When Americans deny Black people their humanity and see Black People only as former slaves, or as an inferior race, then Americans are being 'anti-black'. Anti-blackness deals with the denial of a Black person's humanity. Instead of being seen as humans, with anti-blackness, black people are seen as sub-human or chattel like during the times of American slavery.
According to Robin DiAngelo in White Fragility, the white identity needs blackness as a binary force. She says "that Americans live in a society predicated on white superiority. And what white people receive simultaneously relentless messages about black inferiority..Anti-blackness goes deeper than negative stereotypes...she says...anti-blackness is foundational to white identity..there was no concept of race before the need to justify the enslavement of Africans. Creating a separate inferior black race created the superior white race." (DiAngelo, 90)
DiAngelo also adds that another aspect of anti-blackness is that white people project onto black people aspects about themselves white people don't like. White masters of black slaves depicted black slaves as 'lazy and childlike' even though they toiled from day til night in back breaking work. Today, blacks are depicted as dangerous, which causes feelings of aversion, fear and hostility among white people."(Di'Angelo, 90)
Kiyana Miraya Ross states,"Anti-blackness covers the fact that society’s hatred of blackness, and also its gratuitous violence against black people, is complicated by its need for our existence. For example, for white people — again, better described as those who have been racialized white — the abject inhumanity of the black reinforces their whiteness, their humanness, their power, and their privilege, whether they’re aware of it or not. Black people are at once despised and also a useful counterpoint for others to measure their humanness against. In other words, while one may experience numerous compounding disadvantages, at least they’re not black." ("Call it What it is: Anti-Blackness, 2020, NY Times)
Diangelo claims that even among white people who claim they are not racist, they are anti-black on a subconscious level. For instance, Diangelo admits that many white people feel fear when they see a stranger who is black. If a white person is walking down the street and sees a black person they do not recognize, they will walk away in fear--especially white women will fear that a black man will attack them. Yet, that same white woman, if a stranger white man walked by, she would not fear that white man in the same way she fears the stranger black man--this is an example of anti-blackness on a subconscious level. (90)
Ross calls the thingfication of black people is fundamental to the identity of America, which is to say that anti-blackness is fundamental to the identity of America. To dismantle anti-blackness, one must learn how anti-blackness manifests. Take Ethnic Studies classes. Take classes about other racial groups. Learn about other perspectives. Travel to other countries. Learn about other traditions and cultures to widen your perspective. Widen your mind to other possibilities. Realize that there is no one way to do things.
Here are three ways Janice Gassam in her article, Recognizing and Dismantling Your Anti-Blackness say to eliminate racism in your life:
1. Realize how anti-blackness or systemic racism permeates American society. Gassam states, "nderstanding these systemic inequities will help you understand what role you play in upholding oppressive systems. "
2. Disrupt anti-blackness--Gassam states, "Look at each structure and system individually. Think about how anti-blackness is exhibited in each system and then ask yourself what you are doing to actively disrupt these systems. How does anti-blackness creep into your workplace? Are Black people being hired, paid and promoted at comparable rates as their counterparts? If not, how can you advocate for changes? Who are the policymakers within your organization? Use your power and privilege to push for change. There’s also power in the penny. Where are you spending your money? Disrupt anti-blackness by supporting small and large Black-owned businesses."
3. Have your children read positive portrayals of black people in books and have your children watch positive portrayals of black people. You can have children watch The Prince of Bel Air, Black Panther, or Hidden Figures so that white children can see black people as human beings just like they are. The more we see that we are more alike than different, the more we can fight anti-blackness and racism.
DiAngelo, Robin. "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism. Beacon Press. 2018
Gassam, Janice. "Recognizing and Dismantling Your Anti-Blackness" Forbes Magazine. June 2020
Ross, Miraya Khana. "Call It What It Is: Anti-Blackness" New York Times Newspaper. 4 June 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment