The hard work of "unlearning"

White people want to fix things--that's our default position and it grows out of our privilege and power.  The following essay needs to be read.  So, read it.

The 1 Thing White People Can Do to End Racism

June 29, 2015 by David R. Henson

 

 

A lot of white people recently have asked me how they can put an end to racism in the United States.

They see the problem. They want to help. They want to fix what is broken.

And, after some reflection, I think I have an answer — the one thing white people can do to end racism in this country.

Are you ready for it?

Okay, here it is.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

That’s it. You can’t do anything that will solve racism completely in the United States.

That’s because contrary to what white culture tells us as white people, we aren’t the world’s saviors.

We don’t have all the right answers.

I’m not even sure we’re asking the right question as white people, to be honest.

The world isn’t waiting on white people to fix the problems of the world, to come up with a quick-and-easy solution for a deeply systemic problem.

It’s tempting, of course, and probably well-intentioned, to go to our black friends or to black churches and to ask, “How can we help?” or even to suggest “Have you thought about doing this or that?” Our first impulse is to seek integration of some kind with the black institutions that we have, up until the point of the latest tragedy, ignored.

As white people, our desire is to make a difference in the lives of the hurting, the wounded, and the oppressed. Because one of the insidious pieces of white supremacy is that white people read the Bible as saviors, casting themselves in the role of Jesus or Moses instead of Pilate or Pharaoh.

Read on here.