In recent letters and columns in the Press Herald, I’ve been distressed to see people denouncing the statements made by Portland Charter Commissioner Nasreen Sheikh-Yousef as a byproduct of critical race theory, and that these statements were used only as political fodder to attack someone unnecessarily.
If you are serious about dismantling systems of oppression in this country, and you are a white person, as I am, you have to accept that you have participated in white supremacist actions throughout the course of your life. This is not to say that you are supporting acts of oppression and actively seeking to cause harm – it is acknowledging that because of the privileges afforded to white people in this country, we all have supported white supremacy.
It feels radical to be called a white supremacist because our minds jump to the Ku Klux Klan or Nazi fascism, when in reality the road to white supremacy is often paved with good intentions. One person has likened critical race theory to staring into a funhouse mirror, but I would posit that we traditionally have been educated through a lens far more suited for a funhouse than the reality that critical race theory presents.
I am a gay, Jewish man who was born and raised in East Texas, with active members of the Klan still proudly upholding beliefs of white supremacy. It is not enough, after so many years of destruction at the hands of racists, to just be not racist. We must actively seek to be anti-racist, and that means to take a long hard look at ourselves and how parts of our daily lives have contributed to racist and oppressive systems that we are largely protected from because of our whiteness.
Electing a person of color does not absolve us of white supremacy. Since moving to Maine six years ago, I have witnessed, on multiple occasions, how well-meaning people can actually make white supremacy worse. I myself have participated in these actions without being cognizant of the impact of these actions. It is our responsibility to learn and change. As Maya Angelou said, “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
If you take even a cursory glance around the world in which we live, and especially within the last few years, you are aware that we have taken minimal steps to overturn white supremacy, and that often the conversation stops at the minute we, as white people, become uncomfortable. Dismantling something like white supremacy (the same applies to homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, etc.) requires that we start with ourselves.
“Gaslighting” – making someone question their own memory, perception or judgment – is a term you hear thrown around often in debates about race, but I think it is important we call it out when we see it. One writer referred to the “extraordinary progress in opportunities” for women, immigrants, LGBTQ people and Black, Indigenous and people of color and told Ms. Sheikh-Yousef that she “ought to appreciate” it.
In essence this person was saying, “We gave you a breadcrumb of rights, so stop making noise.” That is an essential tool of anyone seeking to oppress minority populations. By refusing to see themselves in a critical light, the writer participates in a form of white supremacy, deeming that because some progress has been made, the work of eliminating racial injustice is no longer needed. In this purported utopian society, how could things like what the world watched happen to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland and the multitude of others even begin to happen?
It’s time to uncover the mirror, and take a good, long, look.
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