What the author of white supremacy and I want you to know about anti-racism work

As Layla F. Saad in 2017 the pictures thinks the right rally seen in Charlottesville, the United back, his skin thorns. “I think it was about the pure hatred in the eyes of these men, and see the connection that hatred is directed specifically to people who look like me,” he says. Saad, who works as a life coach before becoming an anti-racist educators, was forced to a post in response to Charlotte to face the white women who write in their industry and call their inability to combat white supremacy. From this blog post their viral 28-day challenge came on Instagram, where #meandwhitesupremacy encouraged followers answer is simple but direct questions about their complicity in white supremacy, anti-racist and a digital workbook that 100,000 times in six months have been discharged in 2018 Book Saad me and black Supremacy, published in January 2020 suggests the challenge to wear and a daily journal in responding to requests, write like “What have you learned about your white privilege that you feel uncomfortable?” and “How have you been apathetic when it comes to racism?” And ‘one won by a selection of anti-racism work that much attention when the issue Black-life movement has increased in response to the killing of George Floyd, Saad tells them identities and experiences such as East Africa, Arabs, British, cuts Black Muslim woman who was born and grew up and now lives in Qatar in the UK have given them a unique perspective “that the white on the various ways to search for the domain facing up, in a sense, we’re not even thinking about it. “TIME spoke with Saad about the reaction to his work in the current context, their advice for the black community, and what does it really work against racism performative allyship looks. TIME: Me and white supremacy was originally an Instagram challenge that has been created, which encourages people to think over and reflect their racist thoughts and behaviors. How would you define white supremacy, what do you think some of the misconceptions about it are? Saad: I think people hear the word and the image conjured in their minds are marching in Charlottesville men. And they’re like. “I’m not, I’m definitely not bad” But white supremacy is this idea, this belief, this ideology that people who know or who look white superior to people of other races, and therefore deserve to be dominant on people of other races. And that domination is reflected in different ways. It was already evident for centuries with the genocide and enslavement and colonization before. But it is still to this day, in interpersonal relations, in what we see as the norm in the media or the norm in the business world or the norm in schools. And so the rule has not only slavery. You wrote the book with a target in terms? I think the anti-racist work is a work that all the people who have white privilege, responsibility must have something to do. It is written for people who identify or consciously think of themselves as people who want to be visible allyship or believe that they are allies. I wrote with the full awareness that even the well-meaning, well-intentioned people want to get angry about some of the things that I write about, but at least her the will and the desire to look into it. It ‘a big difference between those who read the book, and someone who is the book case. Reading the book really is take the information but actually remain on a superficial level and remain separate from white supremacy. The next act of journaling needs to really look at yourself and also take responsibility for the way you had racist thoughts have racist beliefs, racist things done, even if you do not have to make sense. After the assassination of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade among several other men and women of color in the United States, your book is a racist anti-several books that people were looking for. How do you feel about that the answer to your work in the light of the current environment? On the one hand, I’m so happy that so many people to these resources and this work will eventually turn. And at the same time, I feel a sense of ambivalence. Returns the largest number of books on combating racism, not just those that are currently on the charts, but the books that span decades. This has been so long a conversation going. Recently, I saw a white woman who wrote as if the black lives Matter protests began, they bought my book and eliminate a note saying that it will run a book circle with me and white supremacy. He had to login to 55 people, two weeks later, all gone, and there are only five people left who are still constantly show up. So hurry and then apathy is coming back because I have mixed feelings about it. It ‘easy to buy a book, and it’s easy to say blacks living matter, and it’s easy to say. “I’ll try to do the job,” It ‘s quite another thing to do it. And to do that, if the advertising campaign is over, the news cycle has moved, and you’re not, because I am black Lives Matter rewarded so brave to say. Now to do with you just the nitty gritty work – that’s where the real work is. For events and protests in the United States there have been several protests around the world, racial injustice and white supremacy in the individual countries out. Do you think that black life is matter in motion in 2020 to something else that has gone before? In my life we ​​have not seen anything like what we’ve seen in recent months, the United States and around the world. I do not want to minimize forever. People feel encouraged and more confident no longer stay calm, and I think it’s amazing. Of course, we are in this hyper-connected world, online. I think this is why the Black Materia lives this year in protest so obvious they were not going global, because people see things happen in other countries, and to see how in their countries is presented. white supremacy are the forces that the world itself in a way that is very powerful and very, very influenced harmful. And so it is never absent. Many people of color especially, as well as indigenous people and people of color have faced talking to white or white fragility debt in recent weeks on the depletion of. Do you have any advice for these communities? During the protests that followed after the murder of George Floyd in the first two weeks, I think, half a million people have started my next Instagram account. It ‘been very overwhelming for me. We had to learn to come to a conscious desire masses of white people in our area, but also with anti-darkness and not tested the skills and understanding of how to go in our rooms without us disrespectful. With white privilege still it means that you can actually turn off and means to be black, you do not. The advice I would give most people the blacks, and indigenous and colored populations is that you yourself care should really come first. During this time of this movement is that we are really unprecedented is this work for decades, centuries pass, and will continue to do so. So now you can not burn out, just because more people are interested in hearing from us. It is your responsibility to white on white, and teach about white supremacy. For people of color especially, one of the ways we practice racism is to learn to center ourselves, our joy, our self-care, our mental well-being, our physical health. One of the things that is so out of this traumatic it can be seen that look black just about survived if blacks in the most violent and terrible way to be killed, and that we can only get attention when we are our exploitation of prostitution pain. When we say Black Lives Matter, is the life of blacks that counts. His book is about the commitment and discipline to make this anti-racist work. How would you define it and what are some of the ways that the people who read books like yours can do? The metaphor I use is that you wake up every morning and you press the reset button on “How do I show in racist allyship today?” This includes things such as learning and training themselves, but also the way in which white supremacy can be seen, showing how through the day on the move, as has been complicit in the maintenance and hassle as you can. And ‘it lived to really consciously take responsibility for the life of every day, and not see anti-racism as something you do when you have a bit’ of time on the page. We are now, after almost two months, when the initial protests began. How do you feel about the future of blacks living moving matter, and where you see it going? My hope is that now more mainstream as Black Lives Matter is that white and not black on the take really good cloak and ease the load of black people, of us screaming into the void with what black lives matter. I think it’s a long way to go, because I always do not know when they were whites with blacks in interaction Black lives matter did. So, this is the world we are building, and we have never seen before. We do not know what it looks like, we have no plan for it. We really have to our imagination and creativity in the work to use it. But we must work together to achieve them. Your next project is the children’s version of Me and white supremacy. How can we talk about competition for children and equip white supremacy? Initially I thought this would be for younger readers interpretation or translation of the adult version, but I realized that this book is all the races for all children and not just for white children, who then changed everything. It is a great responsibility. to be children are like sponges, they take everything so that this job really carefully done. Some of my intentions and goals are to equip them really understand the critical thinking how white supremacy works with the context, the history, the language and skills. These guys to be able to give a common language, grow into adults who can talk about race and white supremacy degradation together. As a black child, I had to learn about race from the age of seven. So I was aware of race and racism all his life. Many white adults learn only today. So we are not at the same level at all. And I hope that this book can, the children of all races and various threads to create a different world. This interview has been edited slightly for clarity and condensed copyright
image courtesy of RF |. COLLECTOR