Anti-Oppression: Anti-Racism

Racial Microaggressions are commonplace verbal or behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults in relation to race. They are structurally based and invoke oppressive systems of racial hierarchy. Racial Microinvalidations, Microinsults, Microassaults are specific types of microaggressions.

Note: The prefix “micro” is used because these are invocations of racial hierarchy at the individual level (person to person), where as the "macro" level refers to aggressions committed by structures as a whole (e.g. an organizational policy). "Micro" in no way minimalizes or otherwise evaluates the impact or seriousness of the aggressions.

Further Reading: 

• • 
• • Simmons SLIS Microaggressions
• • 21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On A Daily Basis
• • No, You’re Not Imagining It: 3 Ways Racial Microaggressions Sneak into Our Lives
• • I, Too, Am Harvard
• • The Harmful History of “Gypsy”
• • Living with Racial Battle Fatigue: Why Fighting Microaggressions Can Feel Like Treading Water
• • What If White People Had to Deal with Racist Microaggressions?
• • If Native Americans Said the Stuff White People Say (Video)
• • How to Be An Ally to Someone Experiencing Microaggressions
• • Common Words and Phrases That Have Seriously Racist Roots

Tokenism is presence without meaningful participation. For example, a superficial invitation for participation without ongoing dialogue and support, handpicked representatives who are expected to speak for the whole (socially oppressed) group (e.g. ‘tell us how women experience this issue’). Tokenism is often used as a band-aid solution to help the group improve its image (e.g. ‘we’re not racist, look there’s a person of colour on the panel.’). (from Sustainable Campuses)

Similarly, this attitude of "one is enough/they're all the same" contributes to the mindset that one person of color or one native person can stand in for all people of color and native people respectively. Not only is it problematic and illogical to assume that one individual's perspective and experiences can be generalized to millions of other people, it also promotes to the idea that a friendship, relationship, or just exposure to one or a few people of color or native people negates racist thoughts, ideas, or behavior toward others (i.e. "I'm not a racist, my boyfriend is black" or "My costume isn't racist--my best friend is First Nation and she thinks it's hilarious").

Further Reading:

• • Stereotype Threat, Tokenism, and Implicit Racism
• • Inclusivity or Tokenism
• • Erasure hurts. #RepresentationMatters. (video)
• • Let Her Learn from the National Women's Law Center (video)
• • Framed: The Politics of Stereotypes in News (video)
• • The myth about smart black kids and “acting white” that won’t die
• • Black Twitter recalls the times they were mistaken for the help #IDontWorkHere
• • Demythologizing Diversity in Higher Education
• • Tokenism, Racial Stereotypes & Why We Need More Directors of Color
• • 4 Reasons Why the Lack of Asian Americans in Hollywood Is Completely Absurd

Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity. This not only amounts to a dismissal of the lived experiences of people of color, but also suggests that racism does not exist so long as one ignores it.

I don't see color. I just see people.

We're all just people.

I don't care if you're black, white, green, or purple-polka-dotted!

#AllLivesMatter

At face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — actually living up to Dr. King's  ideal of judging people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to combat racism or heal racial wounds on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that, in the end, operates as a form of racism. (from PsychologyToday.com)

Mic

Mic correspondent Darnell L. Moore lays down the definitive takedown of #AllLivesMatter everyone needs to hear.

Further reading: 

• • Colorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism
• • 5 Signs Your Idea of ‘Intersectionality’ Is Anti-Black Racism In Disguise
• • 7 Reasons Why 'Colorblindness' Contributes to Racism Instead of Solving It
• • The Top 10 Phrases Used by People Who Claim They Are Not Racist
• • When you say 'you don't see race,' you're ignoring racism, not helping to solve it
• • 3 Facts You May Not Know About the Racist Origins of ‘Colorblindness’
• • It's Time You Realize #AllLivesMatter Is Racist
• • #AllLivesDidntMatter
• • If People Applied “All Lives Matter” Logic To Everyday Life

