Steps You Can Take to be Anti-Racist

Recognizing Bias

Recognizing and confronting one's own biases is a crucial step in anti-racism work. Eric Deggands highlights how unconscious biases manifest in everyday actions, such as the impulse to call the police on an unfamiliar Black person jogging in a neighborhood. This action reflects deeper societal issues, including over-policing and the weaponization of white privilege 1. Annalise Singh suggests that acknowledging these biases can be akin to experiencing the five stages of grief, particularly for those with white or light skin privilege 1.

I'm gonna be in denial if I'm white or have light skin about how white body supremacy works. So moving through that bargaining denial into, like, some anger, like, whoa, I am positioned this way.

--- Annalise Singh

Understanding and accepting these biases is essential for leveraging one's life to make a difference.

   

Lifelong Learning

Embracing lifelong learning is vital in the journey toward anti-racism. Eric Deggands emphasizes that understanding racism is a continuous process, requiring constant self-reflection and openness to new perspectives 2. He shares a profound insight from a friend, highlighting the importance of truly seeing people of color beyond stereotypes and prejudices 2.

We're inviting people to see us for the first time, and it should break your heart that you haven't seen us yet.

--- Eric Deggands

Deggands also encourages seeking out art and media centered on anti-racism to challenge and expand one's understanding, reinforcing that this is a lifelong commitment 2.