Those are the people who won’t see us. It’s those people who will require us to have courage in our friendship.
To those people, it won’t matter that I used to hold my brother with one arm when he was an infant, that he would cry when I would leave, that he loves video games, or that his favorite food is chicken tenders. It won’t matter that he’s sweet and likes to give people hugs so they know he cares.
It won’t matter, because they won’t see my brother. The same way they didn’t see Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, and countless children of color just like them.
They are the same people who didn’t want to see me.
They will see what my teachers saw, what the parents of my friends saw, what my classmates saw, what those security guards saw, what the police saw. They will see whatever they want to see and whatever they expect to see.
But you’re nothing like them, and that’s exactly why we’re friends.
I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t tell you to listen to something to close us out. Let’s end this with “Umi Says” by Mos Def.
“Shine your light on the world . . .”
Until next time.
Your friend,
Fred
This encyclopedia features concepts from the book that I thought might need to be expanded on. Basically, I’ve saved you the hassle of googling. You’re welcome.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
As I’ve mentioned throughout the book, inequality is built into every aspect of American society, giving Black and brown people less access than white people to education, employment, and power. (See the white privilege entry for more on this.)
In 1961, President Kennedy’s administration developed a program to help ensure fairness in government hiring and coined the term “affirmative action” to describe it.
Affirmative action has been used to inform things such as college admissions and equal employment opportunity programs. It’s based on the notion that “neutral” hiring practices are not enough to fix the historic inequality; institutions need to take action to analyze practices, identify stumbling blocks, and seek out diverse candidates.
ALL LIVES MATTER
“All Lives Matter” is a phrase that started being used in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter is a call to action for Black people to no longer be murdered by white racists and to receive equal treatment under the law. In response, All Lives Matter aims to say that everyone should matter equally—but ignores and rejects the lived experiences of Black people.
While the “All Lives” notion of equality may make sense to some, it inherently continues the status quo and the injustices Black people face. This is part of the reason that the phrase has been adopted by many white supremacist groups in an attempt to invalidate the importance of Black trauma and murders.
BLACK HAIR
There is a great deal of history when it comes to Black hair. On the surface, it may seem as simple as the fact that most Black people have a different hair texture and, often, styles from other racial groups. But that hair texture and those hair styles cause Black women and men to be treated differently from other people. From people asking to touch our hair to not having products made for our hair texture, Black people have to struggle with racist moments and microaggressions because of hair.
These are moments that a white person would likely never have to face. Touching someone is an invasion of privacy, and assuming you have the right to touch someone is a demonstration of the inequality between Black people and white people. Our people have been killed because of a look we may (or may not!) have given a white person, yet a white person feels they can reach out and touch our hair? That is deeply messed up.
Historically, Black people have also used certain styles such as braids to help with survival. For instance, during slavery and other periods, some Black people would hide grains and other small foods in their braids to help sustain themselves when owners of enslaved people would not feed them. (For more on this, visit: https://www.essence.com/hair/african-braiding-technique-rice-hunger-slavery/.)
This is a reason there tends to be frustration from the Black community when other groups wear hairstyles such as braids that have historical context and significance for us. In addition, Black people are often censured for wearing Black hairstyles while white people who appropriate these styles may not be.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement, phrase, and hashtag started by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi as a direct response to consistent violence and racism against Black people. The movement gained popularity and support in 2013 and 2014 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin and the murders of Eric Garner and Michael Brown by the police. Its message and call to action are simple: in the face of Black people’s lives being carelessly taken, society should be forced to understand that the lives of Black people matter.
BLACK PANTHER
Black Panther is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It was Marvel Studios’ first Black-led film, their first film with a Black director, and their first with a predominantly Black cast. It became the first comic-book superhero film to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards.
BREXIT
The United Kingdom was once a member of the European Union (EU), but in 2016, a slim majority of UK citizens voted to withdraw from the EU, largely due to widespread xenophobia and a political campaign based on misinformation and fear. The term Brexit comes from the words British and exit.
COLOR BLINDNESS
Color blindness is when people say they “don’t see race,” which is impossible, as the concept of race was designed to be something people could see. How else would you know whom to give power to and whom to enslave?
People who claim to be color-blind are attempting to express that they don’t have racist attitudes or thoughts as an individual—but fail to realize that this does more harm than good. What they are actually doing is choosing not to be uncomfortable, not understanding that even if they don’t take issue with other races, many do. The only way to actually make a change is to acknowledge and support someone else’s experiences due to their race, not ignore them.
Some might argue that color blindness began as a utopian goal—an effort to treat everyone equally, regardless of race. But it quickly turned into an excuse for many, especially white people, to deny that race is a factor in everything from discriminatory government policies; unequal treatment by law enforcement; voter suppression; access to jobs, goods, and services; and on and on.
By ignoring the role race plays in these issues, you are guaranteeing that nothing will change for those being oppressed or disproportionately impacted. Ultimately, “color-blind” simply means turning a blind eye to the problems faced by people of color.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION
Cultural appropriation is when a person adopts elements from a culture outside their own. This can include fashion, speech patterns or accents, hairstyles, physical features, and styles or trends. Cultural appropriation is often done by a dominant culture appropriating a disadvantaged culture.
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
In America, our educational system was developed by white people, and still today, most of the decision makers are white. Thus, often what and how we learn in school is through a white lens.