Love and Racism

Love doesn’t fix racism.

Example: “I have a Black friend, therefore I’m not racist.” You can have a meaningful friendship with your Black friend. You probably love your Black friend. But you can still be racist. It starts with a refusal to acknowledge racial differences and power dynamics. This erases all of the struggles and history of Black people in this country. It assumes that Black people are dealt the same hand as white people, when countless statistics prove that they are not, as seen in: the school to prison pipeline, redlining, police brutality, or discrimination in medicine - just to name a few. It is this logic that perpetuates “All Lives Matter” rhetoric which, while potentially well-meaning, does not acknowledge that Black and Indigenous people simply do not exist in the same playing field as their white or other POC counterparts. Loving all people ultimately just isn’t enough to fight for justice - this is why we must say “Black Lives Matter.”

According to Ibram Kendi, author of How to be Anti-Racist, racism can’t be fixed with love. Consider the roots of anti-Black racism in the U.S,: slavery was justified through the use of economics and self interest.

Example: “We can civilize Africans by enslaving them. Also, we can make money off of the slave trade.” By convincing people that Africans needed their help to become civilized, they not only incited the idea that Black = savage, they also convinced them that it was beneficial for the economy, as it provided free labor. These reasons were all posed in self-interest, but they justified the slave trade. And in order to justify it, people needed to believe it was economically worth doing, and culturally necessary. Enslavement came first, then attitudes changed.

Racism comes from the justification of biased policy - not just ignorance and hate. Trying to counter racism with ideas of love is an incomplete framework for tackling injustices that were set by policy and economic gain. This is why the Black Lives Matter movement attempts to dismantle racism through economics. It speaks of defunding the police, and asks supporters to stop supporting businesses that hurt black people. Money gives people rise to power. So if you take their source of income, you hit them where it hurts. This forces new changes in procedures and policies. It forces elected officials and companies to restructure hiring policies, pay gap, and labor exploitation.

In short, the best way to fight racism is through a combination of actionable items including: those that work to defund and strip power from oppressive systems and provide equity, and those that educate, and of course, a little bit of love

by Tanushree