#Juneteenth: becoming anti-racist
Today is June 19th, 2020, also called Juneteenth. 155 years ago, in Galveston, TX, the last enslaved African Americans were finally given notice of their freedom.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed all slaves in the United States almost two and a half years earlier and the American Civil War had largely ended with the defeat of the Confederate States in April, Texas was the most remote of the slave states, with a low presence of Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow and inconsistent.
At Tidepool, the nonprofit I proudly joined two months ago, we designated Juneteenth as an official holiday. Howard Look, our CEO, went on to say:
I’ve asked the Tidepool team to not use the Juneteenth time to catch up on yard work, or have a BBQ with the family. I want our team members to turn the day into an opportunity to celebrate, learn, reflect, and take action. This is a day to do something outside of our comfort zone — learn more about Black history in America, read books, watch films or listen to podcasts about racial disparities and injustice, and how to be an anti-racist; to attend a #BlackLivesMatter rally, or volunteer at an inner-city school; to do something to make the world a better place.
As a white person who came to the US as an adult from Venezuela in 2000, I didn’t have a good grasp of what life for black people was like in America, and I continue to learn: I am a embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know anything about Juneteenth until this year.
Although, I won’t ever be able to KNOW what it’s like to be black, the past few weeks have been a time of learning for me. As part of my effort to do something to make the world a better place, I am summarizing in this post some of the lessons I’ve learned and the best resources I’ve found for others to become better allies and better humans.
Systemic Racism
Many people feel that racism is not systemic, that it’s something that only “a few bad apples” are guilty of. This article shows 25 simple charts that make it impossible to believe that racism is not a problem in America. From employment data (including unemployment during the pandemic), to representation in corporate America and Government, to wage disparity and income stagnation, to educational opportunities, to home ownership and home financing, to health disparities, to the overrepresentation of black prisoners in US prisons… the data is overwhelming, showing an uneven playing field that disproportionally is stacked against black people.
The 4-minute video below explains Systemic Racism using animation and graphics.
How is this possible?
If this feels like a lot, it’s because it iS a lot… and there’s a history behind it.
The powerful documentary “13th” by director Ava DuVernay examines the issue starting with the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution (1865), which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. This penal labor exception has been at the root of the disproportionate rate of imprisonment among Blacks (33% of the prison population) compared to their proportion of the U.S. population (12%).
This is not an easy-watch documentary, but it’s something we ALL owe to our African-American brothers and sisters: to not look away, because solving systemic issues like racism begins with accepting they exist, and learning about them.
Unconscious Bias
There’s a very powerful quote from Dr. Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, that I recently heard as part of a podcast episode of the same title hosted by Brené Brown:
"To grow up in America, is to have racist ideas constantly rained on your head, and you don't have an umbrella... And you don't even know that you're wet, because the racist ideas make you imagine that you are dry.”
The umbrella that Dr. Kendi refers to feeds from your unconscious biases. The following resources should help you realize that we all have unconscious biases, and how to do something about them:
Implicit Bias: Check Our Bias to Wreck Our Bias (3-minute video)
Bias (part of the Talking About Race series by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture)
Making people aware of their implicit biases doesn’t usually change minds. But here’s what does work (PBS News Hour article)
What More Can You Do?
The fact that you are reading this post means that you are probably not OK with the current state of things. Here are a few more resources to help you in your journey to be anti-racist and fight for equity at work, at home, and in society at large:
Being Antiracist - part of the Talking About Race series by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. The museum wasn’t yet open the last time I went to Washington, DC, so I am thankful for their efforts to make resources like this available online.
One Black employee’s answer to “How can I help?” (20 minute read) - “… as a Black professional emerging out of weeks of working, crying, reading the news, yelling into the ether, protesting, and being further traumatized by horrible people or videos on the internet… it’s exhausting to start work on Monday morning. Especially when I’m already struggling to focus and stay engaged.”
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice (16 minute read) - “This article is continually updated to ensure each item is accurate and needed today. Achieving racial justice is a marathon, not a sprint. Our work to fix what we broke and left broken isn’t done until Black folks tell us it’s done.”
Social Justice, Anti-Racism, and #BLM Resources - put together by our partners at ReadySet (a fantastic diversity and inclusion consulting group) who will be leading a 2-part workshop with us at Tidepool on building an inclusive culture.
Please share in the comments your thoughts, and any additional resources you have found useful to become anti-racist.
“"In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist." - Angela Davis, via @_shethepeople
