Let’s Talk About When Black People are Called Racists

Breaking down the myth of reverse racism

‘For the revisionists, racism is prejudice plus power leveraged at an institutional level to maintain the privileges of the dominant social group.’ (Hoyt, Jr., C, 2012)

As an anti-racism writer, I’ve been called a racist more times than I can count. There’s something about a Black woman speaking on her personal trauma and telling her story of being Black in America that is highly triggering.

It’s intriguing, but far from surprising, that gutting racism like a fish by using descriptive words to slit it right down the middle and expose the bones that lie beneath its scaley, slimy surface would touch a few nerves within the dominant population.

No one wants their dirty laundry aired out for the world to see. If that were the case, there would be no need for hampers or laundry rooms. We would just leave our dirty clothes exactly where we took them off and not bother to clean them up when visitors arrived at our homes.

But much to the horror of white people, Black people just refuse to stop talking about racism. I was recently on a social media platform reading comments on a friend’s post about the racial climate in this country, and I started following a feed between a few white women who were expressing their thoughts about the “uncomfortable conversations” taking place over the past year.

The general consensus between the women was that everyone was talking about racism and there was just no way to get away from it. They were equally appalled that not only were they forced to talk about it online and at their respective workplaces, they even had to attend (wait for it…..) diversity training! The nerve of these employers!

In my own experience discussing racism with white people, the majority have felt under attack, charging me with “telling them what to do or how to think.” My reaction to this is always slight amusement that they could even conceptualize that I, a Black woman, have any level of control over what they think or do. But when I relay this to them, I’m hit with the Ultimate Golden Nugget white people keep in their pockets, always ready to be thrown down when they feel attacked:

“Well, I think you’re the one who’s racist!”

After I silently sigh while gathering all my edges and patience, I position myself for the inevitable forthcoming hissy-fit that’s at the point of bubbling over the top of the pot and spilling over to make a huge mess that I will be left to clean up alone, as usual.

The Myth of Reverse Racism

Let’s start with a few basic definitions of racism:

According to Merriam Webster, racism is the systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another.

Even the most staunch proponents of the existence of “reverse racism” can agree that there is no major metropolitan area of the United States where Black people have a social, economic, or political advantage over white people. If this alternate universe exists, please provide me the coordinates of said location so that I can drop what I’m doing and visit this place immediately.

Dictionary.com states that racism is a policy, system of government, etc., that is associated with or originated in such a doctrine, and that favors members of the dominant racial or ethnic group, or has a neutral effect on their life experiences, while discriminating against or harming members of other groups, ultimately serving to preserve the social status, economic advantage, or political power of the dominant group.

Black people are not the dominant ethnic group in this country — that title belongs to white people. We are certainly not the favored race as we have been feared and loathed since we were forcibly brought here. And there isn’t a Black person who ever lived that could say their journey in America had a “neutral effect on their life experiences.” (I can hardly type that phrase with a straight face.) Any time a Black person has to interact with a member of the dominant population (again, that would be white people) who believes reverse racism exists, it becomes an event of mammoth portions that is anything but neutral.

The creation of Affirmative Action policies in the 1970s gave way to America’s notion that reverse racism was a legitimate condition. Whites began to fear Black people were taking opportunities from them, often charging they were not qualified for their respective positions. This mentality misses the entire point of why these polices were inacted in the first place: to provide individuals subjected to racism and discrimination solely based on their ethnicity the same opportunities that white people received without effort or protest.

The term “reverse racism” itself is incorrect. If the definitions above summarize the meaning of racism, literally reversing those terms would mean the dominant racial group has no favor. This would grant each member of society equal social statuses, economic advantages, and access to political power.

Well damn, now I almost wish “reverse racism” was a thing!

Unfortunately, that’s not how the majority defines this term, so let’s dig a little deeper into this topic that has been discussed almost as much as actual racism.

Do Black people have the power to control a white person’s life experience?

The effects of racism in the Black community extend through every aspect of our lives. Systemic racism affects our ability to buy homes, to gain entrance into institutions of higher learning, to secure jobs with a living wage, to receive equal justice within the judicial system, to make sure our children attend primary schools with the same resources, treatment from teachers and administration, and access to technology available in predominately white schools, to receive fair and safe medical treatment from physicians, and to survive even the most routine interactions with law enforcement.

Black people have risen to positions of power in this country, but we still don’t control the economic, political, or judicial systems. As a whole, we are incapable of governing the rights of white people to maintain safety for their families, to purse happiness and financial freedom, or to secure generational wealth. It is virtually impossible to suggest that any amount of effort on the part of a marginalized minority group would adversely effect the majority population.

America has never established laws that would reduce white people to a sub-human status or to advocate for their oppression. In fact, the system of racism was indeed created to make sure white people would always have the upper hand in every situation to preserve their power structure. There is no historical context that illustrates Black people enforcing their will over white people to thwart their ability to thrive in any capacity in this country.

Racism vs prejudice and bias

I have been called racist by white people during interactions when they felt attacked by me speaking my truth. Even though what I relayed about my experience as a Black woman was not targeting them personally, my words were internalized as if I were blaming them for every societal ill I ever encountered. I have long since come to understand that once defensiveness enters the conversation, the possibility of having a rational discussion about racism diminishes exponentially.

