One of the ironic things about my antiracism work is that to de-center whiteness I kind of have to center whiteness.
Since by and large we don't see ourselves as having a race, we are unaware that whiteness is ubiquitous and harmful.
I try to shine a light on how our collective whiteness shows up.
How it dominates conversations, institutions, policies, and opportunities. How it is expected and accepted as normal. How beauty, intelligence, and what's right and good are seen through the biased lens of whiteness.
Many White people never think of this, and if we do, we shrug it off, dismiss it, deny it, argue it, combat it, get defensive about it, and find all kinds of other approaches that protect us from grappling with it.
Any non-White person will tell you that whiteness is pervasive, easy to see and understand, and exhausting to navigate.
I'm trying to help other White people see and understand this reality, and help them de-center their whiteness to ease that burden.
To do that, we have to talk about whiteness. We have to understand that being a White PERSON and whiteness are not the same.
Any White person who is even remotely interested in dismantling White supremacy must be vulnerable, reflective, and willing to have these conversations.
White folks, you down for that?