Reflections on Racism, first one for 2020

So the Vox article I'm sharing is from February 25, 2019. But I wanted to add some personal context, as I continue to have conversations with friends who doubt when me and other people of color and black people specifically talk about behavior being racist, in the way we are talked to and treated.

The knitting community is reckoning with racism
Fiber artists of color are taking to Instagram stories to call out instances of prejudice — and to try to shape a more inclusive future. Read the article

And the biggest and most frustrating conversation piece that seems to repeat itself is simply getting some white friends and colleagues to just believe and trust me when I say that something impacted me in a racist way.

Often times I'm asked to "prove it" or provide context or details that are missing so that they can make up their own mind or don't even do that and simply give the benefit of the doubt to the intent of the white person that they didn't mean it, instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt that maybe when I say something has reinforced something that I've experienced my entire life.

But I digress. I guess my only request/tip/whatever to white friends that might push back when talking about race about whether a particular incident in and of itself is racist is that is the opposite of at least what I am thinking of when I describe something as racist.

By that I mean to say when I describe racist actions and behaviors, it is part of and in line with a PATTERN of actions and behaviors which reinforce white supremacy and elements of systemic racism. And because (a bit of a broken record here) it is about impact, at the end of the day the intent of white people doesn't matter because the stuff that is happening is often occurring on a level other than conscious, intentional thought, unless that intent is to actively be anti-racist.

Anyway, I know it's NOT the same kind of personal, emotional, physical violence as sexual assault (although we can certainly talk about how racism and sexual assault intersect) BUT in terms of believing survivors when they say they experienced something, I think that same could/should be true when black people, indigenous people, and other people of color say they experience racism in a particular situation.

Because chances are we as groups of identities aren't even talking about it with white people as often as some people that hold those identities lie about or weaponize it. And that's a whole other issue I'll probably post about another time. In the meantime, check out the article above and/or engage with me on Facebook about it: