White Silence is Violence: How to be a White Accomplice
White Silence is Violence: How to be a White Accomplice
by Corrine Fletcher
July 28, 2016
When Malcolm X was asked how white people could be allies and accomplices with Black people in 1964, he responded:
“By visibly hovering near us, they are ‘proving’ that they are ‘with us.’ But the hard truth is this isn’t helping to solve America’s racist problem. The Negroes aren’t the racists. Where the really sincere white people have got to do their ‘proving’ of themselves is not among the black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America’s racism really is — and that’s in their home communities; America’s racism is among their own fellow whites. That’s where sincere whites who really mean to accomplish something have got to work.”
Racism exists, and it is a white problem. Therefore, a more honest and accurate way to talk about racism –which requires both prejudice and systemic or institutional power over others– is to call it what it is: white supremacy. White supremacy is a system of exploitation and oppression of people of color by white people for the purpose of maintaining a system of wealth, power, and privilege for white people.
We have to acknowledge openly that white supremacy exists in America. And white privilege exists. We all need to be able to recognize both to do anything about them, and unless we are actively using our white privilege to dismantle white supremacy, we are complicit in its preservation.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/28/white-silence-is-violence-how-to-be-a-white-accomplice/
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