This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work

by Tiffany Jewell

I do not use the term “minority” to describe Black, Brown, and Indigenous folx because we are the majority in the world.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SEEN AND UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT HAVING TO COMPROMISE WHO YOU ARE.

THE CONCEPT OF RACE IS NOT ACTUALLY BASED ON SCIENCE, IT IS A CREATION OF SOCIETY.

Racism is personal prejudice and bias AND the systemic misuse and abuse of power by institutions.

When you only read one account of history through a single lens, you do not have the whole truth.

This relationship can be labeled as white saviorism, in which well-intentioned people believe they can save folx who were stripped of their resources rather than giving back the power and giving up their privilege.

Audre Lorde, an American feminist, writer, and activist said, ”MY SILENCES HAD NOT PROTECTED ME. YOUR SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU.”

YOU CANNOT HEAR SILENCE. INACTION CANNOT BE SEEN. WE CANNOT FEEL THE MOMENTUM OF CHANGE IF NOTHING HAPPENS.

“IT IS IMPORTANT TO SEE AND ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR STUDENTS ARE DIFFERENT. BY WORKING TO ACTIVELY NOT SEE THE RACE/SKIN COLOR OF YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES, YOU ARE DENYING THEM. YOU ARE DENYING THEM THEIR HISTORIES. YOU ARE DENYING THEM THEIR RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND. YOU ARE BASICALLY SAYING YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT WHO THEY ARE. YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE THEM THE SAME, AND FIT INTO THE IMAGINARY BOX. YOUR CLASSROOM ONLY TEACHES THE DOMINANT CULTURE OF WHITE SUPREMACY.”

COMFORT WILL NOT END RACISM.

“BY NOT ALLOWING YOURSELF TO SEE SOMEONE’S RACE, YOU ARE NOT SEEING THEM AS A WHOLE PERSON. YOU ARE LOOKING AT THEM THROUGH A SKEWED LENS. YOU SEE THEM ONLY HOW YOU WANT TO SEE THEM. YOU ARE LOOKING AT THEM THROUGH YOUR LENS OF COMFORT. YOU ARE NOT SEEING YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES HOW THEY WANT TO AND NEED TO BE SEEN.”

You can address their claim of not being racist with the quote from political activist, scholar, and author Angela Davis: “In a racist society, it’s not enough to be nonracist, we must be anti-racist.”

“WHEN YOU KNOW BETTER, DO BETTER.”

To spend your privilege is to use your power and to change perceived normality.

“TO ACCEPT ONE’S PAST—ONE’S HISTORY—IS NOT THE SAME THING AS DROWNING IN IT; IT IS LEARNING HOW TO USE IT. AN INVENTED PAST CAN NEVER BE USED; IT CRACKS AND CRUMBLES UNDER THE PRESSURES OF LIFE LIKE CLAY IN A SEASON OF DROUGHT.” BE YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF.

“IF YOU HAVE COME HERE TO HELP ME, YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME. BUT IF YOU HAVE COME BECAUSE YOUR LIBERATION IS BOUND UP WITH MINE, THEN LET US WORK TOGETHER.” —Lilla Watson, Indigenous Australian artist, activist, and academic