I've been thinking so much about talking
about this current situation and then
almost talking myself out of it because
I'm like I am NOT educated enough to
speak on this topic I still have so much
work to do myself will I make this video
white centering should I only be
amplifying the voices of people of color
black people at the end of the day I can
never relate to the experiences of black
people I can read I can learn but I can
never try and convey them to the extent
that a black person can so before you go
any further I really recommend that you
if you are gonna watch this video that
you also make a commitment to go and to
do your own research and to listen to
the voices or black people that I'm
going to link below in my description
it's a caveat all of that I thought to
myself no I am [ __ ] angry
I don't swear something that stops these
conversations happening especially among
white people and like hi hello I am
white is this fear of making mistakes
and of saying the wrong thing and we
will and I will say probably things that
are wrong or worded wrong and firstly I
encourage you if you're a black person
person of color if you have an opinion
on this that you think I need to be
called out on please please call me out
with full force because that is how I am
going to learn this is how all of us are
going to learn is by actually having the
conversations and by talking about it I
have learned more from trying to talk
about these topics on Instagram in the
last year and being shot down by people
when I say things wrong when I have
accidentally made it white centering
when I have used the wrong terminology
etc but I have learnt so much already in
doing that and telling me just sitting
here and continuing to think and that
leading to inaction which ultimately
sucks I want to make this video again
call me out tell me what I'm seeing
wrong and I want to learn and I want to
do better because I have a freaking
platform and I don't think it's fair
that I continue to just think and sit
here when all this is going on and I
could be doing more so hi guys and
welcome to this video okay and I've also
been thinking how do I pitch this video
and I think the way that I'm going to do
it is I'm gonna imagine
I am speaking to a white friend maybe
someone who doesn't really get these
issues someone who wants to learn wants
to try you're seeing the stories you are
hearing the names like George Floyd you
are hearing the in justices that are
happening and maybe it is the first time
that you're actually trying to engage
with it in a way that's more than just
seeing it on a story thinking to
yourself all that's really bad and then
moving on with your life I'm gonna also
try not to use too much lingo like white
privilege white fragility tone policing
all these words that I encourage you to
become better versed in to do research
in to read books like why am i longer
talking to white people about race this
opened my eyes a lot I think I read it
for the first time two years ago and I
want to read it again because the work
doesn't stop so less black centered but
British is like a really interesting
British perspective on race yeah as I
say I'm gonna try and make this basic
and blunt easy to follow and I want you
to listen
us white people really do not want to be
called rhesus I think the single biggest
challenge the black people have in
talking to us about topics like race is
how defensive we are and I say we
because I'm included in this and I look
back at past conversations that people
who tried to broach with me and my
responses when I was thinking I was
being nice or whatever they are rooted
in a defensive nurse if someone calls
you out if someone in your life is
willing to have these discussions with
you listen just listen yeah so I have
been trying to have especially in the
last few days more conversations about
race with white friends and family I
think it's fascinating when you hear
things like oh but I have like don't
worry I'm not racist I have a black
friend and like oh my gosh those
policemen are disgusting those are
horrible people I would never do that I
like rap music I like white people you
know I'm not racist
those people are awful and making these
comparisons it's like you distance
yourself from ever staring yourself in
the mirror and actually thinking am i
tall racist you condemn these people
who've done very overt racist acts
firstly I want to say don't use black
people in your life as a token of your
non racism it doesn't work like that but
secondly I want to look at racism as a
scale because something I've been
thinking about in the last few days is
that I think a lot of white people see
being racist as an extreme so you either
are racist or you are not racist and no
one wants to be considered racist
so you defend yourself to be this no
white person ever wants to admit that
they have looked at a black person in a
hoodie and associated it with fear and
no white employer ever would admit that
they would rather hire someone who looks
like them than someone who is black no
one wants to be seen as a bad person and
racism obviously is a bad thing but
racism is not a binary extreme it is a
scale no one is entirely not racist
including
maybe even especially me and the reason
is is because we are raised into a
society where the system's around us are
inherently racist it's like if you look
at the way that our countries are formed
a lot of them are very problematic take
America America is literally built off
of stealing the territory of indigenous
people murdering indigenous people
enslaving an entire race and then
finally forcing black people to go
through like a whole civil rights
movement like kind of have some rights
but like the laws and the systems around
haven't actually changed that much or
like we like to demonize America but
look at the UK like we are built on
imperialism colonialism we are a country
that has stolen cultures rewritten
cultures look at our museums the British
Museum guys is literally just made of
stolen artifacts from other countries
that we don't really have a claim to I
mean in Britain look at Grenfell Tower
look at Stephen Lawrence look at social
mobility rates and ethnic minorities
look at stop and search rates and then
also just try and explain the whole like
systemic thing look at our media
representation matters so much more than
we all care to admit but as a kid you
want to watch shows where people who
look like you are represented in a
positive way like that makes a
difference to your psychology the
aspirations you set for yourself the way
you view yourself and the representation
of black people is shocking it's like
children are raised to believe that the
dazzling Disney Princess main character
is white and that the sidekick or the
token principal of the school or the
villain sidekick or just some random
character that they can shove in to have
some kind of diversity and take that
check box that is often the role that
the black person has fallen into let's
look - when you are a child and you're
getting out your Crayola coloring
pencils and you are asked to do a
self-portrait of yourself you know that
peachy fleshy color I don't know about
you but I
was raised to call that color skin color
like oh hey can you can you pass the
skin color so I can like draw myself
what was the black person next to me
meant to do when they asked to draw
themselves they she expressed their
identity and the only option is
something called skin color which
doesn't match their own skin color so
already as a child they're being taught
that they don't fit whatever society is
like deeming the correct one so then do
they have to pick up the black crayon
and use black or do they try and like
fit themselves into this narrative by
