I am Racist.

Andrea Rose Knight.

22. White. Female.

Not Exempt.

Admitting I am racist is the first step in my personal journey to right my relationship with racism.  The second step is working toward being anti-racist.

I don’t mean I am running around waving a confederate flag.  I am however acknowledging I have prejudice against other racial groups. While I am working to combat them, they still exist in my mind and in our society. When I say I am racist, I want to acknowledge that my white privilege gave me advantages including safety, education and ample opportunities. I did not consider the cost those advantages may have had on others or that Black people did not have those same privileges. I mean I was raised in a society where racism is inherent.  To be anti-racist, I must unlearn what this system has taught me and reeducate myself.

When I say I am working to be anti-racist, I mean that I am actively engaging in consciously uncovering my own prejudice, speaking out against the practice of discrimination and working to end systematic racism.  It’s not enough for me to not be racist, I want to be anti-racist. For me, this means being radically inclusive and dismantling oppression all the time, not just when it is easy or convenient. It means calling out racist thoughts or actions in myself, my peers, my family, and the people I work with. Being anti-racist means going beyond the world of social media and showing up in real ways to support non-white communities.

These are the steps I am currently taking on my anti-racism journey

• Reading How to be an Antiracist and White Fragility
• Getting my news from multiple sources
• Following Black organizers and leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement on social media
• Working to educate myself and those around me about the real effects 400 years of oppression has had on our country
• And the hardest one – speaking up when my friends and family say racist things

I don’t do any of these things perfectly but every day I am going to keep trying to be better.