How To Be An Antiracist

“We are divided on how much we deny to be racist and we are united on how much we consider ourselves to be anti-racist.” The statement was delivered by Dr. Ibram X Kendi, one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices, during his talk at Colorado College that I had the opportunity to attend on February 5th. The amazing talk offers me an insight into the mind of a racist, made me realize that people are the victims of the wrong and widespread use of the term “racist,” and the sacred duty of an antiracist. In today’s life, people who support racist policies often consider their ideas to be not racist. This tendency can be traced back to the slave era in which slaveholders believed that their mistreatment and cruel behavior against African American slaves was God’s law and demand. They used the argument that black people are inherently designed to be slaves, and that nature has decided black and white people cannot live together in a community, which led to the advent of Jim Crow segregation. This idea persists through decades and exists in many forms, from the widely portrayed African American villains on television in the early 70s to the mass incarceration of black people in today’s society. People believe that they can make America safer by locking up the African American people, who, under their viewpoint, are brutal predators and animals that create all the problems and chaos. When society sees a single person of color committing negative actions, it tends to generalize and attribute negativity to a whole community of color.

Kendi asserts that the majority of people who claim they are not racist cannot define the term “racist”, or they are likely to give a vague or abstract definition. People often have conversations about racism without being aware that each person has his or her own definition of the issue, which ostensibly results in an unfruitful discussion. The term “racist” turns out to be meaningless, and its only use is to deny someone’s racism. I was surprised by Kendi’s argument that people can be both racist and antiracist, and that in one literary paragraph can contain both racist and antiracist opinions and ideas. I realized that being racist or antiracist is not by how we claim we are, but it is the reflection of our daily conduct.

The impactful speech by Dr. Kendi significantly enriched my knowledge about the crippling issue of racism and the collective ignorance behind it. Studying in a diverse environment, I hear different voices, observe different skin colors, and try different cultural cuisine on a daily basis. Therefore, as a member of the Honor Council, I strive to educate people about the importance of having an antiracist mindset and foster an inclusive community. It is my lifelong duty to recognize the similarities between races and embrace the differences between cultures .