Racial Justice Insights for White Folks

A few people (a few whites along with a few others) try to promote “white guilt.” But that approach misses the mark and only makes many white people feel defensive so they fail to work on solving the problems. For half a century I have said that instead of “white guilt” we need to promote “white responsibility.”

That puts the emphasis where it needs to be – recognizing that racial injustices benefiting white people have existed for centuries – and taking responsibility for solving the problems that have given us unfair advantage and privilege. Too many white people are negligent in being proactive, so their negligence leaves a gap, so people of color have to raise the issues and point out the problems and take leadership in solving the problems. It is not fair to impose that burden upon people who are already at a disadvantage in political, economic and social realities.

The term “racism” actually identifies SYSTEMIC problems, but too often it is perceived as a criticism of white INDIVIDUALS, even when no malice is intended. Then many white individuals feel defensive, as I stated above. (Some white individuals are indeed malicious and deliberately cruel, but that problem needs to be dealt with in other ways. What I’m discussing here are SYSTEMIC problems.) Instead of using terms that seem to blame white individuals for SYSTEMIC problems, we should use terms and concepts that accurately identify the realities. These include “racial disparities” and “race-based injustices” and so forth.

Racial injustices have persisted for a long time. They persist as the status quo even without overt and deliberate malevolence by white people. But – because racial injustices are so pervasive – it’s important for white people to understand and take actions.

In that light, a few years ago I produced an hosted a TV interview that I titled, “Racial Justice Insights for White Folks.” I chose some wise, compassionate white people to be my guests. You can watch that video and/or read a thorough summary of what we said at this link:
http://parallaxperspectives.org/tv-racial-justice-insights-for-white-folks

 

After I produced this TV program and posted it to my blog, my e-mail address changed from glenanderson@integra.net to glen@parallaxperspectives.org.  When you watch the TV video and/or read the linked document, please use my new e-mail address (and/or phone me at 360-491-9093) if you have any questions or want more information.

 

 

 

About GlenAnderson 1499 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org