In a world where the Black Lives Mater movement has finally gotten the traction and support from the mainstream media and general public it arguably deserved back in 2016 after the string of murders of young black men and women by the police, there has been further conversation about what it means to be anti-racist. Being ‘not racist’ is no longer good enough – we have to be actively, perhaps aggressively, anti-racist. So, what does it mean to be anti-racist? Well, one might label being anti-racist as being an active participant in the eradication of institutional racism and interpersonal racism. In the same way one could label being ‘not racist’ as a denial, a morality indicator that’s essentially useless and is used to absolve a person of any guilt. To fight racism, the first thing we have to do is understand that we live in an institutionally racist world, that our cities are built upon racism and to be anti-racist, we must pledge to fight that daily. Whether it’s a school hair policy that inadvertently discriminates against young black girls, or a passing comment made by a family member – it all needs to be challenged.
Ms Annie Abu
Teacher of English
