The Baggage of Racism & My Role In That
Earlier this summer I shared a commitment to continue learning about racism, civil rights, and Black history. These are heavy topics and in a time when life is already SO HEAVY it would be easy to say, “I’m good. I understand enough… This isn’t my problem to solve…”
But I really believe now is not the time for us to check out. Now is the time to educate ourselves and look for ways that we, white Americans, can help to alleviate the pain of the Black community. Now is the time to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and seek out ways to take some of the burden away.
Now you might be thinking, “Catherine, just stay in your lane. What does this have to do with travel?” Her Bags Were Packed is all about helping women release emotional baggage so we can travel through life lighter -- both at home and on the road. A lot of my work here focuses on solo travel and releasing baggage through the solo travel experience but sometimes we need to start by unpacking the baggage we already have at home.
I believe it is my responsibility as a white, privileged woman to speak out about this for many reasons:
It’s my responsibility to educate myself on our country’s history and the many racist systems that have been put into place over the years (some more obvious than others).
It’s my responsibility to learn about these systems and the ways I have benefitted unfairly from them.
Only after educating myself and gaining some base level of understanding can I begin to play an active role in dismantling them and begin working to build a more just future, one in which we all, but especially Black women and other minorities, can travel through this world with less baggage.
Examining racist systems and beliefs is hard. It requires us to humble ourselves and admit we have a problem, it requires us to acknowledge that we are flawed and that we still have room to grow.
Recently I was listening to an interview on the Armchair Expert Podcast with Ibram X. Kendi, a Black American author, historian and professor at Boston University.
Dax, the host, made a comparison to addicts. He said, from what I recall, that it’s easy for addicts to stay in denial because they can always compare themselves to someone they know who is an even worse drunk. In the same way, it’s easy for the average person to think, “I’m not a racist” because they’re comparing themselves to David Duke. But just because we aren’t David Duke doesn’t mean we don’t have racist thoughts at times or benefit from racist systems. It’s not, “Are you a racist, yes or no?” It’s where on the spectrum are you at any given moment? Throughout the day, we will fluctuate up and down the racism spectrum, and it’s our personal responsibility to intentionally check those thoughts and beliefs on a regular basis.
Kendi, author of How To Be an Antiracist*, went on to explain that this is why he wants to move away from the idea of racist/not racist. People mostly, he says, use the statement, “I’m not racist…” to give themselves a pat on the back or even defend their racist thoughts. Rarely are people using the phrase while working to bring about equality. Instead of racist/not racist, Kendi has begun teaching about antiracism.
Antiracism, he explains in his book, “is to think nothing is behaviorally wrong or right -- inferior or superior -- with any of the racial groups. Whenever the antiracist sees individuals behaving positively or negatively, the antiracist sees exactly that: individuals behaving positively or negatively, not representatives of whole races. To be antiracist is to deracialize behavior, to remove the tattooed stereotype from every racialized body. Behavior is something humans do, not races do."
*The link for How To Be an Antiracist is an Amazon affiliate link. If you follow this link and then later make any Amazon purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’re into online shopping, this is a great way to help support Her Bags Were Packed.
While it takes some adjusting to, I have grown to really love the idea of being antiracist. It feels more active. It’s an invitation to accept responsibility for my role in all of this, to acknowledge my privilege and then use my voice to speak out for those who are being oppressed and not receiving the same experience as me.
Two weeks ago I shared the following on Instagram:
I know that I have been an imperfect ally. I know that I have been ignorant at times and said ignorant things. I know that I will never REALLY understand, but I am committed to learning, trying to understand, and speaking out.
Over the last five months, I have seen so many white friends and family members dismiss the Black Lives Matter movement or news stories of issues impacting the Black community because they do not understand what they are hearing or because it doesn’t match up with their personal experience of life.
If you are someone who finds yourself quick to dismiss pieces of these current movements, I would ask you to take some time to wrestle with these topics. I would ask you to consider the idea that you might not “agree” simply because you don’t understand. I would ask you to take some time to listen to people who are actually living those experiences. I would ask you to read some books or watch some YouTube videos from individuals in the Black community about their experiences.
Today I am taking my request a step further. I am asking you to try and educate yourself in a way that allows you to take a step back and attempt to empathize, then commit to being an antiracist, to staying conscious of the times you’re benefitting from a rigged system and begin speaking up when you see broken systems.
Here are some resources I have found helpful to get you started:
Redlining:
When the Homeowners Loan Corporation made it nearly impossible for minorities to obtain a mortgage.
Gerrymandering:
When partisan lawmakers draw the lines of voting districts to benefit their own party.
Suppression of Black Votes:
After Black men were given the right to vote, some really bizarre and awful strategies were implemented to keep them from voting. This has included everything from poll taxes and literacy tests to guessing how many jelly beans were in a jar. Today voter suppression is more subtle. It looks like closed polling places in predominantly Black neighborhoods, distant polling places, and long lines at polling places.
Racism Has a Cost for Everyone:
Heather McGhee is a political commentator, author, and public policy expert. In this TED Talk she shares how racism has fueled the creation of poor policy and devastated our economy on multiple occasions.
30 Days & 30 Ways To Be a Better Ally Resource Guide
If you’re looking for bite sized ways to educate yourself, check out Glo Atanmo’s 30 Days & 30 Ways To Be a Better Ally. I went through this workbook back in July with some friends and found it both manageable and informative.
Becoming by Michelle Obama*
I didn’t set out to read Becoming as part of my work as an ally/anti-racist, but in reading the former first lady’s memoir I was given the opportunity to learn about a life I will never truly understand. Learning about both her experiences growing up and her early career helped me to understand the unique perspective she and President Obama brought to Washington and where their passion for their work came from.
*The Amazon link to Becoming is an affiliate link. If you follow this link and then later make any Amazon purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’re into online shopping, this is a great way to help support Her Bags Were Packed.
NY Times Presents: The Killing of Breonna Taylor
This important episode of the NY Times Presents investigates the events that led to the killing of Breonna Taylor. This episode of NY Times Presents was really helpful in that it presented all sides of the story, cleared up a lot of information, had multiple reliable sources, explained where the police were coming from but also laid out mistakes that were made.
If you have resources that you would like suggest, please drop them in the comments below.