People of Colour Can Be ‘Woke’ Too.
Some of us haven’t ‘figured out’ this racism thing yet.
Woke: ‘Alert to injustice in society, especially racism.’ — The Oxford Dictionary
Despite deliberate attempts to misinterpret the word, we should all be ‘woke’, shouldn’t we? Being conscious of the complexities of racism and its manifestations surely one of our most important allies to engender positive change?
Being ‘woke’ is a phrase that -in my experience- is primarily directed towards White people or commercial companies who have recently acknowledged racial discrimination where it had previously gone ignored or undetected. 2020 put the emphasis on all people, especially the White population, to be more informed and active in the fight against this discrimination. Along the way though, it seems to have been overlooked that this is not only true to those particular communities.
Because I am Black. And in 2020 I became ‘woke.’
Wokeness is not only pertinent to those with less melanin in their skin. It is relevant to every one of us in society. Including people of colour.
But all people of colour know about racism. They have lived it. So they are automatically ‘woke’? Right?
Not necessarily.
I know what being Black feels like. Society and its workings force me to consistently reflect on the fact I am regarded as different. And that difference negatively affects my interaction with civilisation. I may not be able to effectively convey this experience to others. One may not ‘get it’ after hearing my attempts to explain its complexity (unless they have faced something similar). I am unable to pour out my soul sufficiently so that another can accurately empathise with me. But I know it. I feel it. I live with it. Everyday.
But that doesn’t mean I have been forever ‘woke’.
If I had been born into slavery 200 years ago…maybe I would have been a ‘Good N*gger’.
To me, this is because the definition has, in particular, two keywords: Alert and society. My past experiences of racism affected me. It had registered within. I could see it in prejudiced eyes when they gazed upon me. It’s the reason I didn’t get that job. It’s the reason why some won’t accept me as British, purely because I wasn’t White. I could go on- but that feeling has mostly been individual. It was for me to acknowledge, decipher and experience.
Rarely did I use that to paint a much larger, more intricate picture of how racism affects everything and everyone on a societal level. And when I did so, my summations were rudimentary. I did not effectively assess how my experiences gave just the tiniest insight into how injustice is sewn into every fibre of our world. I was, therefore, not active in addressing it. I was putting together 30 of the jigsaw pieces and disregarding the remaining 300.
The events of 2020 have caused me to acknowledge, find and sort through the extra 300 previously ignored jigsaw pieces and put them in place. I am doing so with care and attention. Running my fingers around the edges of each one and inspecting every tile in detail. The process is slow, frustrating and unbelievably complex, but ultimately, there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now. Beforehand I could decipher just part of the puzzle picture, but this process makes its entirety far clearer.
But what took me so long? Self-protection, I think.
I knew that delving into racism on a more wholesome level would be painful. Unbelievably so. And I guess, I subconsciously decided no to fully open up its box. Instead, I slid the box under my bed. I always knew it was there, and I thought about it every day. I toyed with the idea of bursting it open and facing reality. But I didn’t. And there it remained, unopened- because that was easier than the alternative.
This article is to enlighten others that oppressed people may not be able to fully scrutinise and respond to the racism that directly affects them.
My previous ignorance fills me with regret. Maybe I just lacked courage. So little courage that if I had been born into slavery 200 years ago, maybe I wouldn’t have fought back against my oppressors. Maybe I wouldn’t have tried to escape to freedom. Maybe I would have just done what I was bought to do, and pick cotton all day long- because that too was easier than the alternative. Maybe I would have been a ‘Good N*gger’.
Recently, I have learnt more about how the world reacts to my blackness than in the last 35 years of my life. I have learnt about Black history that was previously ignored or unreported. Became more informed about structural and systemic racism. Read more about the civil rights movement. Seen powerful quotes that inspire and portray emotions I have felt all my life, in ways I could never express. And grasped the inadequacy of governmental policy and investigations to examine racism or racist acts. The list goes on.
Maybe I am being too self-critical. Different people realise and face up to issues at different times. No two people have the same journey in life. Arriving at the right place is the most important thing. But, if I am truthful, I feel ashamed it took so long. It took inexplicable acts of violence towards people of colour for me to profoundly confront racism on a holistic level. I’m certain the shame will lie within forever. But for now, I will park that shame. Because I’m too busy being ‘alert to injustice in society, especially racism’. I’m too busy being woke.
So why am I writing this?
This article is to enlighten others that oppressed people may not be able to fully scrutinise and respond to the racism that directly effects them. And this can be so for a host of reasons, including that racism is an unbelievably complex and painful entity. Some of us haven’t ‘got it all figured out’, and to some extent, that’s OK! We also need a safe space to decipher it, at a time when we are ready to.
If you are a person of colour and, like me, have also recently become ‘woke’, know that you are not alone. You are not the only one. I am sure there are many more like us. We have ended up at the right place, and that’s something worth celebrating.
