Who Can Be Racist?

This is a question that often strikes up very heated and opinionated discussions. On one hand some believe that only non-racialized (i.e., white people) people can be racist. Other believe that racialized people can also be racist, but only to other racialized groups. And lastly, the final group of people believe that anyone can be racist to anyone, so that means that a racialized person can be racist towards a white person in addition to being racist to another racialized person.

To answer the question of who can be racist, we must remind ourselves of what being racist means. Racism is prejudice, discrimination against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. Remember how we said that superiority always plays a role in racism, and that without a sense of superiority, racism is not present (though it could be something else like bias for example). For someone to be racist, they must first believe that their race is superior to another’s.

Now that we have clarified that, let’s get back to the original question. Who can be racist? Well, that depends on a few things. As you know, Canada, which belonged to the Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before the Europeans immigrated here, was colonized by white people. With that came racist policies, procedures, and actions perpetuated by the white people that led to racism against many racialized groups. Structures in Canada, and the U.S., have been built by white people and continue to be sustained by white people who are in powerful positions. Racism is a western construct resulting from the colonization of indigenous peoples and racialized peoples across the world. Certain beliefs, like colorism—lighter-skinned people are more desirable and better treated than darker-skinned people—were introduced by the colonizers in order to get the native people of that land to turn against themselves making it easier to manage their population and land (a great example of this is the Rwandan Genocide).

All this is to say that when we think of racism in the West, we immediately think, white against people of colour. Though this can be a dangerous idea. As stated by Ibram X. Kendi, the author of How To Be an Antiracist:

To be antiracist is to never mistake the antiracist hate of White racism for the racist hate of White people. To be antiracist is to never conflate [combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one] racist people with White people, knowing there are antiracist Whites and racist non-Whites. To be antiracist is to see ordinary White people as the frequent victimizers of people of color and the frequent victims of racist power.

Kendi

A simplified version of Kendi’s words is that we shouldn’t target our anti-racist efforts to white people but white racism (ex., policies created by white people that continue to benefit white people and disadvantage non-white people).

Keep in mind that this is a very grey area when it comes to racism, and that there is no clear answer to the question as to who can be racist. Though, moving forward, it is important to keep this information in mind when interacting with people of your own racial groups and others. And don’t be afraid to talk about how you feel about it!

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Scenario Activity

Considering the information above, read the scenario below and with your peers have a conversation about it.

Jordan, who is a black girl, is dating David, who is a white boy. When David asks to go over to Jordan’s house to hang out, Jordan gets nervous and usually makes up excuses about why he cannot come over. One day David finally persuades Jordan to let him go over to her house so he can meet her family. Though, Jordan sets one condition; David is not allowed to introduce himself as her boyfriend. David asks why not, and Jordan replies saying, “My parents have made it very clear that I am not allowed to date a white person.” Shocked, David asks why not, and Jordan answers, “They do not want to ruin our bloodline. They want to keep it Black.” David does not ask Jordan any other follow-up questions, though feels very uncomfortable when he does eventually meet Jordan’s family as Jordan’s “friend.”

Reflection

• Consider the scenario and have a discussion about the following questions.
  1. Why do you think is the underlying reason why Jordan’s parents are against Jordan being in a relationship with a white person? Where do you think this rule of keeping the bloodline intact came from?
  2. Would you consider Jordan’s parents to be racist? Why or why not?
• Now reverse the situation. Imagine that David’s family does not want to ruin the bloodline and Jordan must introduce herself as David’s friend instead of his girlfriend.
  1. Do you think that David’s parents are racist? 
  2. What do you think is the underlying reason why David’s parents are against David being in a relationship with a Black person? Is their reasoning different to Jordan’s parents’ reasoning? Why or why not? 
  3. Has your previous opinion on the situation changed? Why or why not?