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

by Tiffany Jewell

We have been taught to categorize people based on their skin color, their nation of origin, and their physical features by the people with the most power.

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.

If stories of resistance and accomplishments are purposefully left out of our history books or told from the perspective of those in the dominant culture, we have no voice. No one knows who we are and that we exist. The legacy we are left with is one that has been shaped by the oppressors.

You have a voice. Use it. Speak the truth. Share it with others. Choosing silence is not an option. Audre Lorde, an American feminist, writer, and activist said, ”MY SILENCES HAD NOT PROTECTED ME. YOUR SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU.”

When you are silent absolutely nothing changes. You are reinforcing the dominant culture. You are allowing racism to continue on. You not saying anything also tells others you are complicit (okay) with the status quo (how things are).

Remaining silent is not okay. It is not an option. Black folx, Brown folx, Indigenous folx, and Folx of the Global Majority are being harmed, oppressed, and killed every day. If you are white, light (like me), or a non-Black Person of the Global Majority, use your privilege and your proximity (or closeness) to the center of the dominant culture box to fracture the very foundation of our racist society. If you keep doing this and continue to put more cracks and dents into the structure, you’ll shake it all up so it can crumble.

You are not alone even if you are the only one using your voice and speaking truth at the moment. It is okay if people are not happy with this. It is okay for them to be uncomfortable. Racism is not a comfortable existence for Black, Brown, and Indigenous Folx of the Global Majority. 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.”