Did You Know, part I

In 1440s, Pope Nicolas V, by considering Africans as pagans, used this as his rationalization behind his blessing of the capture, enslavement and trafficking of free Africans. This, in Portugal, marked the beginning of the trading of the enslaved.

In modern Portugal, when a grave site of 155 enslaved Africans was discovered, instead of building a memorial to this sombre find, a mini-golf course was built over it.

In Suriname, South America, the enslaved were brought there by the hundreds to gather and process sugar cane, to satisfy the European demand for sugar. Part of this involved digging out 160 kilometres (100 miles) of creeks that ultimately led to the Suriname river, and on to the Atlantic ocean. Many of the enslaved died daily in this servitude.

An enslaved Black person is responsible for the creation of the concept of a vaccine, on which every vaccine since is based. This video link provides the narrative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdS2VB1GWVA

The banjo has its origins in an African-based musical instrument. The first white people to play their version of this instrument did so in Blackface.

People To Follow On Twitter

There are many people/organizations that one can follow on Twitter in the fight against anti-Black racism. Here are just some of them. You can utilize them to find others.

In Canada:

• Journalist Shree Paradkar – @ShreeParadkar
• BLM Activist Sandy Hudson – @sandela
• Author/activist Robyn Maynard – @policingblack
• Author/activist Desmond Cole – @DesmondCole
• Historian Natasha Henry – @NHenryFundi

In the US:

• The Root – @TheRoot
• Journalist/Activist Michael Harriot – @MichaelHarriot
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund- @NAACP_LDF
• Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP LEgal DEdense Fund – @Sifill_LDF
• Equal Justice Initiative – @eji_org
• Nikole Hannah Jones, New York Times Magazine contributor, creator of the 1619 project – @nhannahjones
• Cleric/Activist Talbert Swan – @TalbertSwan
• Activist Bree Newsome – @BreeNewsome
• Race2Dinner, an organization that facilitates conversations about race – @Race2D

Happy learning!

Do’s and Don’t for White People

Here are just a few of the things that white people must always bear in mind when it comes to speaking of, or with, Black people:

It’s “Black people” with a capital “B.” Why? It’s because it’s describing a group of people as a culture, no different than French or Spanish.

White people are not the arbiters of what is or is not racist. Only Black people are, because they are the at the receiving end of the words or behaviour. A white person telling a Black person what is racist is like person A punching person B in the face, and person A telling person B that it didn’t hurt.

Never tell Black people as a group what they should be doing or how they should feel about something – ie – who to vote for. 1) Who are you as a white person to be telling a Black person what to do? 2) Why are you doing it, because you think you know better? 3) Because of the racial power dynamic in society, how do you think a Black person will feel about you, as a white person, saying it? This is an aspect of white privilege: the presumptuousness of thinking it’s okay to treat Black people this way.

Never interject yourself into a conversation happening among Black people, whether in real life or on social media, unless invited. It is likely to be an opportunity to listen and learn something, on social media.

Similarly, don’t put down a Black person that other Black people are putting down. It’s not your place as a white person.

Remember, fighting racism is not about how you feel about it. It’s about supporting, and lifting the voices of Black people in the fight. So for example, when you see a tweet from a Black person that resonates strongly with you, say “100%,” or “1000%,” “THIS!!!” or something similar.

Think about what comes to mind when you think of Black people in general. How did those associations come to be? Think about how you have seen Black people portrayed in TV or movies, or in the news, and how those have shaped your perceptions, and how they are presented quite differently than white people in those mediums.

Hopefully this causes you to stop and think, “how would a Black person feel about this?” before you speak or act.

Racism: Becoming Informed

There are countless sources of information on the injustices perpetrated against, and the lives of, Black people, current and historical. I really don’t think white people know the extent of the pervasiveness of racism, especially institutionally/systemically speaking. If we cared to find out, perhaps we would feel compelled to do something about it.

I would suggest starting with the film 13th, by Ava Duvernay, a documentary on the evolution of slavery to the current day. The film is on Netflix.

13th references a book by Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow. This is a must-read.

Another book to get you started is Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The author is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that defends people falsely convicted of crimes, and brings awareness to America’s history of racial injustice. The organization’s website is eji.org, and is a fountain of information.

Lastly, to follow current events, read The Root (theroot.com) regularly. This site provides news from a Black perspective as well as updates in Black culture. The writings of one of its contributors, Michael Harriot, are especially good. Be prepared to have your fragility pierced here. There isn’t anything here that isn’t the truth, so any defensiveness you are feeling when reading here (ie – “not all white people,” “not me,” etc.) is you making the issue about you; this is something that many alleged allies need to sort out within themselves.

And this is just of the beginning. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of books written by Black people on the subject of racial inequality. I sincerely hope that upon starting with those mentioned above, that you are compelled to find out more.

Things We White People Take For Granted

Fellow white people,

Here is just one of countless examples of things that white people do every day, that are experienced quite differently by Black people.

Imagine you’re on your way to a department store to pick up a few things. Black people get pulled over for no legitimate reason by police while driving in their cars. Black people have reason to fear these encounters, as some of these encounters have ended in death.

While in that department store, you don’t have to think about being followed around the store for no legitimate reason. Black people experience this daily.

Imagine, while paying for your purchase with a credit card, that you are asked to show some ID for validation purposes, when this has not been asked of people ahead of you in line. This happened to the Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company in a restaurant.

Then there is the drive home.

Think about that.

A re-introduction…

Hello world.

I started this blog several years ago, out of my ire being raised, as is typically the case with me. Nothing gets me going like a subject or issue that pisses me off; discrimination, particularly of the racial variety, creating volcanic levels of eruption.

I’d say that what I had written had held up fairly well with the passage of time, but I still felt the need to start anew. So, it’s a clean slate, but with the same general theme.

It is my hope that the writings which will soon follow will help fellow white people to: recognize your privilege, begin to think regularly about that which goes on outside the white bubble, develop a curiosity about wanting to learn more about racial inequality, get over your own defensiveness when discussing the issue, and ultimately, take meaningful action to address it.