‘A credible anti-racist approach must confront a wide spectrum of social economic oppression.’ Photo: by Yasin Yusuf on Unsplash
Letter to a white anti-racist ally: Nim Njuguna on an incomplete project
‘I believe the cultural legacies of colonialism need to be held accountable.’
Dear Friend, it was good to attend the Black Lives Matter presentation together and I thank you for the robust conversation over wine and food afterwards. More and more people are engaging with issues around the Black Lives Matter movement, a far cry from the days when discussion about racism was uncomfortable, painful or even taboo.
I’m glad to continue talking this way, clarifying and exploring as we go, all underpinned by our belief that racism is incompatible with God’s design. I am pleased we both engage in spiritual practices that seek healing, believing racial equality benefits all of us. We are both committed to working towards curbing racism in our sphere of influence, being aware that we have been socialised in a structurally-racist society. This society conditions our perspective and judgement. Our mutual trust is aided by our affirming the sacredness of all people, and attempting to see that of God in everyone. I am encouraged by something you said: ‘It’s the strength of our friendship that gives us the psychological permission to say difficult things to one another, towards our mutual liberation.’
At the beginning you were espousing good intentions of being an ally but you were still blinkered – oblivious about being an embodiment of white privilege. I have a distant memory of your self-serving desire to become an ally, asking me with a certain air of superiority what recognition you would be accorded for it. Your mixed motives meant you could not distinguish between your need to become an ally for your own sake, and being one for black people’s sake. Though well intentioned, you believed that, somehow, marginalised groups willingly collaborate in their own victimhood. You denied that the privileges you enjoyed had been overtly and subtly refused them.
In Meetings, because of your lack of knowledge, yet with all innocence and good articulation, you unwittingly came out with some shallow – and at times offensive – racial remarks that made me cringe. You have now done your heavy lifting, and have scars to show that you have understood the complexities of the ‘black agenda’ from an informed perspective. Personally, I am glad you no longer refer to me as ‘just a person like me except for the colour of your skin’.
In time, I came to admire your commitment, determination, integrity and courage. You engaged in critical self-reflection and began to comprehend that your socialisation had bequeathed you a worldview full of unconscious and implicit racial bias. You have also read widely to educate yourself, developing a vocabulary with which you can talk about race effectively. You have come to understand, and accept unquestionably, that oppression dehumanises both the oppressor and the oppressed. Furthermore, you have come to understand that all racial groups are in some way struggling under the ideology of white supremacy.
You have been frank all along about your struggles and seen eventual success in overcoming feelings of anger, frustration, sadness and grief as you were challenging racist behaviour in yourself. You also had to surmount the courage to confront crude and blatant expression of racist sentiments from your own family and close friends. With determination and self-compassion you have come to accept that your whiteness is socially and politically constructed as a privileged identity. You now realise that it is a learned behaviour that can be unlearned.
Your development as an ally has been influenced by the deep, meaningful, close relationships you have formed with a diverse group of black people. Through mutual sharing of stories, you have come a long way to accept their anger as justifiable, given how they face racism every day. Immersing yourself in the black experience has refined your character – though of course it will take time before we can finally reverse our social conditioning.
I have observed how you comfortably challenge racist comments from colleagues. How you interrupt stereotypical racial slurs, and even sometimes unmask microaggressions that I had not registered. I have benefitted from your support in crafting a syllabus on diversity and inclusion. I see you sitting somewhere on a continuum of thoughts and behaviour that stretches from naivete to anti-racist.
What it means to be an ally varies greatly from person to person. I have observed some white ‘anti-racists’ conducting highly visible work, writing about racism based on research and minimal genuine interaction with black people. Their sanitised approaches deny them a necessary encounter. Without it they have no understanding of the cumulative effects of ‘blackness’ in society.
In our last conversation, we parted seemingly without concord because we differed on the issue of pulling down statues and monuments. I agreed with those who want the statues of slavers to come down. This is a public and symbolic gesture towards dismantling racist social structures. The statues exhibit a racist orthodoxy as normative, which bears in its psychological and social patterns the mark of oppression. I believe contemporary racism cannot be properly understood without uncovering and knowing some of the ‘hidden’ UK colonial history.
Although you believe that the structures of our society are subtly racist, you concentrate your anti-racist efforts on individual acts of racism. You seem to shy away from engaging with the dominant narratives of oppressive systems, which promote a hierarchy of human values. These policies and practices stigmatise, criminalise and inflict daily violence on black people. A credible anti-racist approach must confront a wide spectrum of social economic oppression. It must intersect with class oppression and privilege. Understanding who holds the most power, where that power came from, and how is it utilised, is essential. We have an African saying: ‘We must return to the past to move forward.’
I believe the cultural legacies of colonialism need to be held accountable. Delivering retrospective justice, righting past wrongs, is important. The moral case for retrospective justice in the form of reparation is undeniable. Black people were enslaved, exploited, their labour turned into capital. Britain made a lot of money from slavery and it is still in circulation today.
The social and political difficulties we face demand a new vision of social transformation to achieve justice for all. There are no easy answers. But you and I share a spirituality of contemplation and action. Through that we discern steps towards liberative social action.
I look forward to further robust, hope-filled conversation and dialogue.
Comments
When does this date from? Thanks
By snowlobo1@aol.com on 4th March 2021 - 13:21
I’m very glad for having found this - it’s very informative. Thank you.
By cheteen on 10th April 2021 - 3:54
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