Newsletter Vol. 1 Issue 17
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March 8, 2021
Becoming an Antiracist
What comes to mind when we hear the word “racist?” In the American context, common images immediately emerge:- A member of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) wearing a white sheet over his head
- A person who refuses to serve another because the other is of a different race
- Someone waving a Confederate flag
Is it enough to be not racist? Ibram X. Kendi, the author of another New York Times bestseller How to Be An Antiracist, invites us to consider adopting new terminology. To be “nonracist,” he argues, is to claim neutrality in the face of racism. Instead, we ought to be antiracists or committed to antiracism because that suggests we are moving away from one thing and towards another: away from racism, and towards actions, cultures, structures, policies, and more that actively work to eradicate racism in all facets of our lives.
To be an antiracist, then, is to take a stance on the world. It is a way of seeing the world and acting. In the words of the second Universal Apostolic Preference of the Society of Jesus, it is to form ourselves in a way that we always accompany the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, and those whose dignity has been stripped of them, and to commit to acting in ways that eradicate racism rather than perpetuate it.
We do not become antiracists overnight, and it is highly unlikely we will always choose to think, act, and be antiracists at all moments of our lives. Formed in a culture of racism with taken-for-granted assumptions about what is good, normal, and better than, we are socialized to see the world a certain way. The good news is we can choose to learn, reflect, change, and act in antiracist ways every day.
To be an antiracist in the Ignatian tradition can take the form of a daily examination of conscience. Because we are human, we may even act in culturally racist and antiracist ways simultaneously in the same day. We may not realize we are acting with some culturally racist assumptions in one moment, and then in the next, watching a film or reading a book that expands our capacity to be inclusive. Recognizing this, we can reflect back on our day intentionally, our capacity to be inclusive. Recognizing this, we can reflect back on our day intentionally, tracking the ways we lived up to our commitment to being antiracist and the ways we felt short. We can express gratitude to God for our ability to grow and recommit ourselves to Jesus’ call that accompanies the marginalized, break open barriers that separate us and bind us, so that, in the words of Greg Boyle SJ, there will “no longer be us and them, but simply us.”Resource: Breath and Fire: An Examen for Racial Justice by Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ:
Racism is a sin that grows year-round in the hearts of many. These seeds, germinating for more than 400 years in hatred and oppression, devastate the Black community each time there is a new bloom. America’s epidemic of racism is slowly killing the people of God. Fifty states and 18 countries have taken part in protests to raise awareness of this epidemic.
READ HERE
Becoming an Antiracist.
What comes to mind when we hear the word “racist?” In the American context, common images immediately emerge:
A member of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) wearing a white sheet over his head
A person who refuses to serve another because the other is of a different race
Someone waving a Confederate flag
These images and more define the “racist” for us. They also help create boundaries between us and that explicitly racist person. Because we abhor the KKK, or think we would never discriminate based on race, it is easy for us to say that we are not racist. Any accusation that we are racist elicits immediate negative feelings: we may become angry, guilty, or deflect that accusation because of the negative connotation associated with the word. We may even offer the retort, “I am not racist.” This is so prevalent that Isabel Wilkerson, author of the New York Times bestseller Caste: The Origin of Our Discontent, suggests the term “racism” is not as helpful to use anymore.
Is it enough to be not racist? Ibram X. Kendi, author of another New York Times bestseller How to Be An Antiracist, invites us to consider adopting new terminology. To be “nonracist,” he argues, is to claim neutrality in the face of racism. Instead, we ought to be antiracist or committed to antiracism because that suggests we are moving away from one thing and towards another: away from racism, and towards actions, cultures, structures, policies, and more that actively work to eradicate racism in all facets of our lives.
To be antiracist, then, is to take a stance on the world. It is a way of seeing the world and acting. In the words of the second Universal Apostolic Preference of the Society of Jesus, it is to form ourselves in a way that we always accompany the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, and those whose dignity has been stripped of them, and to commit to acting in ways that eradicate racism rather than perpetuate it.
We do not become antiracist overnight, and it is highly unlikely we will always choose to think, act, and be antiracist at all moments of our lives. Formed in a culture of racism with taken for granted assumptions about what is good, normal, and better than, we are socialized to see the world a certain way. The good news is we can choose to learn, reflect, change, and act in antiracist ways every day.
To be an antiracist in the Ignatian tradition can take the form of a daily examination of conscience. Because we are human, we may even act in culturally racist and antiracist ways simultaneously in the same day. We may not realize we are acting with some culturally racist assumptions in one moment, and then in the next, watching a film or reading a book that expands our capacity to be inclusive. Recognizing this, we can reflect back on our day intentionally, our capacity to be inclusive. Recognizing this, we can reflect back on our day intentionally, tracking the ways we lived up our commitment to be antiracist and the ways we felt short. We can express gratitude to God for our ability to grow and recommit ourselves to Jesus’ call that accompany the marginalized, break open barriers that separate us and bind us, so that, in the words of Greg Boyle SJ, there will “no longer be us and them, but simply us.”
Resource: Breath and Fire: An Examen for Racial Justice by Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ:
Racism is a sin that grows year-round in the hearts of many. These seeds, germinating for more than 400 years in hatred and oppression, devastate the Black community each time there is a new bloom. America’s epidemic of racism is slowly killing the people of God. Fifty states and 18 countries have taken part in protests to raise awareness of this epidemic.
READ HERE
Questions for Reflection- Thinking about the various ways we’ve learned racism operates (individually, historically, culturally, structurally, and more), how have I thought or acted in a racist manner?
- What is one way I actively acted in an antiracist way over the past week or month?
- What is one goal I have for myself as I try to grow to be more antiracist?
- A member of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) wearing a white sheet over his head
