21 Day Racial Equity Challenge

Day 9 Theme: Interpersonal Racism: How can we change our own racist behavior and effectively call people in and intervene in racist behavior?

Interpersonal racism is real. It may not always play itself out in outrageous and overtly intentional ways, but rather show up in subtle and ignorant ways. All people—especially White people—have a role in calling out racism and bigotry, and this can be a difficult and uncomfortable process. Even if it isn’t difficult or uncomfortable for some, it can be difficult to call out racism and bigotry in a way that is ultimately productive. Effectively inviting someone who has said or done something that perpetuates racism to change or to consider changing can be quite perplexing.

We invite you to read Detour Spotting for Anti-Racists (linked below) and 9 phrases allies can say when called out instead of getting defensive (also linked below), and reflect on how you have responded to criticism of something you’ve said or done.

We also invite you to engage with some of the following resources and consider how you see your own role and responsibility around “calling in” (as opposed to “calling out” or shaming) others in your family, community, workplace, or school:

Interrupting Racism: Our Role and Responsibility as White Allies (linked below)

Southern Poverty Law Center’s guidance on addressing bigotry in a variety of everyday situations (linked below)

A Trip to the Grocery Store, a 4-minute video about leveraging privilege to intervene. (linked below Joy DeGruy)

As a segue into the next two days of the Challenge, we invite you to watch the 16-minute Ted Talk by Baratunde Thurston regarding calls to the police to gain a better understanding of how racism at the individual level is translated into racism at the institutional and structural levels.

Reflect & Respond:

Have you ever been "called-in" before for something you said which impacted someone negatively? How did you feel internally? How did those feelings affect your response to the person who pointed out that what you said or did was problematic? After reading these articles, is there anything you would do differently in the future?

Are you comfortable with intervening around racist behavior? If so, what have you found effective? What has not worked? If you have not been able to intervene productively, why not? What is needed to be able to do this?

9 Phrases Allies Can Say When Called Out Instead of Getting DefensiveDefensiveness seems to be the most common response to getting called out – and allies aren’t saying these phrases nearly enough.

Speak Up: Responding to Everyday BigotryThe Southern Poverty Law Center gathered hundreds of stories of everyday bigotry from people across the United States. They told their stories through e-mail, personal interviews and at roundtable discussions in four cities. People spoke about encounters in stores and restaurants, on streets and in schools. No matter the location or relationship, the stories echo each other.

How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a timeBaratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally "living while black." In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing -- while challenging us all to level up.