Situation is not all that Black and white
Sometimes silence is golden, but this is not one of those times. In a time like this, silence promotes violence.
As a Black Canadian woman in a position of senior leadership at one of Canada’s largest pension plans, I have a responsibility to add my voice to the current discourse on racism. I’m encouraged by the tide of optimism and change sweeping the globe. For those who want to help level the playing field or help suture the wounds of past wrongs, now is a good time to get on board.
Where to start? I know many who are eager to help but don’t know where to begin. So, allow me to offer three basic first ideas. They are not revolutionary, but poking away at small pebbles may eventually dislodge the boulders that block equality.
First, during protests in the past month we’ve heard slogans like those I’ve heard all my life: no justice, no peace; enough is enough; “Black Lives Matter.” The latter, Black Lives Matter, is new and is both galvanizing and divisive.
For the Black community, it is galvanizing, and is a desperate scream for help from those who are dying — some slowly, others more swiftly and brutally. But I know many people of other races who are offended by the slogan. They counter with “all lives matter” — which, clearly, is true. All lives do matter. But restating a maxim that society broadly holds to be true is not our usual approach.
Black Lives Matter is a necessary cry because there are those who seem not to know that Black people have an equal right to a fair kick at the can and to recover from mistakes, just like everyone else. Black Lives Matter is not the antithesis to the fact that all lives matter. So, my first suggestion to those who want to help is, don’t invalidate or silence the screams for help — Black Lives Matter.
Second, it’s not all that Black and white — culture can narrow the gap. I’ve seen first-hand how cultural congruence and understanding can trump racial differences. When people choose to listen to each other there’s less that is unknown or mysterious. The less mystery, the less we fear.
Fear of others and their motives, coupled with centuries of hard wiring about the inferiority of others, is a perfect recipe for turning a blind eye as another human struggles. And seemingly small cultural reinforcers cement the hate — laughing at demeaning jokes, refusing to recognize the racialization of life, indiscriminately buying into stereotypes instead of seeking to understand each human.
For those seeking to be a part of the solution, I implore you to respect and explore cultural differences and not ridicule them. Being actively “anti-racist” can have so much more impact than being casually “not racist.” If we leverage them, shared cultural experiences can successfully trump racial differences.
My third suggested path to change is sponsorship. Throughout history, efforts to end slavery and deliver progress on racial equity would not have been successful without liberal-thinking white people who made the choice not to use their inherited economic and social privilege to keep others hemmed in.
When racism is fully formed, as it has been for centuries, it’s like a wheel rolling downhill — it just keeps rolling unless there’s active resistance. Non-Black people are choosing to join in the fight and one small way to make a difference is career or social sponsorship. One sponsorship per year can introduce an in-need person of colour to a new, rescripted future. Sponsorship need not be monetary — but could include sharing career possibilities, inspiring confidence and leveraging human connections to build bridges that transcend racial barriers.
My challenge to you is, let’s join in and each poke at a pebble that may dislodge a boulder in the fight against racism.
When racism is fully formed, as it has been for centuries, it’s like a wheel rolling downhill — it just keeps rolling unless there’s active resistance