We can all be antiracist.
Learn more about antiracism, antiracist literacy, and why they matter.
We need a reading practice
that is a kind of anti-reading practice,
an antiracist reading practice
that helps the reader
identify the habits of language
being used and
inquire into where those habits come from
in the larger world.
ASAO B. INOUE
What is Antiracism?
The idea of antiracism has been around nearly as long as the United States, with a variety of applications, beginning with early Quakers and Abolitionists working in tandem with enslaved individuals to dismantle the racist institutions around slavery.
Modern antiracism work was taken up by the mid-twentieth century Civil Rights Movement and continues to this day, specifically through the work of professors such as Ibram X. Kendi, Asao B. Inoue, and April Baker-Bell, to name a few.
21st-century antiracism work focuses primarily on structural change, recognizing that many of our inequalities are rooted in systems and policies that are built on racist concepts and ideals.
Antiracist activists seek to achieve meaningful change at an infrastructural level across society, including in education, politics, economics, and healthcare, as well as addressing the policies that govern these institutions.
Why should we embrace antiracism?
Antiracism is a statement of purpose — that we are not simply avoiding the racist undercurrents in our society, we are actively engaging them.
In a way, it is like identifying deep wounds, exposing them to the light of day, and giving them the attention and fresh air to heal.
Active engagement with a difficult and painful practice such as systemic racism is a skill that can be learned, exercised, and used to transform our communities.
Anyone and everyone can be antiracist, but it’s especially important for white Americans to take on this work. It can be difficult for us to recognize the structural components and roots of racism in our country, and antiracism is one way for us to identify and make changes.
What do you mean by “literacy?”
When we think of literacy, we often envision reading and writing — but that’s a fairly tactical definition of literacy.
Since the 1980s, UNESCO has defined the idea of literacy more broadly as the “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.”
We broaden this definition even further by including a definition of “texts” that encompasses any cultural artifact created by humans — such as visual, audio, design, and performance.
Literacy is the skilled engagement with and interpretation of cultural artifacts, and the ability to effectively share those experiences with others.
How can literacy be antiracist?
Kenneth Burke’s theory of terministic screens forms the basis of why and how literacy can be antiracist. Put plainly, Burke proposes that the very language that we use becomes the lens through which we interpret the world, and those interpretations are the substructure of our judgment and the choices that we make as a result.
Through the mindful examination of the language, ideas, lenses, and cultural artifacts that we use to share our experiences with each other, we can discover new insights about ourselves and our community.
Ultimately, antiracist literacy provides us a blueprint for transforming our own individual perspectives which can, in turn, yield deeper understanding and act as a guide to altering our world.