The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many social issues to the forefront of international discourse. Racial justice took the lead with waves across the world protesting the inexcusable, wrongful deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor with the Black Lives Matter movement. These deaths emphasized the racial inequity in the United States, and this pushed citizens to open and uncover the harmful systems embedded in the country’s past.
As many proclaimed their commitment to self-education regarding racial justice, resource lists of books, movies, podcasts, etc. written by black authors circulated the internet. Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise, writes about this traction of the racial justice movement in 2020 in his newly published book: How to Fight Racism. This book gives practical action steps to take to practice anti-racism as an individual and as a greater society. How to Fight Racism is a great resource for people who want to actively change systems in addition to signing petitions to raising money.
1. The ARC of Racial Justice
Racial justice is a cause that requires multiple aspects to a solution; it clearly cannot be fixed with a single law or policy change. While laws must change, individuals and community systems must also be held accountable for less overt racism. The ARC of racial justice is an acronym created by Tisby that stands for awareness, relationships, and commitment.
These three components help us to become familiar with racist strategies in order to counter them, and they provide a holistic approach in dealing with racial justice without overemphasizing one area over another. According to Tisby, the point of this model isn’t to create a practice with an equal number of actions in each area but to keep all three aspects in conversation and in tension with one another.
Awareness can be equated to education in this model. In order to increase awareness we can study reliable, historical sources and learn about our own racial identities. It is important to know our history with race and our experiences, but we must remember that our experiences are not shared by everyone.
Relationships are crucial in the practice of racial justice. It often takes a relationship with someone we know and love being negatively affected by racist policies and ideas for us to desire actual change. Tisby emphasizes the relation of pursuing racial justice and authentic relationships with people who are different from us. Relationships bring out the heart of racial justice and allow for empathy to work its way into advocating for racial justice.
“There is no amount of books you can read that will reduce the disproportionate rate at which people of color are incarcerated.”
-Jemar tisby
Commitment to attacking racist structures and policies is crucial in order for action steps to be taken. While knowledge and education are significant parts of racial justice work, actions must be taken in order for positive change to occur. Knowledge about racism and eradicating it means less without action steps.
2. Practical Ways to Build Diverse Communities
As someone who attended a predominantly white institution for college, I saw firsthand the way black students would often be shut down or unseen by upper administration. This is inexcusable.
Tisby talks about the significance in intentionally seeking out diversity in our lives and in our organizations. Creating a “why” statement for pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is the first step because instead of framing this as a box to check for those who do not place as much value on racial diversity, it tells how it will enhance the organization. This can be done by using the mission and vision statement and strategic plans of the organization.
Then, assemble a team that will complete internal work to diagnose specific problems when it comes to diversity in that specific workplace setting. They might do research on the first person of color who was hired or with focus groups of others in the organization. Upon finishing this, they may release a statement on racial justice. This should be visible for employers and possible customers or affiliates with the organization, and it should clearly state what the organization values and their rationale for beliefs on this issue.Additionally, companies may require a statement regarding racial justice on applications for a job, and they may hire in clusters. Cluster hiring is hiring several people at once who have overlapping experiences and interests in their respective roles in the company. This prevents all diversity work from being shouldered onto one individual.
3. Paying Reparations
Among the solutions in the Commitment category, the section on reparations is especially informative. Though reparations are controversial in society–with one group believing it’s necessary and the other thinking there’s no longer a need–Tisby makes a great case for the importance of reparations to Black Americans.
Reparations are defined as the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury or as the payment of damages. In this case, there are multiple ways to go about providing reparations to Black Americans, whether that is paying a fixed amount over a certain period of time, or it could be paid in a lump sum up front.
Though no dollar amount can make up for the amount of suffering Black Americans faced and continue to face, reparations allows for the government to make up for the economically exploitative system that was slavery in America. Because slaves worked hours in inhumane conditions and then were not compensated for their gruesome labor, this discrimination continued on in generations to follow with the historical lack of generational wealth and with loans for businesses and houses being denied due to skin color.
Insert big quote “Reparations are not simply about what happened during slavery; they are about the debt owed to Black people for the economic disadvantages created by white supremacy before, during, and since the practice of race-based chattel slavery.”Reparations are necessary for the equity of Black Americans. White families currently have 10 times the wealth of Black families in America, and white college graduates currently make seven times what Black college graduates earn. As some combat the idea of paying reparations, Tisby points out that governments have paid reparations before. These include Germany paying $50 billion to Holocaust survivors and their families. Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II received compensation and an apology as well.
How to Fight Racism is a book I’d recommend everyone read for practical, tangible steps in fighting racism in America, whether they are beginners or well-practiced anti-racists. If you are interested in learning about ways to dismantle racist systems and work toward racial justice, check out this article by Alexa!
- 3 Things I Learned From How to Fight Racism - April 21, 2021
- Opioid Epidemic in Appalachia: Lowering the Death Rate by Poisoning - April 9, 2021
- What is Ecofeminism, and Why Does it Matter? - March 18, 2021