“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” Angela Davis, Academic & Activist
Anti-racism involves taking action to challenge and dismantle racism. Doing this work involves committing to anti-racism as a social justice movement, dedicated to eradicating all forms of racism. It requires commitment to long-term processes of change for individuals and organisations.
In a handout from the Racial Healing Handbook, which we will consider in one of the following exercises, Anneliese A. Singh defines anti-racism as follows:
“The term “antiracist” refers to people who are actively seeking not only to raise their consciousness about race and racism, but also to take action when they see racial power inequities in everyday life. Being an antiracist is much different from just being “nonracist,” as Black antiracist Marlon James (2016) made clear… According to James, being an antiracist means that you are developing a different moral code, one that pairs a commitment to not being racist (whether verbalized or not) with action to protest and end the racist things you see in the world. I would add that saying you aren’t a racist isn’t enough to start healing from racism. You need the intentional mindset of Yep, this racism thing is everyone’s problem—including mine, and I’m going to do something about it.”
As the quote states, anti-racism is about both raising consciousness and taking action. In this module we will explore ways in which awareness can be improved, along with ways in which we can take action as individuals and organisations.
In the following exercises we will consider anti-racism in more detail.