Are You An Anti Racist?

By Dominique DiPrima

As our nation takes to the streets to protest police violence…And finds the way forward towards meaningful solutions, there has been a lot of talk about anti-racism. What does it mean to proactively fight against conscious and unconscious bias? Ibrahim X. Kendi, author or “How to Be An Anti Racist” defines racism as: “One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea…” By that measure doing nothing to stop white supremacy is the same as being racist. Looking through this lens we can see that being racist isn’t about who you like or don’t like or who you dated or didn’t date. It is about whether you show up to actively challenge racist policies or ideas or support them by inaction as an accomplice to inequality. Are you an anti-racist? This is a Call to Consciousness…Whether you crack a book like Joy DeGruys’ Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Robin D’Angelo’s White Fragility or Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow or  watch a powerful documentary like Ava Duvernay’s 13^th or I Am Not Your Negro on the life of James Baldwin – not knowing more doesn’t make sense. If anti racism is the opposite or racism, it’s Time to step up and learn.