Now What? How to Keep Yourself Accountable
Now What?
How to keep yourself accountable to dismantling systemic racism.
A disclaimer before I start: I am an Asian woman from a middle-class background, and I am writing this article from that point of view. I myself have experienced microaggressions and have been gaslit for calling racist behaviour out, but I am still aware of the vast privilege I have received as well. I have written this article both from the perspective of a BIPOC who has been negatively affected by white supremacy and the perspective of someone in this global community who wants to remain accountable to dismantling systemic racism.
Illustration by Alexandra McDermott Brown.
Like most social media waves, the #BLM movement across the world is slowly becoming less and less visible as the weeks churn on. While there are still a number of people who continue to post informatively online, a majority of our feeds are slowly returning to new summer product releases, sunny outfits in the Meadows, and the celebration of lockdown slowly coming to an end. I think it’s completely normal to want to focus on positive aspects of life at the moment in such an unsure time, but we cannot allow the return of a complacent and ignorant ‘normal’ when it comes to race and equality for BIPOC. Instead, the next step for us is to reshape our ‘normal’ into something that restructures the way we perceive and understand race. There are two key steps to keeping up anti-racist momentum, even after the news cycle has died down: Educate yourself and practice what you preach.
Educate yourself.
Educating yourself is the most vital step that allows you to remain accountable in dismantling white supremacy. The way in which we are raised and the culture we are constantly surrounded by is often discriminatory towards BIPOC people, which allows for macroaggressions towards that group to occur. There has been such a wide spread of information through social media, which is always a great place to start research. Follow the official accounts of racial justice movements and organisations; choose to click on those amazing graphics you see shared on your friends’ stories instead of just tapping your finger on the screen to move on; chase down those recommended resources you see online.
Books are your best friend. As an English Literature student, I could go into a long ramble about the importance of books in restructuring thoughts and beliefs. Here is a starter bibliography for all your educational needs:
1. Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World by Layla Saad – This workbook actively helps you understand and dismantle the privilege within yourself so you can stop (consciously and unconsciously) inflicting damage towards people of colour.
2. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge – In this book, Eddo-Lodge explores issues face by black people within the U.K., ranging from whitewashed feminism to the link between class and race. You can read an excerpt of the book here, but I can safely say this book was one of the best I’ve read with regards to race issues within the U.K. specifically.
3. How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi – Kendi discusses the transformative concept of ‘anti-racism’ in this book, examining the way in which we as a society can liberate ourselves from systemic racism with novel ways of thinking about our racial identities as well as those of others. It also discusses the role of racism in other social issues surrounding sexuality, gender identity, body types and class.
4. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney – This is such an interesting examination of how the way in which Africa was exploited by the West has resulted in global inequality and the racist social system we find ourselves in now.
5. Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women A Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall – This is a collection of essays that examines the modern feminist movement which has failed to include women of colour. This is a must-read for all would-be feminists as it calls on us to live out the true meaning of the movement in an active and inclusive way.
Another way to learn is to listen. There are some amazing BIPOC-run podcasts that tackle issues ranging from the irritating microaggressions faced every day to the systemic obstacles put into place by white privilege:
1. No Country for Young Women (Spotify, Apple Podcasts and BBC Online) – Sadia Azmat and Monty Onanuga are two of the funniest presenters I have ever encountered in a podcast, speaking of what it’s like to live in a white man’s world. They bring light to life as a coloured person in the U.K. through anecdotes and interviews with other BIPOC guests!
2. 1619 (Spotify and Apple Podcasts) – “An audio series from The Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery.”
3. About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge (Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the official website) – In this podcast, Eddo-Lodge challenges the idea that we live in a ‘post-colonial’ world and speaks of how colonialism is the root for issues such as classism, sexism, racism and homophobia. She also utilises anecdotes to expose the overt forms of systemic racism and teaches listeners to organise themselves in a way that elevates marginalised voices.
A third way to educate yourself? TV shows, documentaries, and movies. Instead of re-watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S for the sixth time in a row, try and watch a show that centres around BIPOC culture and educates you about the hardship they face because of white supremacy. Here are a few that deal directly with issues faced by BIPOC because of systemic racism:
1. Dear White People (Series) – This series follows the lives of black students and explores the cultural bias, racial injustice and misguided activism they face in the predominantly white Winchester University.
2. The Hate U Give (Film) – Starr Carter spends her days balancing her world in her predominantly black neighbourhood and her life in her mostly white, rich prep school. All of this is shattered when she witnesses her childhood friend murdered by a white police officer.
3. The Colour Purple (Film) – The film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel is a stunning and moving masterpiece that brings to light the struggles faced by African-American women because of their low position within American society. This film was deprived of a much-deserved Academy Award, demonstrating the way in which the white-washed film industry REALLY needs to get its affairs in order.
