A Stepladder to Antiracism
Dear community,
Tell me: how brightly is the fire of anger about racism burning in you today?
Two days into July, many of us are probably thinking less — or at least less fervently —about antiracism than we were one month ago.
The truth is that without the constant drumbeat of national protest and news updates, even the fights most important to us can easily — and unintentionally — fade into background noise. We tell ourselves that this shift in our attention is normal, it is human. After all, many of us have big lives and responsibilities outside of the causes we care most passionately about. No one, not even full-time activists, can be in the fight 100% of the time (and as a former full-time activist, I unequivocally agree with that statement!)
But when it comes to racism, just because a shift in attention is a natural one, that does not make it an *acceptable* one. And, it demonstrates a deadly form of white privilege: BIPOC can never stop thinking about the weight of racism, and how it shapes the world. Black people can never let their guard down from the racism that could kill them.
One of the many ways white supremacy has remained entrenched is by being exhausting to think about all the time. White supremacy wants white people to get burnt out on fighting white supremacy. That feeling is by design. It keeps oppressive systems in power.
Mass mobilization to fight racism is hundreds of years younger than racism and the systems of white supremacy. It is absolutely critical that individually, we fight any impulse to allow antiracism to fade into background noise already. Especially as our social media feeds and local news begin to turn their attention elsewhere.
I think you are here because you probably already agree with this. You don’t want the fight of antiracism to fade into the background in your community, or in your personal life.
That’s why I’m so excited that it is July, and our reading officially begins this week.
This week, we begin our book club with the texts So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo, and Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad.
Given how easy it is for humans to start out with good intentions to become dedicated to a cause, but then their enthusiasm fizzles out, there has been some rightful critique over the past few weeks about what it means when people, especially white people, are faced with racist violence, and turn to books. A recent Washington Post op-ed pointed out how harmful this can be, especially if people pat themselves on the back for having bought the book or joined the club before they even do the difficult unlearning.
That op-ed had critiques that Lori and I found valid, and considered and discussed seriously. But one of our book club authors, Ibram X. Kendi, took a different view when he shared his own antiracist reading list in the New York Times a few weeks ago:
“To build a nation of equal opportunity for everyone, we need to dismantle this spurious legacy of our common upbringing. One of the best ways to do this is by reading books. Not books that reinforce old ideas about who we think we are, what we think America is, what we think racism is. Instead, we need to read books that are difficult or unorthodox, that don’t go down easily. Books that force us to confront our self-serving beliefs and make us aware that “I’m not racist” is a slogan of denial... Think of it as a stepladder to antiracism, each step addressing a different stage of the journey toward destroying racism’s insidious hold on all of us.”
As you begin your readings this week, I ask you to think about where you are at on your own personal stepladder to antiracism, and what this phase of the journey means for you.
I want to share some questions that I am asking myself about the commitment I am making to antiracist reading, and where that reading fits in my broader commitment to antiracism. I encourage you to consider these, or your own questions, as you embark on this week’s readings:
How will I hold myself accountable to keep up with my reading commitments, even when things get busy?
Am I giving myself enough space to truly metabolize what I’m learning, or am I rushing through this to “check a box”?
How will I hold myself accountable to ensure that I do not treat reading as “doing enough” while being passive in other parts of my life that necessitate antiracist dedication? What actions will I commit to taking outside of reading?
How will I monitor my actions to ensure that my antiracist intentions and my actions align? If I find I am being hypocritical, how will I be held accountable?
As you ponder these questions, I would love to hear your thoughts, and how you are feeling as we take another step on the ladder towards antiracism. I am so deeply looking forward to this next stage of learning and unlearning together.
As a reminder, our reading schedule is here, and if you still need to get your hands on the books, you can check out our resources here on how to do so while supporting Black business owners.
Additionally, many folks responded to the survey saying that they would offer financial support to help those who cannot afford the books (thank you!). If you are experiencing a financial barrier to participation in this book club, please email us so we can connect you with financial resources to obtain the books.
In community,
Jess
We are taking action by...
As we think about how the 4th of July does not signify true freedom in the United States when so many people in the United States cannot be free as they are criminalized and incarcerated, we are continuing our mini-matching fundraising campaign for Survived and Punished through July 6. Survived and Punished “organizes to de-criminalize efforts to survive domestic and sexual violence, support and free criminalized survivors, and abolish gender violence, policing, prisons, and deportations.” We have raised $270 from this community, including our matches! We’d love your help increasing that number a bit. Feel free to make a donation directly and send a confirmation to our email (learnunlearn@gmail.com) or to Lori’s instagram (@lothomsco), or send money via PayPal to Lori and she will donate it on your behalf as part of our lump sum.
We are reading...
Book Club Schedule: Introduction through Chapter 3 of So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Book Club Schedule: Foreword, Part I: Welcome To the Work, and Appendix: Working in Groups: Me and White Supremacy Book Circles (in the back of the book!) of Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
This recent Glamour interview with Ijeoma Oluo about how she’d much rather be in a moment where her book isn’t needed, and how she is contextualizing this turn in the tide.
This beautiful essay about generations of protest, and the grief and contradiction Black Americans experienced one month ago by Saeed Jones, poet and author of the memoir How We Fight For Our Lives
We are listening to...
A note from Lori: I’ve been obsessed — and I mean obsessed — with listening to Code Switch while I make dinner as well as while I’ve been unpacking (Jess and I both moved across our respective countries this week). The episodes I’ve been loving are…
The Undocumented Americans (about the book by the same name)
And one that I think is really important in regards to what Jess had to say above as well as our understanding of this moment... Why now, white people?
We are watching...
Hi, Lori again…
Season 2 of Pose FX on Netflix
So, accountability time. I knew that I needed to expose myself to positive depictions of trans women, and especially trans women of color, in order to work through the negative biases that have been instilled in me through living in a transphobic world. These are meaningful, inspired, nuanced stories that depict trans people as they are: people. For those who may not know, the show centers around the underground Ballroom scene in NYC during the height of the AIDS epidemic. This will be a piece of television I carry with me forever.
While you’re at it, watch Disclosure on Netflix! It’s Laverne Cox’s new documentary about trans representation in the media and it truly has me thinking so much about the importance of trans people playing trans characters.
This week I also watched The Feminist in Cellblock Y, which is about a group of incarcerated men doing anti-patriarchy work from inside prison. We love to see it.