How Am I Not A Racist If I Soaked In It?
"I am ignorant about many racist things, but I am not a racist . " Why do we often hear such a statement, and consider it a valid response by millions of white Americans? Maybe three percent of Americans would call themselves white supremacists, or express clearly racist views. And if that was the extent of our "racist problem" in America, there would be almost no need for antiracists. Yet it is our complacency, or our mostly bystander status that allows our racist historical inertia to continue oppressing black Americans. When you, a white person, say something critical about black Americans in general, black activists and/or those who you may see as their spokespersons, then say, " But I am not racist" , you are very likely wrong. First, realize that few white people are, or ever have been, purely non-racist. It is like saying, "As to quantum mechanics, I work with a few quantum people, I have thought about it, saw some memes, heard on a podcas