Anti-Racism is not just being “against” racism
For anyone who has only recently become familiar with the term Anti-Racism, it might sound like the term simply means to be against racism, and though this is the logical conclusion, it is not entirely true. The term anti-racism actually differs in underlying meaning from all the other contexts in which we usually apply the prefix ‘anti’.
When we use or hear the terms anti-war or anti-discrimination or anti-anything, we know and understand it to mean something along the lines of being ‘against or opposed’ to a thing; but this would be an incomplete understanding of what anti-racism means and stands for.
More than just a position of being against or opposed to racism, anti-racism is more precisely a movement that is interested in understanding, addressing, dismantling and undoing systemic racism and its socio-economic impacts on society. This process also involves the deconstruction of the socially constructed idea of different races.
Anti-racism is not even remotely related to being concerned with individual racists, racist rants, slurs or individual acts of racist abuse. Bystander intervention is a great thing to be trained in, but it doesn’t actually represent anti-racism work. Anti-racism is about recognising that ‘not being racist’ is not enough and being against racism or offended by it, does not negate its existence.
Beyond preparing ourselves with the skills to defend or intervene during incidents of racist abuse, anti-racism is concerned with the dismantling of systemic injustice and stemming the growth of media-induced prejudice at its root.
Anti-racism requires awareness of the fact that the social construct of ‘race’, though falsified and scientifically disproven, has nevertheless had an immense negative impact on society and caused acute injustice, inequity and suffering that now requires repair and reparations.
Anti-racism is about resolving our personal pain and grief, or our shame and guilt, and actually getting on with the job of recognising the systems, structures and policies that have constructed and reinforced arbitrary racial boundaries over 500 years, and to then begin intelligently envisaging a way to rebalance and redesign our world through a systems-thinking approach to social and organisational change.
Anti-racism is about knowing when and how the language of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is being appropriated to “include” historically marginalised and excluded peoples in the very same spaces that have contributed to their oppression, without actually allowing for their voice to be heard or any meaningful contribution on their part.
The act of ‘inclusion’ of BIPOC into inherently unjust spaces, is no longer enough of a step forward. Diversity for the sake of “social sustainability” in the corporate world is perfectly fine, and diversity in the workplace for the sake of increased productivity or to meet legislative guidelines is ok, but that is not necessarily anti-racism work either.
It’s time to talk about how “inclusion” in space that are not racially equitable is still perpetuating racism, and diversity within a systemically unjust society is tokenistic and can come across as condescending and patronising. When we broaden our awareness of our collective history, the momentum of our society, and the direction in which we are moving, we begin to understand how anti-racism is actually less about being “against racism” and more about being “for justice”.
To put things into perspective, Anti-Racism is the most recent stage in the natural progression of ending slavery, civil rights, anti-discrimination, and diversity, equity & inclusion. Anti-Racism is about justice, not just politeness.
Where the language of anti-discrimination was focused on incidents of discrimination, the discourse of anti-racism is about addressing the systems and structures that have historically caused discrimination. It is about building a world that recognises the ultimate oneness of humanity, and then going about removing every barrier to complete and lasting unity.
It is time to leave the division and disunity of past centuries in the past and move forward with confidence, conviction and clarity towards the world we all know is possible, but is yet to be created. A world where the basic needs of all humans are met, where human rights need not be fought for, where gender justice is achieved, racial unity is acknowledged, and the oneness of our planet finally and firmly established. And all of that requires us to engage in the work of Anti-Racism.
Far from being another tool for division or a point of debate, anti-racism seeks to remove or dismantle the barriers to a connected, cohesive, just and equitable world. Anti-racism is about transitioning from advocating for the ideal of Unity to intentionally building the reality of Oneness.
- Erfan Daliri
About the Author
Erfan Daliri is a social change consultant and educator with a Masters in Communication for Social Change from the University of Queensland. He has worked for 20 years in a diverse range of areas, including participatory community development, social justice advocacy, cross-cultural communication, settlement services and systems thinking for social change.
He is the founding director of Newkind Social Justice Conference, programme coordinator of the National Unity in Diversity Conference, and consults and advises on systems change, communication design and racial equity for companies, NGOs and universities across the world.
Erfan is passionate about empowering organisations and communities to address issues of social, environmental and economic justice and to help them build a more inclusive, cohesive, sustainable and equitable society.
Continue Reading
The idea that unconscious bias exists in all of us is no longer a question to be asked but rather a scientific matter of fact. And because it is costing the business world $64B dollars annually in the rehiring process alone means that companies are finally ready to talk about it and understand how their human resources and diversity & inclusion staff can mitigate its impact. The true cost of unconscious bias includes the human resources to rehire, decreased productivity due to low employee satisfaction, as well as the loss of potential talent unwilling to even apply to work for employers with negative diversity and inclusion reports. Beyond these business indicators, the social and emotional cost of unconscious bias on our world is far too great to even hypothesise at this stage.