Me and White Supremacy

Me and White Supremacy

Adult nonfiction
"I'm Layla, and for (at least!) the next twenty-eight day's, I'm
going to be guiding you on a journey to help you explore and unpack
your relationship with white supremacy. This book is a one-of-a-kind
personal antiracism tool structured to help people with white
privilege understand and take ownership of their participation in the
oppressive system of white supremacy. It is designed to help them take
responsibility for dismantling the way that this system manifests,
both within themselves and within their communities."
Normally the chances that I'd give a book like this the one
chapter a day approach it deserves are slim to nonexistent. I'd read
it right through and review it because of time constraints. But, hey,
there are no library late fees during a pandemic. And without a job
or school work I've got nothing but time. So I'm going to give the
book due dilligence. I'm starting this review on day one. You'll get
to read it a month later.
This book began as a twenty-eight-day Instagram challenge which
morphed into a digital PDF before taking its present form. It shreds
the notion that there are bad racist people who could be epitomized by
the "fine people" lionized by a certain White president or Archie
Bunker, lead character in a now defunct tv series, and good nonracist
people who "don't see color, just people" and maybe call relatives on
racist remarks over Thanksgiving turkey. Ever since Whites started
buying Blacks kidnapped from Africa to do the heavy lifting (and any
other sweat inducing or minion level work) White supremacy has been,
as Critical Race Theory tells us, systemic, ubiquitous, and invisible
to the people who benefit from it. To cure it by being a "good
person" and converting others is about as useful as curing breast
cancer by placing a bandage over the lump. All of us who were born
White participate in and benefit from White supremacy not because we
are "bad" but because we were born and indoctrinated into a society
where it is as fundamental as the Constitution.
Let me give you an example. A White police officer shoots an
unarmed black man. A lot of people will describe him as one bad apple
in an otherwise pristine barrel. When he had a split second to make a
life or death decision he erred. However, he works within a system
and a community that largely perceives Blacks as more dangerous and
thuggish than Whites. Why did he stop this person in the first
place? Maybe there was a call from a White person. Recall internet
infamous Becky who reported a family group barbequing while Black?
Maybe he did his own racial profiling. In stores security guards are
much more likely to follow Black customers around. And drivers of
color are pulled over by cops in numbers way out of proportion to
their percentage in the population. As for his fear that his life was
in danger, would he have felt the same way if the person he shot was
White?
The book is divided into twenty-eight chapters. Each is
focussed on a facet of White supremacy. To do it right you read one a
day and response to the prompts at the end.
The first chapter is all about white privilege. It starts off
with a quote by Peggy McIntosh: "I was taught to see racism only in
individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring
dominance on my group." It goes on to examine the systemic nature of
this privilege, the ways in which it shows up, and why it needs to be
examined.
One of the writing prompts encourages white readers to think of
the ways in which we hold white privilege in our personal lives. I
had many to list. My husband and son drive all over the state without
being pulled over by the police because of racial profiling. I didn't
have to give my children the talk about how to survive being pulled
over by the police. When I was accepted to graduate school nobody
felt that it was due to quotas or that my being accepted kept someone
more qualified out. However I do, I'm not representing my whole
race. My girls were not expected to be less intelligent and innocent
than their peers in their growing up peers....
Get the idea?
This is not an easy book to read and reflect on. But it is an
important one for anyone who wants to make the difficult transition to
true allyship and commitment.
On a purrrsonal note, Eugene has left to spend his week's vacation at
camp. I'm glad he has the chance to spend some time at the place he
loves best. And he'll fine on the social distancing thing even if
they expand it from six feet to six miles. So it's Tobago and me
holding down the home fort.
As you can see from the picture I posted yesterday, my daffodils are
blossoming. Every year I so look forward to them--this year (When
there is so much less to look forward to) more than ever.
A great big shout out goes out to my hard working husband and all
others who are considered essential personnel and can't work from home
with special appreciation for first responders like my son.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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