Hey white friends (and POC alike), call it like you see it!

This is a nice short article about Jimmy Carter and anti-racist whiteness from The Root.

Here's a passage from it:

But the response to President Carter by leaders of his own Party reflects a critical problem that helps explain why our discourse about race is so often smothered before it even takes its first breath. Whites are often reluctant to call out racism because they know that they will stand alone. Too often, those whites who are courageous and honest enough to break the wall of silence that surrounds race, are rewarded by ostracism and denunciation. They are left alone to defend publicly what is understood and only spoken about behind closed doors. Their candor is instead regarded as a kind of transgression, the violation of a silent pact – one made among anti-racist whites -- who adhere to the view that naming racism will only empower it.

It's a good reminder that, no matter how we identify, when we see racism it is probably better to confront with compassion than to remain silent in more instances than we will allow ourselves to vocalize. The courage of those who speak out, like President Carter, is sadly not met with commendation, but is instead dismissed.

Here's another perspective that riffs on the Jimmy Carter statement.