Question.1272 - Summary: In this episode, Chenjerai Kumanyika asked John Biewen, “How attached are you to the idea of being white?” It is from this point that the two of them revisit an unfinished conversation from a previous episode. (podcast linkLinks to an external site.) Share an example of the current cost of racism to white people. If you need ideas to work with then read this post by Paul KivelLinks to an external site.. If you've identified as white, or if you see yourself as a person of color who has benefitted from proximal whiteness, then what do you feel you must (or must not) forfeit to repair what this construct places on society?
Answer Below:
Considering the insights obtained from Paul Kivel, one example of the current cost of racism to white people is the loss of authentic cultural identity since racism often requires white individuals to assimilate into mainstream white culture - which results in abandoning their own cultural heritage, mix up of dialect, and even blend of tradition, which depreciates the authenticity. In the long run, the scope of disconnecting one's own roots and emphasizing one perspective of history is high, further narrowing the mindset by not appreciating the richness and diversity of other cultures. Nonetheless, this loss could lead to a tendency to romanticize or appropriate elements of other cultures, which might cause cultural erasure and perpetuate harmful stereotypes in a hidden manner within society. For instance, it can primarily be seen in the hiring process or internal growth (promotion), wherein race and stereotypical bias blind people from recognizing their actual potential. With the understanding of a person who benefitted from proximal whiteness, it is important to identify certain privileges of being perceived as white in society, which could even include forfeiting the comfort of being silent in the face of racism rather than acknowledging and actively challenging racial biases and system inequalities could relinquish a sense of entitlement that comes with white privilege, but one must also be willing to engage in uncomfortable conversations to explore it with open-mindedness, and to self educate ground realities of themselves pertaining to the ongoing impact of racism in terms of how people are subjected to it, this will establish the potential for working towards dismantling racist structure from scratch across all institutions. By forfeiting complacency and actively engaging in anti-racist efforts, one has the scope to contribute to repairing the harm caused by racism; it's only a choice - that is to choose to promote equity and justice for all. Lastly, racism tends to distort white people's perception of history and politics by whitewashing the past rather than excluding only the contribution of people of color - such distortion tends to perpetuate systemic inequalities and build varying stereotypes while limiting the possibility of collective or inclusive understanding of race and ethnicity, so by confronting the distortion, a white individual could develop the habit of working towards more accurate and inclusive historical understanding along with fostering empathetic values to understand things from diverse perspectives, and solidarity across racial lines.More Articles From Humanities
.ico)
.ico)
.ico)
.ico)
