Context: I wrote this as a white American, with white Americans specifically in mind, realizing that my perspective is not the entire story, and with the belief that this issue needs to be engaged with at every level.
Like it or not, we’re inevitably shaped by the culture we live in. And unfortunately, one of the aspects of our culture is white supremacy. Our history is a history of white supremacy, and this means all our systems — government, justice, electoral, media, entertainment, religion — came out of or went through that same history too. Just as epigenetic inheritance indicates our DNA can be shaped by environmental factors and trauma, with those changes passed on to future generations, our systems have been affected by our traumatic history, which means they pass those traumas on to us.
One key way this manifests is through media representation and the associations our brain makes. Our country is still massively segregated in the day-to-day of many citizens. Additionally, the entertainment world — Hollywood, for example — has overwhelmingly sold us stories of white people (especially white men). This means that an average white American, who might have one nominal “Black friend” (if that), who lives and works and socializes with other white people, who watches movie with white leads (aka most Hollywood films) and shows like The Bachelor, will have a limited amount of data in their brain to associate with the concept “Black people”. With few or no Black friends, coworkers, or neighbors, with overwhelmingly white media, what is the keyword “Black person” going to pull up in their internal search history? What they actually have been exposed to, over and over: a bunch of racist beliefs in the culture, and news reports about “Black crime”.
I’ll never forget a lightbulb moment I had after watching Moonlight in theaters. Walking home through my neighborhood, I crossed paths in a crosswalk with a tall, fit Black man. My brain’s first thought was, “Wow, he looks so much like grown-up Chiron” (Trevante Rhodes). Then I realized how Chiron’s story—which I, a white queer American from a rural and religious background, had empathized and identified with—had in that moment overridden previous stories about Black men. I instinctively and naturally saw this stranger as someone I could connect and empathize with, rather than as someone scary, threatening, or criminal. That’s the power of representation—that’s the power of media.
This is why it matters that our systems are tainted and shaped by white supremacy. Because as long as that’s true, white supremacy will also taint and shape us.
So how do we fight the disease in our cultural systems? The most important step is education leading to awareness. How can we fight what we don’t understand? Read about our history; seek out films like I Am Not Your Negro; really listen to what Ta-Nahesi Coates is saying when he talks about “The Case for Reparations” (or anything else).
We don’t always have the bandwidth to dig deep into history, or the energy to face the horrors of our past and present in all moments. I get it: the world is depressing and you’re tired. That is legitimate. At the same time, we can’t turn away. If you’re a person of color, you don’t have the option; if you’re white, it’s an option you must not take. Know this, though: dismantling — or at least chipping away at — white supremacy in your own life doesn’t have to be exhausting and frustrating and difficult. It can also be exhilarating, liberating, and joyous.
The key is diversifying. Your brain aggregates and sorts information, making all kinds of conclusions and associations behind the scenes. Feed your brain good, diverse, positive information.
A few examples of how that can look:
- Instagram: Did you just fall prey to a promoted link and follow the feed of a blonde white fitness model? That’s cool. Now you’re going to search for #blackfitness — or simply #fitness — and pick a person of color whose feed you’d like to follow too.
- Netflix and Hulu: Scrolling around aimlessly looking for the next thing to watch? Commit to watching a TV series or a film with a non-white lead. (Bonus: you’ll enjoy the benefits of immediately narrowing down your options by about 90%! Magic! Sigh.) Feeling intimidated? You can always start with Dear White People, a show about Black people that’s still for you. It says so in the title! ;)
- Facebook, blogs, news: Add diversity to the platforms where you consume news and thought-pieces. Follow writers of color. Follow female writers of color. Follow female queer or trans writers of color! Find diverse thinkers whose work speaks to you, and add them to your news aggregators.
- Support minority-owned businesses and projects. Online and offline, seek out brands and companies started and run by racialized and marginalized folks. First, this action will contribute a tiny amount in an easily-accessible way toward rectifying hundreds of years of economic unfairness, and it will widen your horizons and expose you to new products, as well as valuable insights. I’ll never forget being at a Black friend’s baby shower years ago and noticing how BLINDINGLY WHITE all the babies on packaging of the gifts were. Cards, balloons, blankets, diapers — the default baby everywhere was white, white, white. One suggestion for freelancers and online content creators: nappy.co, a free stock-photo site with photos of brown and Black people (where I got the images for this post).
So you’re convinced — you’re ready to diversify. I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on things that can go awry. Without further ado, some common pitfalls to avoid:
- Avoid jumping into the conversation. If you’re suddenly in a space that is not predominantly white (say, you discovered Black Twitter like Columbus discovering America, as if a long-standing thing didn’t exist until you showed up), it can be tempting to speak up to show off and prove you belong there, to argue, or even to ask questions. Sit down and shut up. The point of the exercise is to learn, and to give your brain a new set of data to sort. The more time you spend talking, the less you’ll be learning. Lurk.
- Don’t adopt or attempt to ‘appreciate’ until you’re sure you understand appropriation. The world does not need more white people misusing or attempting to profit off Black slang, American Indian culture, or any other minoritized culture or heritage. If the mere concept of appropriation is insulting, frustrating, and/or confusing to you, that’s okay! Take it as an encouraging indicator that you’ve got a lot to learn. Then see #1 and be quiet long enough to learn about it.
- Be prepared to have your feelings hurt, be offended, or get confused. When you enter traditionally non-white spaces, you may be exposed to new ideas and concepts. Not all of these will feel comfortable to you. You may encounter (heaven forbid) people of color complaining about “white people”. If your experience in a non-white space leads you to feel less-than-great, take a deep breath. This is how people of color feel very, very often in spaces where you feel at home. Your feelings are not invalid, but they are also not the entire story. There’s something to learn here too. Don’t react; you don’t even need to respond, the first time or twentieth. Think, learn, feel into it — and realize if it hits a sore spot, that means there’s a sore spot to be hit. If it wasn’t relevant to you or true or if you weren’t afraid that it might be, then it probably wouldn’t bother you so. Which leads me to my final point:
- Don’t make it all about you. Remember you’re a guest in someone else’s home — as are we all, in this wild world, in the end. Bring your manners, bring your gratitude.
Let me be clear: none of this is a magic bullet for racism and white supremacy. But diversification pays dividends — for society, for the people you encounter, and most of all for you. So let it broaden your horizons. Diversify your life. Diversify the information in your mind. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find that these actions diversify your heart.