When I’ve questioned white people why they would consider a Black person to be racist, the majority confided that it was due to a situation perpetrated directly against them. There was either an instance where they felt a Black person was excluding them from a certain situation, didn’t immediately greet them with kindness or warmth, or chose to remain in the company of other Black people as opposed to joining forces with their white group.

Others spoke of companies like BET, phrases such as “Black Girl Magic,” or established observances incorporated into mainstream society like Black History Month. These examples were suggested as reverse racism because each references Black people specifically, leaving whites feeling excluded solely because of their race.

The problem with that logic is not addressing the reason these phrases and organizations exist. Black Entertainment Television was created to afford Black actors, artists, entertainers, producers, writers and directors a place for their work to be featured since the mainstream media wasn’t offering many opportunities to showcase our creative expressions. Black Girl Magic came to national recognition largely in part due to efforts by CaShawn Thompson to celebrate Black women since we are unequivocally the least revered and respected women in this country.

America is centered around white culture and all historical education within the school system is based on the white experience. Creating a month to celebrate those whose free labor built the infrastructure of this country and continues to contribute to it’s growth to power is not racist, but essential to include a narrative other than one that only amplifies the majority population.

Racial bias and prejudice are beliefs held by an individual or a group and racism occurs when that belief is coupled with action and institutionalized power. What white people describe as “reverse racism” is bettered defined as bias or prejudice. It’s the confusion of the meaning of these words that continues to add fuel to this fire.

Bias — unreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social group; prejudice

Prejudice —an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.

The following is an excerpt from a previous article I wrote:

To be fair, there are derogatory terms (cracker, wonder bread, honkey, etc.), stereotypical assumptions (white people don’t have rhythm, white people don’t season their food properly, white people can’t play basketball as well as Black people, etc.), and common prejudices (all white people think Black people are criminals, lazy, or not as intelligent as they are, etc.) that Black people have made against white people. However, while being prejudiced, using derogatory terms, or making assumptions against any group of people is unequivocally wrong, the deeper question is how these transgressions affect a race as a whole. When a Black person makes these biased statements, they do not affect the white community’s immediate, day-to-day reality — Jeanette C. Espinoza, Medium, 2020

If a Black person says something that makes a white person feel hurt, uncomfortable, or excluded, yes that’s wrong as all people who are showing respect deserve to receive it in return. But how a white person feels because a Black person has said something that offends them does not constitute racism. A Black person may have a general bias or prejudice against white people based on our history in this country. However, the bias of one Black person or even large groups of prominent Black people will never sway the opinions of the general population in this country to create an oppressive environment for white people.

To be clear, racism is tied to power, not feelings. This is not to negate the level of power some Black people have been able to attain on an individual basis; this speaks to the fact that we do not have widespread institutionalized power in America.

Creating conversations to dispel the myth of reverse racism

I had an ongoing comment chain with another Medium writer who told me that she considered Black people racist because when she sees us, we give her the “I hate whitey” face. Last time that I checked, that was not a nationally recognized reaction of expression of Black people and if so, I must have missed that memo.

When I offered that a Black person who isn’t smiling at everyone they see could hardly constitute racism, she deflected and stuck to how she felt that the stranger not returning her gaze surely meant they had something against her personally.

This is a prime example of when white people assume they should have full autonomy over Black people at any given moment. No matter what the person she encountered had going on in their life, she felt they should have immediately snapped out of it to give her a bright smile to make sure she wasn’t ignored.

Until we can all agree on the definition of racism and white Americans collectively acknowledge that those who aren’t in power cannot perpetuate racism against them (prejudice and bias, yes, but not racism)we will continue to have fruitless conversations. Using “reverse racism” is the equivalent to white people’s anger when they accuse Black people of using the so-called “race card.”

Both are myths and figments of the imagination.

The key to getting past this type of rhetoric is for all parties who choose to join conversations, read articles, comment, or attend seminars about race to disable all defensiveness at the door and stick to the topic on the table.

If discussions on race are triggering to you, avoid them. They are not for everyone. While there are many good-hearted white people who have a genuine concern for humanity and a natural desire to join forces with Black people to make a positive difference, there are also many who will never have a drive for change because the benefits they receive from white supremacy outweigh supporting equality for all. If you fall into the latter category and actively believe in “reverse racism,” discussions and articles on race are not for you. Your presence only serves to bring more tension with your efforts to derail the movement and we are not here to play with you — we are working to save the lives of our loved ones and to secure equality for future generations.

For those of you in the first category, using your knowledge about the myth of reverse racism is extremely helpful because you can reach places that we cannot as Black people. Talking to people in your own circles or communities who believe this and referring them to articles or resources that explain why the premise for this label if flawed can help to refocus efforts on creating equality, safety, and justice for those who are marginalized and oppressed in this country. Healthy and informative discussions have an excellent chance to lead to solutions and positive change.

Thank you for listening.

Additional Curated Articles on Racism:

References:

Hoyt, Jr., C. (2012). Here’s Why ‘Reverse Racism’ Doesn’t Actually Exist in the US. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from: https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-reverse-racism-doesnt-actually-exist-in-the-us-2016-4