The constant vitriolic language on social media is beyond ridiculous. People with the ability to teach, choose to vilify the misinformed. While people who should seek to learn, choose defensiveness against facts.
How can we have effective conversations on racism as a society?
Recognize that there’s no such thing as race, race-baiting, reverse racism, or a post-racial society
We are all human species and just happen to have different physical features and cultural identities. Race is a social construct developed to enforce prejudices towards specific groups. Racism is a method of using race as a factor to deny rights, opportunities, and power to these groups.
Racism is still a reality and people have a right to expose the inequality that they’ve experienced. Anyone can be prejudiced, but not everyone has the institutional power to perpetuate racism.
The term “white privilege” isn’t just about financial gain or opportunities that may or may not have been down by generation. Those who do not fully understand the impact of slavery, Jim Crow, and turn a blind eye to our society and world’s inequalities are examples of that privilege. People who experience racism cannot afford to ignore it. If something doesn’t impact someone personally that doesn’t mean that it’s not happening to someone else.
Realize that ignoring color, history, or culture is not a solution to ending racism
People can see that the sky is blue or cloudy. People notice the various characteristics in other human beings. We are visual and that’s not going to change.
The problem is that we are part of a society that does not inform us well and this actuality is like leaving crumbs under a sofa and saying your house is clean. It’s time for a new approach. There’s nothing wrong with learning about different groups and snippets in history class do not educate.
If we’re truly looking to change issues of inequality in our society, we need to visualize ourselves as a collective and treat each other as such. Instead of “them” versus “us”, we should know who “them” and “us” are. Our differences can unite us instead of maintaining some kind of “racial” pyramid.
Understand the diverse communities in our country and the issues that these communities might be facing.
In regards to the Black community, the misrepresentation of the culture and the community fosters subliminal messages for others to fear our community and normalize the problems that exist. Black journalists, writers, bloggers, and even the “Black Twitter” and #Blacklivesmatter movements need to educate people in society who do not comprehend to our perspectives. However, people who are not part of our community still have the ability to humanize our experiences and support our efforts.
#Blacklivesmatter and other leaders should continue to use their platform and create an agenda for the Black community that goes beyond combatting institutionalized racism and police brutality. It’s not enough to just stand and protest; the Black community needs policymaking that will improve the economic, social, educational, and health care needs of our community.
Work together and stop stereotyping
We should see others as allies and not enemies. People who speak ignorance and don’t see the baselessness of their prejudices cannot be changed.
And just to break down a few stereotypes: Not every Black person has benefitted from affirmative action, which was a necessary policy to balance decades of inequality. Not every white person is a Confederate flag-carrying member of the KKK or agrees with this ideology. Thugs come in all colors and from all communities not just the Black community. Black-on-black crime like other types of crime between individual groups does not justify police brutality and also activists in the Black community have been working on fixing the problems within “inner-city” communities. Not every police officer is out there killing or brutalizing minorities.
We have this notion in society that “All Lives Matter.” However, in truth, not all lives are treated in the same respect when it comes to color and even gender. If we all can support causes like breast cancer and world hunger, we can rally behind issues facing different ethnic groups in our society and world.
Wake up as a society
Recent events domestically and even internationally have shown us that there is still work to do. Problems will continue to arise and people are going to keep clashing until we fix the hindrances that are rooted in our country’s history and social system. How people deal with each other and the messages that our society is sending is what keeps us from finding the resolution.
Should we keep things the same or seek to change?
Writer and blogger. Perspectiv.words Founder, Chief Editor, and Contributor. I write to speak out and uplift. I also share my views on current events, culture, history, or any topic that moves my fingers to a pen or to type.
