people are mistreated in the justice system. As I understand it, CRT is something that ties multiple ideas together and would make more sense to be taught in higher education due to the foundational knowledge needed to fully understand the theory. The tension comes from teaching the historical implications of racism that are ultimately needed to understand CRT. I’ve repeated this before as well, but as we’ve seen time and time again, the (white) guilt of the past outweighs this country’s desire to heal in the present. There is an admission of white privilege and white supremacy that comes with the true teaching of this country’s inception that is so impossible for so many to grasp that instead of examining the reality that racism exists underneath policy and is woven into systems, it’s easier to claim that the past has no effect on today.
It’s been increasingly difficult these last few days to hear the news of just how engrained racism is in the world’s fabric, not just the US. As the world hold’s their breath watching a needless war unfold in Ukraine, there are so many things that become apparent during such a painful and tumultuous time. War is by definition a destructive and terrible practice that we’ve somehow held onto out of the dark ages and wreaks havoc on psyches and societies in ways that I don’t think we can fully comprehend. Ukrainian and Russian people who are fighting this war do not deserve to die because of the delusions of an unhinged leader. It is unfair and it is inhumane, and I hope it ends soon and without more bloodshed. In the midst of wartime chaos, there have been some reports citing the mistreatment of African students abroad. I’ve seen reports specifically stating that students from, Nigeria, Morrocco, Egypt, and Ghana were held at the Ukrainian border, turned away, and told to get to the end of the line in favor of “real Ukrainians.” There’s a sect of social media as well theorizing that it’s possible Russia is stoking racial tension and that there is intentional misinformation being spread, but regardless of whether or not that’s true, the way those students are being treated is not make-believe. In this report from Reuter’s a stranded student states,"In a situation like this, you're on your own. You've got to find the best way to find refuge for yourself…." It’s not just that there is undoubtedly prejudice that is showing itself at the borders, but also the way in which this war is being reported on overall that truly drives home how wars are viewed differently if the people suffering are white vs. people of color. I won’t get into all of the instances where it’s glaringly apparent who is favored, but I will share this thread that has been collecting articles and new clips of people being very candid about how they feel about this way being fought amongst “civilized” nations.
I want to emphasize again how devastating this war is and that I 100% stand with the Ukrainian people in their right to be a sovereign nation. Criticism as to how African students are being treated and the overall racism being exhibited by news sources does not make that statement any less true. Multiple experiences and feelings can exist at once. On another note, nuance seems to be another thing that is hard to grasp recently with how polarizing conversations can be, especially online.
These last few months have felt even more surreal than the ones previous because I am at a point of exhaustion that is just so debilitating, and I don’t know whether it’s pandemic fatigue, the fluctuating economy, the ever-changing work landscape, the disappointment in this administration, or the sheer insanity that is this world right now, but it’s been a struggle. It’s been exceptionally tough to focus on writing and putting my thoughts down coherently. I will say, sadly, I have been getting better and better at compartmentalizing and separating feelings from work. It’s not something I’m proud of but definitely a development that is unexpected and a little alarming. I’ve also taken on a class and learning again is scary, but also exciting.
Next month is Women’s History Month and I’ll be dedicating that time to reading a bunch of books by black women authors, starting with The Vanishing Half. I’m excited to commit to some reading and taking my class. I hope this helps me get out of this endless slump. The warm weather will definitely bring a welcomed energy boost. Maybe I’ll go to Paris…