My favorite quote was by Scott Woods. A close second was Desmond Tutu’s, followed by Samuel L. Jackson’s. a.
In Scott Woods’ quote, he dismantling the idea that racism is only “big R racism,” meaning that racism is only grand, hateful actions like the lynching of black people by KKK. Woods is saying that racism is not solely these incredibly hateful acts of violence, but racism persists through the institutions and systems created by the country. Racism can be more than just hate, it is “privilege, access, ignorance, apathy, and so forth.” Additionally, Woods was attempting to communicate that it doesn’t matter if a white person considers themselves not racist, but by partaking in the systems that benefit themselves while oppressing others, …show more content…
Before I set out on my journey of acquiring more information about systemic racism prevalent in our nation today, I often fell into the trap of not believing racism existed today since the actions I associated with racism, like the backlash to the Civil Rights Movement in the ‘60s, did not occur anymore, to my limited knowledge. It wasn’t until the shootings of Trayvon Martin and later, Michael Brown that I began to seriously consider the topic of race in America. I can admit that I had a lot of push back in my mind to the idea of police brutality and profiling of people of color, in particular, African-American men. I used to strictly abide by societal rules, so if someone broke the law or was up to nefarious activities, then they deserved to be punished. But the concept of killing a person who was unarmed really forced me to reevaluate my beliefs over race and racism. Although I am nowhere near where I should be when it comes to viewing people unbiasedly, I have started to acknowledge any prejudices I have and break them down. Woods’ quote reminds me I have ways to go, but encourages me to continue the task of addressing my own privilege as a white individual and how it relates to others’ rights and
In Scott Woods’ quote, he dismantling the idea that racism is only “big R racism,” meaning that racism is only grand, hateful actions like the lynching of black people by KKK. Woods is saying that racism is not solely these incredibly hateful acts of violence, but racism persists through the institutions and systems created by the country. Racism can be more than just hate, it is “privilege, access, ignorance, apathy, and so forth.” Additionally, Woods was attempting to communicate that it doesn’t matter if a white person considers themselves not racist, but by partaking in the systems that benefit themselves while oppressing others, …show more content…
Before I set out on my journey of acquiring more information about systemic racism prevalent in our nation today, I often fell into the trap of not believing racism existed today since the actions I associated with racism, like the backlash to the Civil Rights Movement in the ‘60s, did not occur anymore, to my limited knowledge. It wasn’t until the shootings of Trayvon Martin and later, Michael Brown that I began to seriously consider the topic of race in America. I can admit that I had a lot of push back in my mind to the idea of police brutality and profiling of people of color, in particular, African-American men. I used to strictly abide by societal rules, so if someone broke the law or was up to nefarious activities, then they deserved to be punished. But the concept of killing a person who was unarmed really forced me to reevaluate my beliefs over race and racism. Although I am nowhere near where I should be when it comes to viewing people unbiasedly, I have started to acknowledge any prejudices I have and break them down. Woods’ quote reminds me I have ways to go, but encourages me to continue the task of addressing my own privilege as a white individual and how it relates to others’ rights and