Even among people of goodwill and groups working toward what seem like the same goals, conversations about race and racism can be difficult, complicated and even angry.
Well-meaning white people who can’t see their own subtle racism — who pat themselves on the back for their enlightened opinions and attitudes while always staying snugly inside their own comfort zones — frankly wear some black people out.
Cecilia Towner, founder of the Vancouver chapter of Black Lives Matter, calls it “smile-and-a-hug racism.” She’s among several local activists who said that having to instruct and encourage white people — both to question themselves honestly and to try harder to make a real difference — is exhausting and frankly oppressive.
On one hand there’s the problem of “white saviors” who’ve already got all the answers. On the other hand, ” ‘Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it’ is a function of white privilege,” said Dr. Bevin Rowland, a psychologist and self-described “very white person” who leads workshops for Clark College faculty and staff on being racial justice “accomplices.”
Accomplice is a carefully chosen word. A white accomplice is an activist who steps outside their comfort zone and stays there. An accomplice has “skin in the game,” Rowland said.
Most people who congratulate themselves for being on the right side of this fight aren’t accomplices. They may be “allies” who are thinking good thoughts, but they’re also “waiting till they feel ready and bulletproof” before actually doing anything, Rowland said. That’s a subtler form of oppression, she said.
There’s a premium on being “nice and polite” in white culture, Rowland said. True accomplices violate that norm as they pursue those tough conversations about race and racism — not just by marching in crowds but at work with colleagues, over dinner with the family, at the bar or coffee shop with friends.
This doesn’t only apply to white people. When widespread protests erupted over the recent “Muslim travel ban,” Shirin Elkoshairi, a member of the Islamic Society of Southwest Washington, said he felt “humbled” and a little ashamed.
“I haven’t done an amazing job of helping other minorities, but they were marching for me,” he said. “I’m a brother. I need to do the same things for them and I need to apologize for not being more sensitive before now.”
Getting active
A new group of white activists now forming the Clark County chapter of a nationwide group called Showing Up For Racial Justice, or SURJ, prefers the term “anti-racist,” according to Jenna Schofer. “As white anti-racist organizers, our work is to challenge white supremacy in ourselves and our communities through education and reflection” and to lend support and resources to people of color as they lead the way, she said.
To jump-start SURJ Clark County, Black Lives Matter Vancouver and SURJ PDX joined forces for an inaugural door-knocking effort earlier this year. Talking with Clark County residents about the Black Lives Matter movement was a baby step to test the waters, Schofer said. Not surprisingly, reactions were mixed.
“I got a lot of ‘all lives matter,’ ” said Towner, who started Black Lives Matter Vancouver because of the genuine harm local racism has caused her and her daughter. Towner tends to let her opinions and anger fly, and said she’s found working with many “nice, polite” white allies challenging and even counter-productive.
But she’s pressing ahead anyway. Two events jointly sponsored by BLM Vancouver and SURJ Clark County are coming right up:
• SURJ Clark County informational/organizational meeting, set for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the YWCA Clark County, 3609 Main St., Vancouver.
• Author the Rev. David Billings discusses his new book, “Deep Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in U.S. History and Life,” 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 15 at Vancouver Heights United Methodist Church.
“What makes good allies is doing the work to understand all of it,” Towner said. “Understanding you, understanding history, understanding why it’s important.”
