I started writing this just after the world watched George Floyd’s murder. Lots of people—white people—were reaching out to me. Saying things like “I see you.” Whatever that means. Nearly all of them wanted to know what they could do for me. One person offered an ear to vent to about “everything that’s going on.” Another person offered to “tell a silly joke to make [me] laugh.” Ironically, the notion that this person thought they could humor me made me mad. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why in the moment but after having some time to think about it, I know.
White people want to fix us. They are starting to understand that racism is harmful to people of color. Somehow, this summer has been a great awakening and they want to know what they can do to help...us.
The increased awareness is good. But white people’s desire to mend the wounds racism inflicts on us reflects a complete lack of awareness of how racism has harmed them. Black people don’t need to be fixed. Least of all by white people. Black people need healing. We need rest. We need joy. We need reparations.
It’s very telling when white people think that, as individuals, they can provide these things for us. That’s not to say that there aren’t some white people in genuine community with Black folks. Of course they are. But by and large, this summer has shown me that lots of white folks are engaged in consuming Black suffering and performing allyship. Very few white people are engaged in critical self-reflection. To unpack their need to be saviors. To understand how their own humanity is compromised by racism and how their dignity is compromised by capitalism. To challenge their family members who will undoubtedly vote for the incumbent president.
In other words, I wonder what white people are doing to fix themselves?
Here, I think it’s important to mention the cottage industry of “Dear white people, racism is bad” books. These “white liberalism” texts would suggest that maybe it’s Black people’s job to educate white people about race, racism and oppression but is it? I read a review of such “white liberalism” books, and it leaves much to the imagination about why they are so popular and what they actually accomplish. Regardless, there are a lot of self-help tid bits in these books that may or may not be useful. But after you put the book down, what are you going to change about your relationship to racism?
A lot of white people are tired of hearing about racism about seeing #BlackLivesMatter and maybe it’s because they still see racism as an issue for people of color and not themselves. Maybe it’s because they don’t recognize that their liberation is actually at stake as well.