I’m White, What Do I Do Now?

Moving Beyond Hashtags: A Multimedia Guide to Anti-Racism Work

By Rebecca Farnum

A person of color said to me, “I need to see more white people engaging in work besides just hashtagging Black Lives Matter. Hashtags are not work.”

I am a white person writing this to white people. I have been asking some questions of myself and ask you to consider those same questions.

For too long, white people have demanded people of color live the experience of racism, explain racism to us, and at same time, assuage us of any guilt. We have avoided the hard work of acknowledging our whiteness and our privilege, which is the core foundation that allows for violence and murder against people of color.

But we happened to be born white and aren’t you and I good white people??

Yes, you and I try to be good people. But that does not matter. We were born into white privilege and institutional racism. We are part of both and perpetuate both. White privilege and racism are systems designed to exist in perpetuity, regardless of whether I am a good person or not.

So there is the paradox. The systems of white privilege and racism are bigger than any one individual, yet the only way to disrupt these systems (and the violence against people of color) is the efforts of many individuals. White people, you and I, it is time for us to do the hard work of learning our history, unlearning bias, and amplifying the voices of people of color.

What do we do right now in this immediate moment? First things first, stop and listen. Stop trying to show we are good persons. Stop looking to people of color. Stop acting shocked. Get ready to notice our whiteness. Get ready to sit with a lot of discomfort. Listen. Listen to the voices and stories of people of color. Listen with intent and care. Do not offer explanations, defenses, or solutions. What do we hear? Listen to be present and give only our recognition.

And do our own work. Engage with other white people and let’s educate ourselves about the racist history of this country, look at the present with new eyes ready to acknowledge what is true now, and push to make change.

Learning Information and Reflecting on the Past

We were born into the systems of white privilege and racism. We did not create them. However, we continue to strengthen these systems by our ignorance. It is important to start at the beginning. Learn and reflect on the past. Find the histories of people of color. Bring to light the history of whiteness and racism.

Question:

• What is race and in what ways do we rely on this social construct?
• Ta-Nehisi Coates, an author and journalist, has said, “Race is the child of racism, not the father.” What do we think he means by that? What have we learned that helps us to think about that statement?
• What narratives about race and whiteness were reinforced in school and in our families? What history was excluded?

Discover:

• Read Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi.
• Listen to Seeing White, a fourteen-part documentary series by Scene on Radio.
• Watch 13th, a documentary by Ava DuVernay.
• Explore the art of Betye Saar.

Look:

• What new understanding do we have now as we examine the past looking at whiteness and racism?
• What do we see today that reflects and echoes this new understanding from the past?

Shifting Perspective and Holding What is True Now

As white people begin to learn a more accurate history of whiteness and racism, there is a lot of shame and guilt to accept and process. Hopefully, taking the work into our own hands allows us to engage in difficult conversations with each other as white people to examine the present with a better understanding of the past. We cannot change what we cannot see. In order to ensure the safety of everyone in our communities, especially people of color, we must first see, examine, and understand the inequities.

Question:

• What does being white mean to us?
• In what ways have we experienced white privilege? As a white person, how have we reinforced systems of racism?
• Do we know the names and stories of people of color who have been recently killed by state violence? (Tony McDade, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Dominique Clayton, Eric Reason, Atatiana Jefferson, Botham Jean, Philando Castile, Bettie Jones, Walter Scott…)

Discover:

• Read White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.
• Listen to Code Switch, a National Public Radio podcast by Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji.
• Watch Whiteness Project: Inside the White/Caucasian Box, an interactive documentary by Whitney Dow.
• Explore the art of Paul Rucker.

Look:

• What things have we done or said that were acts of racism?
• What things have we done or said that were acts of antiracism?

Taking Action and Pushing to Make Change

Continue to learn about the past and the present, there is always more to understand. The systems of whiteness and racism are partly held in place because of our unwillingness to delve into the complexities. Ibram X. Kendi has said, “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it — and then dismantle it.”

Question:

• How is whiteness allowed to dominate in our field of work?
• How is racism taking place at our workplaces? In our communities?
• What spaces do we inhabit? What voices are heard? What voices are missing?

Discover:

• Read So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo.
• Listen to Eula Biss interview by Krista Tippett, titled “Let’s Talk About Whiteness” as part of the On Being series.
• Watch Becoming, a documentary by Nadia Hallgren.
• Explore the art of Jordan Casteel.

Look:

• Who are the leaders doing the work of dismantling whiteness and racism? Who are the people running for office, locally and nationally? Are we registered to vote? When are the next elections in our communities?
• Who are the groups doing the work of dismantling whiteness and racism? What are the organizations, locally and nationally, doing this work? How can we volunteer our time? What money can we donate?

As white people, whiteness and racism is rooted so deeply into how we think about and move in the world that we can’t even see it. We have to reflect and explore and notice and reflect and explore and notice some more to get used to thinking in new ways so that we can start to be held accountable and empower people of color. What I have suggested here is merely a small step toward being better equipped to do our hard work. Our work is not done alone, and most importantly we need to listen to the people of color who are sharing their stories and voicing their perspectives. As white people, what do we learn when we reflect on our entrenched racism? How do our perspectives shift as we recognize our whiteness? And now, how do our questions prompt each of us to take action to dismantle the system of racism?

Rebecca Farnum is an educator in Washington, DC. Rebecca leads a National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity) group for faculty, and a White Anti-Racist Group for middle school students at her school. In addition to reading, listening, watching, and exploring, she has participated in a number of opportunities to engage with others in this work, including the Racial Equity Institute, the White Privilege Conference, and the Race Institute for Educators.