And while I’m all for condemning white supremacy, I have to admit that when I first saw the challenge something about it didn’t sit right with me. I finally realized it wasn’t so much the challenge itself, but the comments that people were making while participating in the challenge. One of the most common things I saw people say was, “wow, that was easy.” To many of the people partaking in the challenge, condemning white supremacy was as simple as just posting a hashtag. But as anyone who has spent time working to dismantle white supremacy knows, it’s not that simple.
There was a time in my life when I thought that it was sufficient to be not racist. I believed that so long as I said “white supremacy is bad,” I was in the clear and didn’t have to do anything else. It has taken many years of work and the emotional labor of many people of color (who shouldn’t have had to do that work and for whom I am eternally grateful), to realize that condemning white supremacy means actively working to dismantle white supremacy. It means starting by looking inwards and confronting the internal biases we all have as white people living in a racist society. It means confessing to the ways we have been complicit in racism in our own lives. It means learning the truth of how our country was built on racism and colonialism. It means listening to the people of color around us and taking them seriously when they talk about the racism they experience on an everyday basis. It means becoming aware of how racism and white supremacy have invaded every single aspect of our culture. And it means standing by our brothers, sisters, and siblings of color, and lifting up their voices in this fight for justice, supporting them in any way that we can. It means refusing to give racism a pass, no matter where it comes from. It means committing to dismantling this system and then doing everything in our power to do so.
We can’t simply say we condemn white supremacy if we’re not willing to put in the work to combat it. If we think it’s easy, we need to look inward and ask ourselves if we’re actually doing everything we possibly can. Words are meaningless when not accompanied by actions. I can spend all the time I want talking about how white supremacy is sin, but if I don’t do anything about it, then I remain complicit in this racist system. To ignore injustice is to condone injustice. To refuse to act in the face of injustice is to allow injustice to flourish.
So, I ask you today, now that you’ve condemned white supremacy, what are you going to do to dismantle the system?
If you’re new to this work and need some help getting started, I recommend the PC(USA) 21-day Racial Justice Challenge. It’s a good place to start for educating yourself on white supremacy and racial justice. Also find out what groups in the area are doing this work and reach out to see how you can get involved.