breaking the format #BLACKLIVESMATTER
"In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist.
We must be anti-racist."
- Angela Davis
As the protests and the outrage over the murder of George Floyd and the systematic oppression of the black community in the US are unfolding this quote is spreading all over social media. I've heard about this quote before and thought about how I as a white-passing privileged woman can be actively anti-racist.
I've gotten to know Angela Davis as I watched the documentary " The Black Panthers: Vanguard of Revolution" a couple of years ago. I've thought long and hard about what I can do to be an ally to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the black community.
I started to educate myself by reading books by black authors like James Baldwin, Colson Whitehead and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. As part of my english literature exam I choose to read " Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin and "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because I wanted to dive deeper and wanted to know about the daily life as a black person in America and the roots of american racism. I'm still learning and I'm listening. As a mixed race woman from Switzerland and Ethiopia I've never personally been the victim of racism but I have seen racism in action. I am used to be part of the white, Swiss community and the black, Ethiopian community. I never believed that one race is superior. I always believed in equality.
In my teens I finally confronted the conundrum of racism and how I as a light-skinned woman am privileged. I've seen it in the way that a childhood friend of mine from Eritrea had problems finding an apprenticeship because of his name. I've seen it in the way my mother has been looked at and how some Swiss people think she cannot talk Swiss German.
I was not very outspoken at the time and came to terms that my quietness is also a form of racism. At some point I even believed that I didn't see any color. That we are all the same. Later I had come to learn that I was in fact racist and ignorant if I don't see the blackness of my family members and the entire black community.
After I finished reading "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin I was inspired by how direct and brave he was and what his ideas about being a witness/artist were. Through his books I learned that racism is not an American but a universal problem. That was the turning point. I started to watch documentaries and movies about the historical oppression of black people in America. I realized that the criminal justice system in the US is systematically designed for the oppression of black people. I started watching movies from black directors like Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins and Ava Duvernay and tried to amplify these voices.
I know that I will never be able to understand the pain and the oppression black people have to endure in the US and other countries every fucking day. But I can do my part. I can speak up not only online but also offline. I can support art by black artists and black businesses. I can point out racism when I see it happening. I can educate my white family members and my friends.
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
We must be anti-racist."
- Angela Davis
As the protests and the outrage over the murder of George Floyd and the systematic oppression of the black community in the US are unfolding this quote is spreading all over social media. I've heard about this quote before and thought about how I as a white-passing privileged woman can be actively anti-racist.
I've gotten to know Angela Davis as I watched the documentary " The Black Panthers: Vanguard of Revolution" a couple of years ago. I've thought long and hard about what I can do to be an ally to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the black community.
I started to educate myself by reading books by black authors like James Baldwin, Colson Whitehead and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. As part of my english literature exam I choose to read " Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin and "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because I wanted to dive deeper and wanted to know about the daily life as a black person in America and the roots of american racism. I'm still learning and I'm listening. As a mixed race woman from Switzerland and Ethiopia I've never personally been the victim of racism but I have seen racism in action. I am used to be part of the white, Swiss community and the black, Ethiopian community. I never believed that one race is superior. I always believed in equality.
In my teens I finally confronted the conundrum of racism and how I as a light-skinned woman am privileged. I've seen it in the way that a childhood friend of mine from Eritrea had problems finding an apprenticeship because of his name. I've seen it in the way my mother has been looked at and how some Swiss people think she cannot talk Swiss German.
I was not very outspoken at the time and came to terms that my quietness is also a form of racism. At some point I even believed that I didn't see any color. That we are all the same. Later I had come to learn that I was in fact racist and ignorant if I don't see the blackness of my family members and the entire black community.
After I finished reading "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin I was inspired by how direct and brave he was and what his ideas about being a witness/artist were. Through his books I learned that racism is not an American but a universal problem. That was the turning point. I started to watch documentaries and movies about the historical oppression of black people in America. I realized that the criminal justice system in the US is systematically designed for the oppression of black people. I started watching movies from black directors like Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins and Ava Duvernay and tried to amplify these voices.
I know that I will never be able to understand the pain and the oppression black people have to endure in the US and other countries every fucking day. But I can do my part. I can speak up not only online but also offline. I can support art by black artists and black businesses. I can point out racism when I see it happening. I can educate my white family members and my friends.
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
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