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Opinion | Joy Reid: Everyday racism is the small, daily reminders that we're still not equal
Joy-Ann Reid Everyday racism in America: Being black means constantly rendering yourself unthreatening to white people
To be white in America is to assume ownership of public spaces. To be black is to live under constant threat of removal.
May.29.2018 / 8:23 PM ET / Updated May.30.2018 / 1:00 PM ET
[snipped]
Thus, being black or brown in America means living under that constant threat of removal. And yet there is really no way to render yourself unthreatening enough to prevent that 911 call. At the same time, you are expected to act grateful for being “allowed” to be here at all (see: Trump suggesting NFL players who kneel during the national anthem should "maybe" be deported). As if we had a choice.
Reversing everyday racism means somehow getting white Americans to recognize and cede this presumption of sole ownership of public spaces, and to see in each person of color an individual humanity. Thankfully, many of our fellow Americans have already embraced this ecumenical idea, as we can see from individual acts of ally-ship. Inside that now infamous Philadelphia Starbucks, for example, white patrons formed a chorus of outrage as police dragged two black men out in handcuffs for doing nothing more than sitting in a shared space.
Importantly, black and brown Americans cannot do this work for their white peers. The work of anti-racism can only take place inside each individual soul, where we all try to grow into better people. There is no national tonic or instant cure.
Does anyone else know if the rise in these incidents has anything to do with the government encouraging people to "see something say something" and then it turned into something else?
Joy-Ann Reid Everyday racism in America: Being black means constantly rendering yourself unthreatening to white people
To be white in America is to assume ownership of public spaces. To be black is to live under constant threat of removal.
May.29.2018 / 8:23 PM ET / Updated May.30.2018 / 1:00 PM ET
[snipped]
Thus, being black or brown in America means living under that constant threat of removal. And yet there is really no way to render yourself unthreatening enough to prevent that 911 call. At the same time, you are expected to act grateful for being “allowed” to be here at all (see: Trump suggesting NFL players who kneel during the national anthem should "maybe" be deported). As if we had a choice.
Reversing everyday racism means somehow getting white Americans to recognize and cede this presumption of sole ownership of public spaces, and to see in each person of color an individual humanity. Thankfully, many of our fellow Americans have already embraced this ecumenical idea, as we can see from individual acts of ally-ship. Inside that now infamous Philadelphia Starbucks, for example, white patrons formed a chorus of outrage as police dragged two black men out in handcuffs for doing nothing more than sitting in a shared space.
Importantly, black and brown Americans cannot do this work for their white peers. The work of anti-racism can only take place inside each individual soul, where we all try to grow into better people. There is no national tonic or instant cure.
