Change the legacy of racism
Salima Bhimani, PhD
Tech Executive I Fmr Google Chief Strategist, Director | Trusted Partner to CEOs and C-Suite | Enabling Moonshots, Startups, Tech Ecosystem | Responsible AI I Inclusive Products I Global Markets I Podcast Host
#Changethelegacy #blacklivesmatter #diversityandinclusion
Have you been at a dinner table with that colleague, uncle, cousin or friend who’s always got something to say. And then half way through the butter chicken it comes… that “joke,” that “observation,” that “fact,” that, "I’m not racist but you know what I mean?!” …about black people.
The one person pegged as being “into” social justice attempts to interrupt the racist rant. Others say, “I don’t see race.” “This is not a problem where I live.” But mostly everyone is silent or changes the subject.
Such scenes haunt us, or they don’t—but we all have them. These moments are not just individual acts of racism. When we allow such thinking, we reload the racist and anti-black legacies of our society; we wound our shared psyche.
So much is done to retain this legacy
In its most heinous forms, black people are killed. Their breath robbed. Their light taken. Often they are rendered nameless in our awareness, and so we continue this legacy in death.
(A non-comprehensive list of black Americans killed since 2014. NPR Code Switch)
In other forms this legacy of anti-blackness exists in the snide remarks, in the looks, in the burden to prove one’s worthiness to colleagues, to not appear like a threat, in comments about lowering the bar.
We breath in, consume and reenact this legacy every day, as if it is normal.
The legacy must change and for that to happen, we (Asian, White, and other non-black folks) must change. Because this legacy is old, it will require your earnest effort and consistent commitment. You need a willingness to learn and be challenged. It will require you to use your social capital to change others too. At dinner tables, in work places, and on the streets.
Let’s put down the tracks for a new legacy with black communities.
Resources in service of this:
15 tools and resources to challenge racism
20+ Allyship Actions for Asians
For White Folks:
For South Asians:
Addressing Anti-Blackness in South Asian Communities
Breaking the cycle of anti-blackness
Filmmaker + Media Producer I Writer + Educator I Runs South Asian Creative Project I Personal Motto: Sink Deeper Into Yourself
4yThank you for this article. I really agree that real change will only come when we stop dinner table conversations that are racist, even if they are uttered in form of jokes. As South Asian, the most difficult conversations that I had were with my close family and friends; to make them see how racism is ingrained in the fabric of our social and cultural structures is hard, but now it's absolutely necessary!
Volunteer Engagement Professional Focused on Equity and Access, Children's Book Author Owner at iwrappedthem.com
4yThank you, Salima. I will definitely be going through the resources for South Asians. Appreciate the call out and call in.
Educator; English Second Language Teacher; Intercultural Interpreter of Art and Civilization
4yLeaders and thinkers like you will guide our way, thank you!
Member, Investor, Mentor @ Rockies Venture Club | Economic Development, Angel Investing, Connecting Investors
4yThank you Salima Bhimani, PhD -this legacy change truly is a job for the rest of us in support of our black brothers n sisters and in memory of those taken too soon.