There is a belief held by a lot of european americans that racism doesn’t exist anymore. White liberals are quick to point the finger at the other team, which is much more vocal about the fact that they do not believe Black people, but this idea functions the same way on both sides of the aisle. Usually it entails some random quips about Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Movement, and “racism is illegal.”
Of course, before the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, many white americans were of the belief that segregation was not a particularly significant problem, and Black and Native people generally had equal opportunities under segregation. Once the Civil Rights Act passed, most white americans believed Black access to segregated spaces was being implemented and enforced “too quickly”. So much for changing hearts and minds, I suppose.
With this in mind, I thought that it would be really powerful to discuss the disparities that exist in the US along racial lines. If white people, purporting themselves to be objective observers of the facts, wanted to make claims that racism was not prevalent, why not look at the data?
I called up my sister Alice and said, “We need to talk about racial disparities that exist despite claims that racism is over.” We both agreed this would be a worthwhile series and a beneficial discussion for white people who want to be allies to people of color. We kicked off the series with an episode about racism experienced by people of color who are trying to access healthcare.
In retrospect, I think I was way too optimistic.
There was no particular interest in this topic. Almost no one even listened to the episode. The overwhelming majority of my listeners are white, so I had to ask myself why this issue hadn’t mattered to them. I thought we’d all agreed that Black Lives Matter? If Black Lives Matter then Black people being able to secure healthcare - something most of my followers believe should be guaranteed by the government, if not a human right - would be paramount to protecting Black lives.
I’m still kind of kicking around what I did wrong here. Of course, I have to acknowledge that on some level, antiracism work is just having the right marketing. But I am forced to reckon with the idea that, ultimately, white people want to be seen as good more than they want to BE good.
The fact that Black Americans are unable to access healthcare and are treated worse than white patients when we are able to access healthcare just isn’t something that affects most white people. Trying to get white allies to care about an issue that simply doesn't affect them in any way is difficult.
This problem is hardly unique to White Homework. I frequently look at engagement around what other folks in this industry are doing to see what “hits” with white folks and what doesn’t.
This isn’t an indictment of people not listening to my podcast, not is it an attempt at coercion, but rather I feel it is indicative of the much larger trend of whiteness being inherently self-interested. And the ways in which those of us in antiracist work have to, on some level, cater to what white folks want. That is what I find deeply frustrating.
I’m going to continue with the series because it’s important even if white people remain indifferent. But this week has forced me to engage with an ugly reality: convincing white people to care about Black lives requires far more marketing than appeals to morality.
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