{"id":20431,"date":"2020-12-11T19:39:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T23:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=20431"},"modified":"2020-12-16T18:16:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T22:16:58","slug":"antiracism-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/antiracism-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Antiracism Training: Learning and Taking Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you looking for help with antiracism training? What are the key things to know for improving antiracism in your life, family, or community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antiracism training starts with understanding the background and concepts of racism and antiracism. Then, you can identify and work on key actions to make changes around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for ideas for antiracism training, including background concepts and actions to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Background for Antiracism Training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ibram defines racism <\/em><\/strong>as a combination of racist policies and ideas that causes and maintains racial inequities. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of a racist idea is the generally held belief that Black people are more dangerous than White people. Growing up, Ibram believed in this idea and was constantly scared that the other Black kids at his school would beat him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of a racist policy<\/a> was the one in Ohio that required newly registered voters in the 2004 federal election to submit their voter-registration forms on a particular kind of expensive paper, which made it harder to register. The policy appeared to target all<\/em> newly registered voters, irrespective of race, but a large percentage of newly registered voters were Black, meaning the policy promoted racial inequity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ibram defines antiracism <\/em><\/strong>as a collection of antiracist policies and ideas that cause racial equity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of an antiracist idea is the belief that no race\u2019s culture or subculture is better than any other\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of antiracist policies are the Immigration and Nationality Act (1965), the Refugee Act (1980), and the Immigration Act (1900), all of which encouraged immigration to the US from non-European countries. Although, in various ways, these acts favored non-Europeans over European immigrants, the acts were antiracist rather than racist because they promoted equity among immigrant groups. In other words, they aimed to rectify the current and historical imbalance that favored White immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Myth of Neutrality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not possible to be neutral<\/a> when it comes to racism\u2014anything that\u2019s not antiracist is racist. <\/strong>This is because all policies and ideas either advance or hamper equality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform example: Racist policies have created funding imbalances between Black and White schools. Therefore, a scholarship program open only to Black people is antiracist because it strives for educational equality between racial groups. Axing this scholarship program because White people aren\u2019t allowed to apply may seem \u201cneutral,\u201d but, in fact, canceling the program would be racist because it would mean canceling a policy that\u2019s aimed at remedying the current funding imbalance and thereby promoting racial equity.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identification of the Problem<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To work towards ending racism, you have to treat the cause, not the symptoms. Many people think that racism is caused by ignorance and hate, but as we\u2019ve learned in previous chapters, in fact, it\u2019s actually caused by self-interest and policy. The ignorance and hate come later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, any attempt to end racism that starts by addressing ignorance and hate instead of the root cause is never going to be successful.<\/strong> For example, mentoring programs might help individuals, but no behavioral program will have an effect on policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While racist power is very flexible\u2014it will use whatever strategy is most effective\u2014historically, antiracists have tried the same strategies over and over again, even though they\u2019ve never worked and will never work<\/strong> because they focus in the wrong place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antiracism Training: Concrete Steps to Take<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Ibram, activism seeks power and creates policy change.<\/strong> Changing minds and critiquing doesn\u2019t count as activism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Ibram studied racism further and the Black Lives Matter movement launched, Ibram began to reassess his ideas about racism. These were his steps to working toward being antiracist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n