4. When They See Us (Series) – This series follows the story of the Central Park Five, who were falsely accused of assaulting and raping a white woman. They maintained their innocence and spent years trying to fight the convictions to be exonerated. The twenty-five-year timeline follows the teens as they are accused in 1989 to the settlement reached in 2014, revealing the racial bias and injustice within American law enforcement and its judicial system.
5. The 13th (Documentary Series) – The 13th is a docuseries directed by Ava DuVernay that focuses especially on the racial equality within America’s prisons, which are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
Looking for more recommendations? Stand With BLM has collated even MORE sources for you to check out. You can find them here.
Practice what you preach.
Okay, I’ve read all the books, listened to all the podcasts and spent hours watching documentaries and films. Now what? Well, friend, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. Educating yourself should always be followed with putting your newfound knowledge into practice and keep a few things in mind as you go about your day.
1. Don’t get offended if you get called out for racist behaviour and don’t gaslight your BIPOC friends.
Let’s talk about this thing called ‘White Fragility’.
First things first, every white person has white privilege and has benefited from it in one way or another. That is a fact. It would be unfair to demand that you fix such a system overnight. Educating yourself may lead to revelations that you are actually perpetuating a lot of racist and oppressive actions towards BIPOC. However, the key to staying accountable is acknowledging the harm you have caused and do something about it.
‘White fragility’ is when white people respond to being called out for racist behaviour with ‘it’s just a joke’ or ‘don’t be so sensitive’ or with the worst one of all: ‘I’m not racist, I have a (insert race) friend.’ This is gaslighting, and gaslighting your BIPOC friends makes them question if their experience was real (which it most definitely was). It makes them feel like they aren’t allowed to speak up for themselves. When you do this, you’re proclaiming your self-image is more important than listening to their pain. It diminishes their voices and makes them believe that it’s better for them to suffer in silence. What do you do instead? Well, believe it or not, one of the greatest things you can offer to your BIPOC friends is a listening ear. After centuries of forced silence and gaslighting, it is time for you to take accountability for your micro and macroaggressions. Instead of making the situation about you, stop and really listen to what they have to say and then actually work to change your actions.
2. Recognise behaviours in yourself that don’t actually benefit the cause and choose to do better.
This is an issue I’ve definitely seen myself with a few of my white friends. Feeling guilty about benefiting from an inherently racist system has often led to a very aggressive approach to activism that actually doesn’t benefit the cause. In fact, outrage can be seen as tiring or hurtful for BIPOC who have been angry about racial issues for centuries. By suddenly voicing your outrage, you are stating that you are only now understanding racism because it affects you. Instead focus on educating yourself on the history of racism and process your outrage privately. This doesn’t mean you stop posting educational information online or that you don’t call someone out for racist behaviour, instead it means you remove yourself from the position of ‘white saviour’ and actually commit to anti-racism. Additionally, shaming others is not something you have the right to do.
Remember that allyship is rooted in learning from your mistakes, processing your shortcomings, doing better next time and encouraging others to do the same.
3. Keep calling out unacceptable behaviour.
There’s always the risk of being gaslit, of being told you’re being ‘too sensitive’ or sticking your nose into a problem that you don’t actually understand. I’m here to tell you are heard and you are not at fault, no matter what anyone says. Calling someone out on their microaggressions is not something you should feel ashamed to do. I don’t necessarily suggest you yell at your relatives after they say something politically incorrect, but you definitely have the right to question why they think it’s okay to say such things. Present your perspective calmly and rationally; this is where you can bring up resources that you used to educate yourself and encourage them to do the same. The one of the biggest obstacles for the dismantling of structural racism is not just a lack of education and ignorance, but a lack of voices speaking out against it. Do not be afraid to use your voice because you are scared ‘you’ll get it wrong.’
4. Amplify BIPOC voices.
That being said, it’s totally okay to feel ill-equipped to speak about movements such as #BLM or systemic racism. What you can continue to do is share words, posts and voices of BIPOC people who can speak about these things for all your followers and friends to see. I’m not saying you can revert to complacently sharing well-made infographics and pat yourself on the back for fighting against institutionalised racism. Instead, I am telling you to amplify the voices of those who know first-hand what it feels like to have the system working against you because of the colour of your skin. Help amplify their voices and their struggles by giving them your platform to speak to your friends and followers.
The most important thing of all is to remain active, even when it’s no longer trending online. Keep signing those petitions. Keep donating what you can. Keep educating yourself. Keep listening to your BIPOC friends. Keep amplifying BIPOC voices. Keep questioning racist behaviour. Keep demanding justice for racial violence.
Tessa Rodrigues is a fourth year student at the University of Edinburgh studying English Literature.