Whites by Otegha Uwagba

Author:Otegha Uwagba [Uwagba, Otegha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-10-01T17:00:00+00:00

After George Floyd is killed, I am determined not to prioritise white comfort over the truth, not to allow for the disconnect between internal monologue and outward display that often arises when I engage with white people on race. This resolve is a fairly recent development, a departure from decades of treading delicately around white people’s feelings, having observed that life is generally easier if you avoid disturbing white people’s perceptions of themselves as progressive and right-on.

Here are some things I’ve learned:

• That white people are generally happy to acknowledge racism, just so long as they don’t feel that they themselves are being accused of it. Racism is the preserve of ‘other’ white people, the bad ones.

• When discussing racism with white people, make it clear that you don’t see them as one of those white people, even if they are, and even if you do. In moments like this it’s best to speak in vaguer terms, about ‘structural’ racism or ‘implicit bias’, to avoid anyone feeling too attacked.

• When a white person tells you in shocked tones about a situation where they witnessed someone acting in a racist manner, you do not ask why this white person did not themselves challenge this behaviour, because that’s not why they’re telling you the story. They’re telling you because they want you to know, that they know, that racism is wrong.

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