Anti-racism - Weekly Mix #148

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Anti-racism

This week is going to be a little different than most newsletters. It has been a tumultuous couple weeks in the US, and in Canada, with demonstrations and (some) rioting.

I've been thinking a lot about the issues around racism that are being raised, and have decided to use this newsletter to share some of my thoughts on the topic.

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Racism isn't something I thought about much growing up.

It's not that it doesn't exist in Nova Scotia or Canada–that much has been made clear by the stories and coverage of the last couple weeks.

It was simply that there were very few people of colour around the small towns in Nova Scotia where I grew up.

In school, we discussed how settlers of North America had treated Native Americans and Canadians who had been here before us, and we learned about the civil rights movement.

But even then, we had a discussion in class, and didn't think about it much after. We didn't have many Native Americans in our community either.

Perhaps that's why this quote from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, writing in the LA Times, and republished in Ben Thompson's essay "Dust in the Air" struck home:

"African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air."

For me, racism was invisible.

Clearly, however, that does not mean it doesn't exist. As the protests and sharing of knowledge from the past couple weeks has shown, it is still alive in many ways.

I don't know what the perfect response is, but I am planning to do three things, and would encourage you to do the same:

Learn!

As with most things in life, when I encounter something I don't know much about, I learn. There are many good resources being shared, some of which I will include below, and they range from books, to articles, to movies, which are accessible to everyone.

Bias towards action

Not knowing the perfect response is not a good reason to be passive. Start somewhere. Course correct along the way.

Some people felt that the #BlackoutTuesday movement on social media wasn't real action, and didn't accomplish much. We'll see if that's true, but at least those people took action. If you know of more appropriate responses, encourage those people to continue! Help them take further action. But don't criticize (I wrote about this in Stop Criticizing Positive Change).

Set up systems

Establishing long-term habits is hard. Donations have been pouring in for groups supporting the anti-racism movement this week–will they continue?

We are only as good as the systems we set up to help us succeed. Start following more people of colour on social media. Set up a recurring monthly donation. Set up a book club to keep each other accountable.

Set up systems now, while you have the focus, and the motivation, to keep supporting the movement.

Here are some of the resources I found most useful over the past couple weeks:

Anti-racism resources - Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein - This Google Doc has a list of books, podcasts, articles, videos, and more, on everything from black feminism to resources for white parents who want to raise anti-racist children.

How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change - Barack Obama - The key takeaways: demonstrate, but make sure to vote too, particularly in local elections.

Dust in the Air - Ben Thompson - A tech- and data-oriented look at the anti-racism movement. Some poignant quotes and insights throughout from some of his previous essays.

How You Can Support Black People Today, Tomorrow & Forever - Refinery29 - Particularly useful for Canadians looking for organizations to support. Also has book and movie recommendations.

Don't understand the protests? What you're seeing is people pushed to the edge - Kareem Adbul-Jabbar, LA Times - A short, striking perspective.

ActBlue Charities - This website lets you make a donation split between a group of different charities fighting for racial justice.

Uncomfortable conversations and learning are an opportunity for all of us to grow. Let's make the most of it.

See you next week for a return to the regular newsletter.

Graham

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