I’m interested to know what it means when white women are looking for a “safe” safe space have discussions about race.
A thread.
A thread.
When it comes to a privileged community taking up a discussion about the ways they have oppressed the marginalized....where is their safety ever at risk?
There seems to be an odd romanticized victimization by white women. All of a sudden they need “safety” and “security” when being introspective about their own contribution to white supremacy and the role they play in the systematic racism that persists in this country.
As I go out to lecture and workshop about race one of the first rules I bring up in these spaces is the be HIGHLY aware of the terms used by white women to describe their experience in AntiRacism work.
Often I hear them use words like PAINFUL, SCARY, DISTRESSING, FEARFUL, and TERRIFIED when describing how they feel as they walk up and approach the topic of race.
No, honey. What’s painful is being a black mother having to talk to your 10 year old about how to survive a police encounter. What’s scary is seeing your man off to work not knowing if his name will be a hashtag by days end.
What’s distressing is heading to the hospital to give birth knowing your skin color alone puts you at 4x the risk of maternal mortality. What’s terrifying is that more than half of white women chose their whiteness over their womanhood & put someone like Trump in the White House.
Stop calling your feelings around the conversation of race anything other than what it is: DISCOMFORT. Whatever you’re feeling pales in comparison to what black people feel everyday just trying to exist in this country.
Black LIVES are on the line and those matter much more than white FEELINGS. Your fragility is rooted in your privilege of never having to come face to face with the conversation of race because you were always on the side that’s benefits from the racial divide.
Get over yourself. Do the work. Pay the black women who are making their living by teaching on these things. Let go of your DISCOMFORT and step into the very real action that needs to take place for change.
