Point #1: The vast majority of people in Canada consider themselves non-racist.

If this is true, why is racism so prevalent? And, yes, it is everywhere — in our grocery stores, on the town sidewalks, on the soccer field sidelines, and in our schools. It’s there — every day — in every corner of our community. It can be blatant or subtle, but it’s there.

Maybe, you and I are actually part of the problem. Actually, the odds are pretty good we play a role.

If you are finding this blog post a bit accusatory, that is not my intention. What I’m attempting to do is ensure that you are open to the possibility that you are playing a role in perpetuating racism. Being in the right mindset — open to your own biases, your own privileges, and your own words or behaviours that may be racist — is how we find space to move the important work of anti-racism forward.

Point #2: If we choose to not take clear action when we see racism we actively contribute to it.

It’s time to feel a bit uncomfortable.

“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.”

Peggy McIntosh

• Do you shy away from calling out a racist joke because it makes you uncomfortable?
• Do you dismiss another’s racist words with “Oh, that’s just _____. He/she is always like that.”?
• Do you diminish a racist overture with, “Don’t take offense to that. I’m sure it wasn’t intended in a negative way”?
• Do you shy away from the difficult conversations because you worry that you might upset the other person?

Point #3: If you’re not ready to reflect about your role in racism, you’re not ready to be part of the solution.

I’m a pretty good person — I feel that I’m honest, transparent, consistent and kind. I’d like to think so anyways. And, I’m certainly not racist — or am I? I don’t judge people by the colour of their skin, the religion they practice, nor the language they speak at home.

Until fairly recently, I used to say, “I don’t see colour when I look at people. I judge them on who they are, not what they are.” I have learned that I have been contributing to racism by saying that. How? I was unconsciously diminishing the reality of the person of colour. When I say that I don’t see their colour, I am telling them that their world is colour-blind which it is not.

Point #4: If you’re white like me, you are living in a world of privilege in Canada.

Some examples of white privilege:

• As a white person, I can easily arrange to be in the company of people with my same skin tone.
• When our national heritage is discussed, I see examples of people who look like me.
• I did not have to educate my own children to be aware of systemic racism for their own physical protection.
• If I am pulled over by a police officer, I am sure that it is not because of the colour of my skin.
• If I need medical care, I am confident that I will not be discriminated against because I am white.
• As a child, I was never told that my whiteness would work against me.
• The colour of my skin was never discussed in a conversation about my future ambitions or how I would be treated by the world.

If you’re white you have a distinct advantage over non-white people.

• People of colour often think about their colour and whether it plays a role in other’s actions or decisions. White people do not do this.
• Just because there have been legal changes in civil rights, this does not automatically change the deeply held social construct that there are biologically different races and one race is superior to others.
• Only 0.01% of our genes represent our external appearance. So, 99.99% of our gene expression is invisible to us, yet we use the outward appearance of people to treat them differently.
• There is only one human race, yet we talk about different races of people.

WHITE PRIVILEGE

I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks.

Peggy McIntosh

We live in a society of white privilege. And because of that, I have been advantaged.

Once we accept this fact, our lens of appreciative inquiry will widen to allow for greater understanding. It also provides us with a strong reason to become active anti-racists.

My passion at the moment is to become stronger at anti-racism — for challenging the status quo and holding myself accountable for being a voice of progress. There are ways to do so with respect and calmness, but being quiet or passive is not an option if we want to change our collective mindset.

My next blog post will be a deeper dive into my own learnings on white privilege and the necessary work that lays ahead. I hope you will join me on my journey on being better.

You cannot dismantle what you cannot see. You cannot challenge what you do not understand.

Layla F. Saad (Author of ‘me and white supremacy’)