Saying Goodbye to This Mindset is a Great Way to Begin 2021

Making an effort to put these 5 racist behaviors to rest can go a long way to creating a better future for ALL Americans

Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change — Wayne Dyer.

The human mind is so powerful. Whatever we tell it to believe, it will grant our wish with the ease of a benevolent genie in a bottle. We are never powerless over our thoughts and because of free-will, we can simply offer up another concept to entertain if our current mindset no longer suits our needs.

I may not have a magic wand to change the mindset of racist people around the world, but for those who do care enough to contribute to the creation of an all-inclusive, anti-racist society, here are five thought patterns to eliminate completely in 2021 to help get us a little closer to freedom and justice for ALL:

All that happened in 2020 with COVID, the job market, and racism, I can’t wait to get to 2021!

2020 was, without doubt, one of the most trying years in modern American history, however no event in the past 12 months can equate to over 400 years of racism and oppression. Racism is not a situation that a new year will magically fix. Oppression will not cease to be the order of the day for Black folks at midnight on January 1st.

The brutal murder of George Floyd was an introduction for most White people to the harsh realities that Black people have faced for centuries. Had it not been for the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, the majority of the population may not have given it more than a second thought since addressing violent acts against Black people is not a priority in this country. But for one moment in time, most Americans took notice and a few brave souls even dared to speak up, protest, and take action to facilitate tangible change.

This is the necessary work that must continue beyond the ball drop in 2021. We cannot equate racism with the other catastrophic events of 2020 because racism has lived much longer than this pandemic. It has lived longer than the public’s inability to eat dinner in a restaurant or go to a bar. It has lived longer than a mask mandate. It has lived longer than travel restrictions. It has lived longer than remote work. And it continues to live not because of a deadly virus strain, but because of hatred in the hearts of those who practice White supremacy. 2021 does not mean the end of racism because racism will not end until White people cease to nurture and perpetuate it.

Racism isn’t as bad as it used to be.

Saying that a particular situation is “not as bad as it used to be” is a subjective statement that’s generally made by individuals with a direct connection to the event in question. I’ve often heard White people say this about racism in America and each time it has left me beyond puzzled. How could anyone who never experienced the hatred of bigotry have the authority to make such a proclamation? The only people equipped with the capability to speak of the ongoing effects of racism are those who are direct victims of this abhorrent behavior. It has never, nor could it ever be, an observation to be taken seriously coming from White people.

Furthermore, the word “racism” put together in a sentence with the words “isn’t as bad as it used to be” is an oxymoron. There’s no such thing as varying degrees of racism. That is laughable at best and cruelly insensitive at worst. This suggests that since hangings are no longer as commonplace as they once were, Black people’s lives have been elevated to a higher position in this society and therefore suffer less. We all know this couldn’t be further than the truth. Any form of racism, whether it causes physical or emotional harm is equally as hateful, equally as destructive, equally as barbaric and equally as despicable.

Racism is just as bad today as it was over 400 years ago, simply because it STILL EXISTS.

I’m tired of people trying to take away my rights!

I’ve watched White people throughout this pandemic fight to go maskless in public because it was viewed as an infringement on their civil rights. This would make me literally laugh out loud if the sentiment weren’t so self-absorbed and had such little regard for humankind. With all due respect, being told to wear a mask to save the lives of those around you and possibly your own life due to recent research, can hardly be equated to the loss of your American freedoms.

Let’s talk about what losing your civil rights looks like:

Jim Crow Laws, the lynching of Black women, men, and children because of their Blackness which is a condition they could not change, the death of Emmett Till for allegedly whistling at a White woman, the 16th Street Baptist church bombing of four little Black girls by a White supremacist in 1963, the Charleston church bombing in 2015 of nine Black worshipers at the hands of a White supremacist, the intimidation and cruelty inflicted upon Ruby Bridges as the first Black child to attend an integrated school, along with other events that are far too great in number to list here.

It is one of the deepest forms of disrespect to suggest that rules designed to save lives are unconstitutional, particularly after what Black people have endured in this country. If the worst grievance a person has suffered was a mere suggestion (because it’s not even required everywhere) to wear a piece of cloth over their noses and mouths in the company of strangers, they cannot even begin to comprehend what the loss of their American liberties feels like and is capable of doing to their psyche.

I don’t see color. We’re all a part of the human family.

There are so many articles on this medium and the internet explaining why “not seeing color” serves to further diminish Black people so I won’t beat that dead horse. But it’s still worthy of adding to this list because the more “woke” people claim to be, the more I hear this phrase. If we were all truly part of the human family, Black people wouldn’t be in the predicament we continue to experience in this country. We WANT you to see us. We have no desire to be erased or to blend in so that the conditions we live under will continue being ignored. That is what a colorblind society does and that will never fix what has been broken.

See Black people for who we truly are as individuals. Stop lumping us into a collective monolith and assuming that we all function from one brain. Acknowledge that we come from different spaces, experiences, and beliefs, and instead of antagonizing us for it, respect it. The human family can only exist in a world without racism. Until then, it remains an “us vs. them” society, with one side of the population at a perpetual disadvantage.

Everyone can realize the American dream if they just work hard enough.

This is one of the most misleading statements made by White Americans and considering their position in this country, I can understand why it’s been a mantra for so long.

A White person in America is born and bred to succeed. The system was created for them to prosper and have help along the way if they stumble while working towards their dreams. Standardized tests are slanted towards their life experiences. Universities are eager to welcome them, oftentimes without the same requirements tasked to Black students for meeting the admission criteria. Companies are quick to not only hire White people but will often offer much greater salaries than their Black counterparts with more education may receive. Major publishing companies actively seek White authors to publish their material. In some instances, they are granted lucrative contracts equating to thousands of dollars more than what the handful of Black authors chosen by major publishing houses receive. The list is endless.

If the world is set up to help you along the way and is readily available to catch you when you fall, how can you fail? To suggest that Black people are just lazy or not motivated is simply not the case and a racist assumption touted by those who often have opportunities handed to them on a silver platter.

One thing we’ve seen in a lot of the Black community, which is mostly Democrat, is that President Trump’s policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they’re complaining about. But he can’t want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.- Jared Kushner, via Fox News interview.

But Kushner isn’t the only White American who feels this way. This has been a continuing theme since the beginning of our time in this country. It’s been said before, but I’ll be happy to say it again: Black people were not brought here to succeed. We were brought here as slaves with the intent of living our entire lives in servitude with the same horrific fate intended for our future generations.

The plan was not for me as a Black woman to be sitting here writing this article and exercising my right to free speech. The plan was for me to be cooking the food, raising the children, cleaning the homes, and satisfying the carnal desires of White plantation owners. PERIOD. The fact that Black people have continued to thrive in this country is proof to silence the critics of the Black community’s work ethic into submission. It was not the American dream that made it possible for Black people to have a level of success; it was the sheer will of a people who come from ancestors that refused to be broken.

This message will not be for everyone. Those with racism deeply embedded in their psyches will only take issue with my words and will be unable to see how adjusting their mindset could help to create a more equitable world. I’m speaking directly to those White Americans who genuinely believe in the dream of the human family and honestly want to make a positive difference.

We are all glad to see the end of 2020, but I believe beginning 2021 with the goal of creating an anti-racist society would be one of the most rewarding and powerful ways to recover.

Thank you for listening.