When white people are never racist | The Christian Century

The insistence and near anxiety being expressed in the phrase “I’m no racist” not only demonstrates that people are not ready to comprehend what I am articulating, but that these very white frameworks for discussing racism are deep and core foundational aspects of themselves. These are the categorical building blocks upon which many white people make sense of our world through. More specifically, the innocence of white identity is always to be protected in dialogue on racism. And clearly, considering oneself to be racist (even if poorly defined, and ultimately misdirecting) is considered to be the absolute worst thing. No white person ever wants to think of themselves as racist. And that is precisely part of the problem, no white person ever thinks of themselves as racist. Each white person is the innocent exception to the rule, even when confronted with the realities that our society is thoroughly racialized.

 

via When white people are never racist | The Christian Century.