Black History Month for White People: Racism Is Our Problem
Commentary by Sarah Henn Hayward | FāVS News
Oblivion Is a Privilege
Walking through this world as a white woman means that race rarely crosses my mind.
I am not reminded of my skin color when shopping in a nice store. I don’t draw the clerk’s attention or get followed as I casually shop. This is a common experience for people of color. Even Oprah has experienced racial profiling while shopping. Oprah!
I do not fly into a fight-or-flight panic when pulled over by the police. If I get pulled over, it’s more of an annoyance than anything else. The risk of me being killed by an officer is half that of Black folks, as reported by NPR as recently as 2022.
People who meet me for the first time never act surprised when I mention that I’ve gone to college or have an advanced degree. They don’t ask me where I’m from — where I am originally from — assuming that I don’t belong here.
I’ve never gotten undeserved pushback when applying for a loan or mortgage. I’ve never been turned away from a job opportunity with no explanation, only to find out that the position I was applying for had not yet been filled. I’m not seated in the back of the restaurant or given slow service and dirty looks by the waitstaff.
These are some ways that race never shows up in my life. Things I take completely for granted. A lack of stress and frustration that I didn’t even know to be grateful for until 12 years ago.
My Self-led Racial Education
My shock surrounding the murder of Trayvon Martin — and his killer’s lack of a conviction — led me on a journey through Black history. Trayvon Martin would have been a 29-year-old man today. His birthday just passed on Feb. 5. But shortly after turning 17 years old, on Feb.26, 2012, he was shot and killed by an armed citizen while walking through a neighborhood. There have been many more Black folks killed by police or citizenry since Martin. Too many.
It was important to me to fill in the gaps since so much history was skipped by my private and public education curricula. I’ve now read over 20 books dealing with race and racism in America (some listed below). I knew enough not to pester my Black friends with my ignorance, as it is not a random Black person’s job to be my personal racism tutor. Instead, I intentionally sought out resources that people of color already created. Countless documentaries, online courses and books exist with which to educate ourselves.
As a white person, I must take on the ownership of my racial education. I never learned about this stuff in school. I learned about slavery. Critical Race Theory wasn’t a boogeyman yet. But I never learned about Seneca Village, New York (the former thriving Black community and current site of Central Park). I never learned about the March of Tears and March of Death and all the many brutal and cruel Indian wars. I never learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre. I never learned about redlining (the banning of people of color from buying homes in “white” neighborhoods) or predatory loans or how hard it was (and at times still is) for Black people to get equal opportunities for jobs and housing throughout the country.
There are racially restrictive covenants still written in Spokane property deeds. They are no longer enforceable, yet they remain on the books.
This Is a White Problem
However uncomfortable that feels to hear, the facts exist. European immigrants to America created the white race for political power and built our country on stolen land with stolen labor. America’s origin story, and the Church’s role, have been inherently racist in ways that we often remain blind to.
Hiding from those facts does not change reality. Burying the past only causes it to grow into an ominous beanstalk. And we can’t hide from the giants. The riots that rage every time another Black person is murdered in the public eye are evidence that we do not have our house in order.
White people have a responsibility to right the historic wrongs. Distancing ourselves, denying our group’s role or getting paralyzed by guilt and shame does nothing to change reality. Reverting to “whataboutism” with Black-on-Black crime stats lacks nuance and compassionate understanding.
It’s on us to take ownership of the ugly parts of American history and make actionable, practical amends. Racism hurts us all, even those of us clinging to the top of the ladder.
We can do our small part to make reparations. To fight for equity and create opportunities for those who, through centuries of concerted efforts to the contrary, have been denied chances to climb the ladder of success. We can investigate the systems we are a part of and ask how a person of color interacts with them. We can speak out against injustice when we see it.
To finally achieve liberty and justice for all.
A Book List
I’ve been challenged and stretched from reading books such as:
- Dwane A. Mack’s Black Spokane: The Civil Rights Struggle in the Inland Northwest
- Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
- Asha Bendele and Patrice Cullor’s When They Call You A Terrorist
- Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between The World and Me
- Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
- Austin Channing Brown’s I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in A World Made For Whiteness
- Jennifer Harvey’s Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America
- Dick Gregory’s Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies
- Layla F. Saad’s Me and The White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
- Seven Sisters and A Brother: Friendship, Resistance, and Untold Truths Behind Black Student Activism in the 1960s
- Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want To Talk About Race
- Morgan Jerkens’ This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) American
- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous People’s History of the United States
- Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic
- David Granny’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and The Birth of the FBI
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
