Asians generally don’t participate in discussions about white supremacy. Even more rare from our communities are conversations about our own active part in racism, specifically the ways we let ourselves become weaponized to perform anti-blackness. We subscribe to white supremacy’s “Model Minority Myth,” believing that we do not share the same experiences with black … [Read more...]
Why Black History Needs To Matter To Everyone Else, Every Month
Let me start by saying that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. It's hard for me retain anything at all without a lot of repetition. Unless I’m continually reminded of something, I inevitably forget it. It’s for this reason that I have come to value Black History Month on a personal level. Totally by accident, it provides for my disability. But, as is often the case, my … [Read more...]
One Way to Honor MLK: Please Stop Saying You’re Colorblind
This article was originally published on Write Away and is republished with permission. “I don’t see race. I’m colorblind.” I’ve heard it said many times, and I’m confident the speaker always meant well. However, those words have never made me feel better. The intention is well meaning, but the words, at best, are misleading—suggesting that the impossible is feasible. … [Read more...]
Misogynoir: Sexism and Racism in the Lives of Black Women
#BlackWomensLivesMatter #BlackWomenMatter #Bringbackourgirls #Sayhername #Blacktranswomenslivesmatter #MuteRKelly These are just a few of the hashtags that have become popular in the past years to bring attention to violence experienced by black women. There has been much discussion lately about the invisibility of violence against black women, whether this … [Read more...]
6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop)
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com and is reprinted by permission. Picture this: You’re fed up with being the target of street harassment. If you’re a woman, queer, trans, and/or gender non-conforming, it’s probably not hard to imagine. Just think of one of those days when you’ve gotten too many unsolicited comments on your appearance, too many requests … [Read more...]
Don’t Purge Your White Friends on Facebook: 8 Actions for Racially Aware White Folks Before Unfriending a Bigot
On my feed I was excited to see a post called the 7 Stages of White People Getting Woke. Great--someone outlining the emotions and actions white folks go through when we first open our eyes to the truth of systemic racism in this country. I was all on board for recognizing white privilege, researching the pervasiveness of racism, feeling the feelings, connecting to others, … [Read more...]
7 Things History Class Should Have Taught Every US American About Indigenous History
The history of people indigenous to the North American continent is often glossed over in education. We are badgered with the legend of Native benevolence to the pilgrims who landed on the east coast on Thanksgiving. If Indigenous history is covered, students are likely to hear a tragic but vague narrative of massacre, disease, and death, a narrative devoid of the … [Read more...]
Talking Racism with a Racist Relative in 4 Easy…(um NO) IMPORTANT Steps
A great distance separates me from my family. Not just geographical, they live in Maine and I live in Georgia, but also the distance of identity. I am a leftist, agnostic who practices a vague form of religious expression that encompasses paganism and Catholicism. They are right wingers with a strong belief in Evangelical Christianity. Conversations at the Thanksgiving dinner … [Read more...]
Why White North Americans Need to Understand Ourselves as “Settlers”
If you’re white, this land was not made for you and me. Like many white North Americans, I grew up with a vague idea of where my ancestors came from. In my case, they were scattered across Western Europe, and I was fascinated by what their lives must have been like. But I had no real connection to what it means, culturally, to be Irish or Scottish or British or German or … [Read more...]
7 Radical Filipina Women You Should Know
Trigger warnings: mention of violence against trans women The Philippines encompasses over 7,600 islands, over 180 ethnic groups, and over 19 dialects. Philippine-Americans make up the second largest demographic of Asian peoples in the United States, and our diaspora of overseas Pilipinx (a gender neutral term for those of Philippine descent) is up to around ten million -- … [Read more...]
7 Ways ‘Honoring’ Other Cultures Is Really Cultural Appropriation
This article was originally published on EverydayFeminsim.com and is republished with permission. If someone was trying to help you, but they were unintentionally doing more harm than good, you’d want to tell them, right? And you’d hope they’d be open to your feedback – after all, you’re not saying they’re a bad person or accusing them of deliberate sabotage. If they really … [Read more...]
This Is Not a Beyonce Diss or Black Girl Magic Pt. 2
I want us all to remember who is actually making the magic here. Who among us are the ghetto mermaids shopping at corner stores for lunches made of honey buns and cheese curls through thick ass bullet proof glass. I want us all to remember that the magic Beyonce just made isn’t possible without the girl who’s trying to figure out if she has enough money to make it to her job … [Read more...]
I Was a Racist Teacher and I Didn’t Even Know It
This article was originally published on Education Post and is republished with permission. I was a racist teacher and I didn’t recognize it. At the time that I taught, I would have argued that I was the opposite. I was a progressive, a Democrat. I campaigned in my progressive town in Western North Carolina for the first Black man to run for the U.S. Senate against a … [Read more...]
Black Women’s Sexuality: Let’s Stop Trying to Reclaim the Past
[Trigger warning: This article mentions sexual abuse, verbal sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, and threats of sexual assault.] I find most discussions about black female sexuality strange. On the one hand, there seems to be little discussion of male sexuality. Men are not called upon to feel empowered by “embracing” their sexuality. On the other hand, so much of … [Read more...]
