In my experience, this is one of the more important posters on the site, but probably gets less attention and comment then some of the other ideas that are more directly inspiring or provocative.
I believe history has shown white people – as a whole – will choose the easiest, shortest, and most comfortable path in supporting issues of racial justice. This is essentially what many of us have affirmed with our research, experience, and outreach – that white people struggle with the ability to sustain uncomfortable moments around race, and will choose a host of evasive and defensive actions in order to remove ourselves from these moments, AND/OR to penalize the bringer of the moment to such a degree they leave the white person alone and never bring the issue up again.
One of the ways this plays out in the real world, is that white people gravitate towards racial justice actions that are least threatening to one’s own white privilege and white fragility.
Dealing with race in and of itself can be hard enough for white people to handle, but throw in the issue of settler colonialism, and there is now a juicy stew of potential white triggers. It’s more comfortable to say, “People of Color deserve justice” if that justice doesn’t also mean that white people have to question whether they deserve to be occupying a continent stolen from Indigenous people.
I don’t think this is a conscious thought, but an embedded norm of white settler supremacy to NEVER doubt whether we deserve to be here in North America. Of course we do, because… well.. because we LOVE IT HERE!
The poster asks the reader to grapple with the challenge of centering Indigenous needs to dismantle colonialism, and to use this as the centering principle for anti-racist work. In doing so, we ensure that all of our anti-racist work is starting fully aware and inclusive to the fact that the United States of White Supremacy is the inherent problem. Otherwise, we risk perpetuating the white social justice status quo that has often dismissed or left out Indigenous needs and priorities because they are too uncomfortable to deal with.
Further, if we cannot resolve our unquestioned privilege to occupy and live on Turtle Island without consent from its Indigenous Peoples, these attitudes will continue to be passed on to other groups through institutional white supremacy, perpetuating colonialism and affirming the United States as the legitimate paternal authority on stolen Indigenous land. This is perpetuating genocide.
America – the colonial state – persists by divide and conquer. This has been its first and most insidious tactic from Day One. Until white people can develop the fortitude and persistence to overcome white fragility, strategically surrender privilege, and step into healthy and constructive roles for change – then we will inevitably remain a sticky wad of gum on the shoe of movement building. Otherwise, in our unhealthy positioning, we will enable or encourage horizontal oppression between groups that ideally would be working closely together to dismantle the colonial state for the well-being of all life. Let’s not do that any more. Look deeper.
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Love this! I do racial justice work and will definitely be using this to explain why we have to center our conversations and work around us Indigenous folk. Will definitely link to you website.