Will Racism Ever End?

Recently, I came across an intensely intriguing question: "will racism ever end?", and while I would love nothing more than to give a simple "yes or no" answer as the question prompts, I believe that this question is much too complicated for such a nondescript answer. If you follow my Instagram account, you might have seen my recent story uploads regarding this question. I posed the question to my followers and asked them to respond to a yes-or-no poll with the option to further elaborate on their thought processes and reasonings via direct message. The responses that I received, specifically by direct message, were astounding – full of deep and insightful thoughts. After spending many hours reading through the responses, I found three main themes that arose from the collected data in order to provide parameters to this discussion: definition, source, and complexity. In order to justify their answer to the question, "will racism ever end?", people were evaluating, establishing, and exploring the definition, source, and complexity of racism. With that said, here is my humble** attempt at consolidating these responses into three cohesive themes, and my quick two cents at the end.

Definition

When I have conversations with people, I am constantly trying to define terms. What cognitive biases does a word/phrase carry for this individual and how are they different than my own preconceived notions? Understanding what people mean when they say certain words is a necessity in order to have effective communication. For example, the word "cold" means one thing for me and an entirely different thing to KC-ians. For me, "cold" is anything below 50 degrees. For KC-ians, "cold" apparently begins around the mid-30's. The way that we define "cold" varies due to our different experiences. If neither party is willing to extend understanding to the other, we are stuck in a cycle of "it's cold" and "no it's not". Without a common definition, or at least an understanding of the others' definition, it becomes impossible to have effective communication.

If we have differing views on a concept as simple as hot and cold, how much more intricate are our views on a topic as complex as racism? Reading through the various responses that had been sent to me, I found that the following words/concepts kept showing up: systemic, socialized, prejudice, oppression, and skin color. In an effort to consolidate these components into one cohesive definition, I present my working definition of racism: The systemic oppression of a people based off race due to socialized prejudices about the color of their skin. Let me unpack some of this definition for you. Defining racism as systemic (occurring throughout a whole system) highlights the fact that racism operates on all three levels of society: micro (interpersonal), meso (social groups), and macro (institutions and systems). Recognizing that racism is a product of socialized prejudices puts responsibility on both the individual and society. The individual must unlearn biases and prejudices that have been established and enforced by society.

Source

As I continued to read through the many responses, another idea slowly rose to the surface. In order to end conflict, the source of that conflict must be known. Before tackling the question of ending racism, we need to understand the source of racism. In other words, where does racism stem from? There were three main perspectives from which participants approached this question: historical, social and psychological. These three perspectives mirror the three levels of society listed in the above section: micro, meso, and macro. In the historical perspective, responses centered around the concept of colonization and the ways in which laws and systems influenced racism. Social perspective responses focused mainly on the way that society constructed and enforced biases. Psychological perspectives shifted the focus toward the internal psyche of the human and addressed internal sources of racism.

Historically, racism is not a new concept. One need only to look at the colonization that has happened throughout history to see the lasting effect that racist mindsets have had on our world today. These mindsets, embedded in the ideals of colonization, still influence our societies today. And, as much as I'd love to blame society and history for the problem of racism, it's not quite so simple. There is a level of personal responsibility that must be taken into account. As one of my participants said, "In order for racism to end we have to be willing to acknowledge that it exists but no one wants to acknowledge their capacity to be a trash human being". This idea was echoed in nearly every single response I received: racism stemmed from the selfishness and pride that was inherent to humanity. As another response indicated, "Racism is one of many ways people express a desire to be superior to their fellow [person]". This internal desire expresses itself through society and history, and provides a fundamental motivation for the continuation of racism.

Complexity

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I believe that the issue of racism is much too complex for such nondescript answer as "yes" or "no". Nearly every response that I received echoed the same tension: the desire for and difficulty of the end of racism. Full of varying perspectives born of unique experiences, the topic of racism is one of the most complicated issues humans face. Let me clarify one thing here. When I say that racism is complex, I am referring to the definitions and sources of racism, not the morality of racism. Attempting a wholistic understanding of the issue of racism is complicated. The fact that racism is bad is pretty simple. Navigating and constructing effective dialogue surrounding racism is complicated. Wanting racism to end is simple.

The complexity of the problem of racism necessitates a complex response and solution. In order to end racism, transformation must happen on micro, meso, and macro levels of society. Implementing change on a systemic level requires large-scale mobilization and action, change on a social level requires dialogue and conversation, change on an internal level requires self-honesty and introspection. Due to the multi-faceted nature of racism, the solutions must also be multi-faceted and therefore, complex.

My Two Cents

So, will racism ever end? I think the better and more important question to ask is, what will it take to end racism and what am I doing/can I be doing to strive toward that goal?

Whether or not it's possible to end racism, we ought to seek continual growth and development through critical self-examination. We might not ever fix the problem, but if we give up, then we definitely won't. Instead of having a pass/fail mentality, I want to challenge you to have a growth-mindset. If we, as a society, as a people, can continue to grow and develop just a little bit every day, maybe one day we'll see the end of racism.

As I leave you, here's my challenge to you: take a long, hard look at yourself and identify two potential areas of growth and try to develop those areas this upcoming week. For me, 1) I tend to shy away from tough conversations about race in favor of keeping the peace, 2) I struggle to let people fully define their words and tend to jump to assumptions. This week, I am going to 1) engage people in conversation when I hear racist remarks, and 2) revoice and restate what other people say during these conversations. What about you? What steps can you enact this week in order to grow and develop yourself or the people around you?

-J

As always, thank you so much for your time! I know that this post was pretty intense, and I'm sure your mind is buzzing with thoughts. I would LOVE to hear them. So, please send me a message and share your feedback, ideas, objections, and experiences.

**If, during your read of this post, you come across something that you disagree with or that you find offensive, I would love to hear from you. I am, by no means, an expert on this topic and I aim to continue to grow in knowledge. I would love to have a dialogue with you and learn from you. These are simply my musings on the responses I got to an Instagram poll - so please do not take them as empirical data, but rather, as a collection of people's thoughts and experiences.