using the skin colour like like that's
deep look at our CEOs and our leaders I
don't know it's just accept of my head
but I do know the representation of
black people in those higher positions
is a lot lower than white people look at
wealthier regions of the country and the
demographics of people who occupy them
and if you even look into history in
America for example there's this thing
called redlining this literally meant
that you could only live in a certain
area if you were a certain race almost
everything about the way we think the
way we operate the opportunities that I
have that another person next to me has
you can trace it back into history and
the history has defined the system that
you're now in and the system affects you
whether you realize it or not it is
shown that as early as the age of two
and a half children use it with the idea
of race to pick their playmates in the
playground imagine that like you only
shove a kid racist media or you do the
whole you know skin color crayon thing
and then you ask them like who do you
want to play with in the field we
already at the age of two and a half
white kids are starting to have a
preference towards being with the white
kids everything I'm saying about kids I
learned from the Instagram page
conscious kids I highly recommend you
check them out so when someone says I am
NOT racist it's like hey I know you
haven't shot a black person well done
but my friend you are probably racist
quite simply because we have all been
taught to be I also just want to say I
see you and I reckon you are a really
nice person being a nice person does not
make you not racist end up holding the
sister
around us which are built on racism
doesn't that mean that it is ingrained
in us all I hate just to add something
new you've probably seen this a lot in
social media and I just want to echo it
it is no longer enough to be not racist
we must be actively anti-racist if you
are not doing something every day to
either work on your subconscious biases
to have conversations with people who it
is necessary to have conversations with
to share necessary posts to just think
in your mind that day about your
identity in the world and what you can
do and you are not rewriting the
underlying mindset that the system has
taught you to have and you are not
trying to violently combat something
that really needs violently combating
okay now I want to ask you how many of
you have shared something on social
media this week about George Floyd or
about race or about resources mercy I
appreciate that I think that's really
good this is a start you're like trying
to use your platform you like trying to
use your voice you're like speaking out
but now I want to ask you why did you
post those things like truly was it to
appear not racist we're hoping that
friends would see it and be like oh this
is a good white person they've actually
shared something which first thing I do
think to some extent is important to
just show your support especially if you
maybe have like one light friend who is
in a friendship group of predominate one
person post anything like that can be
pretty hard to see but what I'm trying
to get up is that I think social media
while being super powerful can also be
very performative like if you have
shared resources are you actually going
to read any of them are you actually
going to listen to the podcast if you
have shared a link to a donation page
have you actually donated and to this
one I was going to say you might not
have the funds and like that is so okay
I really think it's great that you're
sharing the donation like anyway like
that's really useful but what I'm
getting at is white people are so good
at being performative
do not want us to be performative
anymore people are dying
people have been dying for a long time
because of this issue as Will Smith said
racism is not getting worse it is just
being filmed and if you're feeling
overwhelmed at the moment by everything
of seeing on social media which I keep
assuming that you're seeing it maybe
because I follow a lot of people who
share these things so I guess it seems
very loud to me on social media and
actually maybe you are in like an echo
chamber people when no one shares it or
my camera died
yeah fuzzy fuzzy if you're not seeing
anything about this on social media you
are living in an echo chamber I just
want you to like recognize that because
this is like a big thing right now and
if you have not seen anything about it
you need to follow some new people which
I will link down below and I highly
recommend do follow them but yeah if you
are feeling overwhelmed if you are
struggling to process everything I know
it is so easy to just try and step back
and ignore swipe past
well I encourage you to lean into that
discomfort I invite you to recognize
that even if it is challenging your
mental health a bit right now
black people suffer every single day
mentally because of the systems around
us and it's not gonna change unless all
of us change so instead I just want you
to get angry I want you to be furious I
want you to try hard to educate yourself
and to read and to be involved and to go
beyond just posting something go beyond
just the now of what this week probably
is you know it's a big thing on social
media as I say and maybe it won't be in
one week in two weeks how are you going
to keep yourself accountable to
continually learning about these things
I'm already thinking about that myself
how can I make this an active work that
I do an active thing I can keep myself
accountable to doing on that note I've
recently started a workbook called me
and white supremacy it's a book by this
incredible person that I encourage you
to follow her name is Leila Saad she is
a black woman a black activist she is
Incred
we articulate in voicing this issue it
is a 28-day journaling journey of
introspection into your own implicit
biases and racist mindset and if me even
just saying that now made you feel
uncomfortable because you're like I
don't have a racist mindset again notice
that that made you feel uncomfortable
and then realize that you're the person
who needs to do the workbook when I last
looked at was sorta on Amazon so I'm
using the free PDF online I'll link it
down below but I do encourage you to
donate via Layla's patreon or PayPal kit
is to like pay her for the time that
went into making this resource and I'm
gonna link a hell load of resources down
below and guys I know that you like to
study okay and this ain't about a grade
anymore this is about real people and
real lives and a real issue that affects
all of us please have a look and a last
thought that I saw on a live stream done
by Rachel Carville and in Style magazine
yesterday which I thought was just a
brilliant quote anti-racism work is not
self-improvement work for white people
meaning if you pick up this workbook
don't treat it as an exciting moment to
improve yourself even though it is kind
of self-improvement
that's not the goal the goal is not for
you to be a better person it's for you
to be a better Ally a better comrade in
fighting what is though deeply ingrained
that it is going to be a challenge this
is not a tick box thing this is a learn
and educate and do the work every single
day including me I must do the work
every single day and when your Uncle Jim
is saying something about black people
rioting and how they are savages I want
you to be strong enough to say to him
look yes it is not ideal for economics
but who are we to try and tell these
people to help how to express their
anger and we are part of the problem
thank you for listening please read the
resources below do not thank me please
it's not about me
have a good night
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