• • Racist Violence in America
• • Black Rage (#BlackLivesMatter Edition) by Lauryn Hill (video)
• • Black parents explain to their kids how to deal with police (video)
• • Killed By Police
• • Reina Gossett: Historical Erasure as Violence (Video)
• • On the Erasure of Violence and the Violence of Erasure
• • Korryn Gaines and the Erasure of Violence Against Black Women
• • Fighting ‘Erasure’
• • Racism and Gun Violence Are Killing Us, Literally
• • Stop Law Enforcement Violence
• • 11 Times Police Successfully Disarmed White People Without Killing Anyone
• • 4 #BlackLivesMatter Myths Debunked (Video)
• • Moonlight, Trayvon, the Oscars, and America’s Fear of Black Boys
• • Systemic racism and misogyny are killing Queer and Trans People of Color every day
• • The Shocking Rates Of Violence And Abuse Facing Native American Kids
• • Understanding Prejudice: Test Your Native IQ
• • America's People of Color Aren't Even Safe from Police Violence in School
• • 5 Ways Black People Experience Non-Physical Violence on College Campuses
• • Why The Media Pays Less Attention To Police Killings Of Latinos
• • Police Violence Against Native People
• • The hard lives — and high suicide rate — of Native American children on reservations
• • The Truth about Police Violence Against Minorities, What #BlackLivesMatter isn’t Talking About
• • Asian Americans and Police Brutality
• • Forgiveness in Charleston isn't absolution for 400 years of racial violence in America

Practicing Self-Care

For People of Color & Native People in Crisis

• • Samaritans Suicide Helpline (Mass.): (877) 870-4673
• • Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741-741
• • Lifeline Crisis Chat (Online Messaging)
• • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255
• • RAINN 24/7 Hotline: 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673)
• • RAINN Live Chat (National Sexual Assault Online Hotline)
• • National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: (800) 799-7233 (calls are anonymous)
• • Hate Crimes Reporting (Mass.gov)
• • Mental Health Resources for Queer and Transgender Communities of Color (Boston area)
• • What to Do If Your Rights Are Violated at a Demonstration or Protest (ACLU.org)

Coping Strategies

      

Community Education & Support

Local & National Support Organizations

White Privilege

In the U.S., white privilege is the lived experience of greater social/political access, representation and entitlement, and material and economic security that people considered white have as a result of white supremacy. It's important to note that while many white people are oppressed on the basis of class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religion, culture, ethnicity, etc, it is still true that ALL white people benefit from white privilege in various ways.

Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin Di Angelo from GCORR

• • A Definitive Guide to White Privilege
• • White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
• • Product Review: The Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege from L.L. Bean
• • White Privilege Explained in 5 Minutes (video)
• • Liabilities Of White Privilege: How White Privilege Hurts White People
• • How To Explain White Privilege Exists: 7 Common Arguments, Debunked
• • Dear Fellow White People
• • White Privilege and Native American
• • So you say you’ve got white privilege. Now what?
• • What I Said When My White Friend Asked for My Black Opinion on White Privilege

Reverse Racism is a term created and used by white people to deny white privilege. Those in denial use the term "reverse racism" to refer to hostile behavior by people of color toward whites and to affirmative action policies which allegedly give ‘preferential treatment’ to people of color over whites. However, while people of color can certainly exhibit prejudice against white people, in North America that prejudice is not supported by a system of institutional power. And despite some public opinion to the contrary, studies show the largest group to benefit from affirmative action policies is white women. (adapted from "Definitions & Descriptions of Racism") 

White Fragility

White fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as tears, argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. 

White people in North America live in a social environment that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. This insulated environment of racial protection builds white expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering the ability to tolerate racial stress, leading to...White Fragility. (from DiAngelo, White Fragility)

• • White Fragility
• • Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
• • On White Fragility
• • An extended interview on the theory of white fragility
• • White Fragility is Real: 4 Questions White People Should Ask Themselves During Discussions About Race
• • The Sugarcoated Language of White Fragility
• • Stop Your White Fragility--It's Racial Violence and Here's Why
• • Uprooting White Fragility: Intersectional Anti-Racism in the "Post-Racial" Ethical Foodscape (Video)
•  

Robin DiAngelo on White Fragility

​Being a Supportive Ally

A- always center the impacted
L- listen & learn from those who live in the oppression
L- leverage your privilege
Y-yield the floor

— Kayla Reed (@RE_invent_ED) June 13, 2016