Writing
Can It Be Insincere for White People to Focus on Race and Racism?
Have you ever heard the saying, "When pointing a finger, three fingers are pointing back at you"? A decade ago, white people were reticent in acknowledging it; however, today, we've become slightly more comfortable pointing the finger at racism. We’ve also grown comfortable pointing at the most obvious forms of racism, like prejudiced thoughts, micro aggressions, and police violence. And we certainly love pointing out racism when it’s abstract: as something that lives outside of ourselves and doesn’t implicate us personally. Still, as we point our index finger outward and at racism, three fingers remain pointing back at us.
Three Words to Expunge from Our Vocabulary So We Don't Reinforce White Supremacy
Language is constantly changing, and terms come and go. However, racism and white supremacy are omnipresent and equally evolving. For instance, the difference between the words slave and enslaved perfectly encapsulates white supremacy's struggle to maintain itself today. The word slave is a problematic term that is often used today when discussing U.S. American history. Not only is the word a relic of 17th century white supremacy, it purposefully erodes the truth and romanticizes the condition of enslaving human beings.
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
― Toni Morrison