You’re Probably Not Racist
You are more than likely ignorant though.
Over the course of my 33 years, I’ve encountered a lot. Now, before we dive into everything, I do need to point out that not everything is racist. We are often way too quick to say something is racist. Everything is not racist but a lot of things sure as hell are rooted in racism.
I never really encountered racism as a child. I should clarify, I did not encounter overt racism. My parents are immigrants from Panama. We are dark-skinned Hispanics, which is not uncommon but not prominent in culture (that’s changing, just very slowly). So my parents did their absolute best to shield my sister and me from the racism of the world when we were young. My mother was also in the military, so we lived on a military base for years. Everyone hung out together there. So it wasn’t uncommon for me to have a lot of friends of different races and ethnicities. When we moved to Memphis though, things were a bit different.
My family moved to Memphis in 1999, right before the Y2K craziness started. It was a total culture shock for us. Moving from the DC area where things are constantly moving and everything is fast-paced to the south. The south, for those that have not been there or may have forgotten what it’s like, things move much slower… kind of like molasses. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it was definitely a shock.
So after being in Memphis a little while, I started to notice little things. I was treated differently than other kids my age. I didn’t know or understand why though. Now that I am older, I get it but back then, it went right over my head. Again, my parents were great about protecting us from things that would affect us early on. In the 8th grade, however, things really started to change.
Before I really get into that story, I need to clarify something, I was not always the best-behaved kid. I wasn’t rude to anyone (usually) but I kind of acted out in class. Probably because I was bored or unchallenged (more on that at some point, stay tuned) but I was a talker and I rebelled a bit. The one thing that could never be touched were my grades though. And even though my grades were great and I was able to connect with everyone, I was, in my opinion unfairly treated. Like, I said, I am not innocent in all of it but I also was the only one of those students that looked like me. The rest were white or significantly lighter.
Now while those teachers may have held a grudge against me, the racism that I am writing about is not the overt kind. I’m writing about the kind of racism that even those that say it don’t realize it is in itself racist. For me, it was one phrase that I heard constantly… “you speak so well…” When I was young, I’d always say thank you, and that response was always met with, “your parents must have raised you well.” As a kid, I really thought nothing of it. As an adult, I am angered by it. Why? Because telling a young black kid, in my case a young black kid with a strange first name, that he speaks so well, meant that I speak so well for a black boy or that I spoke like a white person. It’s an assumption that all Black people speak a certain way. It’s crazy to say that to someone.
I know some people are thinking, “how is that racist?” Well, again, that isn’t the racist part but you should know better, and it’s ignorant. A lot of people are completely ignorant to the fact that they have been taught racism from a very young age. This is very easy to do because it’s been passed on generation after generation. I’m not calling you a racist but I am pointing out for those that didn’t already get mad about this, that a lot of what you’ve learned is rooted in racist ideas. It isn’t always so subtle. Sometimes it is very in your face, other times it is just by believing in stereotypes that have been passed on because of — you guessed it, racism.
For those of you still with me, we can fix this. First, if a person of color tells you that something is racist or offensive, don’t get upset — listen. You’ll learn something valuable that you can use later and educate those that are within your circle. Second, do your homework. It is not the duty of Black people to educate you, take the initiative, and better yourself so we can all do better. Honestly, just doing those two things will help you be less ignorant towards race issues. There’s no need to be offended by everything, and no, you probably aren’t racist, you just have a lot of unlearning and factual learning to do.