EP. 12: Antiracism: Doing the Work Beyond Black Squares
Photo by Joan Villalon on Unsplash
Black Lives Matter protests and stay-at-home quarantine mandates gave folks the opportunity to listen, learn, and take action. Trends like #BlackOutTuesday showed that more people were paying attention to the issue of systemic racism. However, as those trends fade, so has the work to dismantle racism -- with some settling for the title of “not racist.”
But in the words of Dr. Ibram Kendi, “The opposite of ‘racist’ isn’t ‘not racist.’ It is ‘antiracist.’” Well, what exactly does it mean to be an antiracist?
The President’s ban on federal antiracism training and his refusal to condemn white supremacy in the first Presidential debate against Joe Biden doesn’t offer much hope for what could become of the racial reckoning currently happening across the United States. But that doesn’t negate the opportunity we all have to do the work in our communities and personal relationships.
In the second to last episode of the season, host and founder of Better to Speak Kési Felton chats with Christine Platt, who currently serves as the Managing Director for American University’s Antiracist Research and Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Platt discusses the specific work of the Antiracism Center, as well as the work that listeners can do offline to commit to the work of antiracism.
Stay Connected to Christine:
Twitter: @christineaplatt
Instagram: @afrominimalist
Website: afrominimalist.com
Stay Connected to the Antiracism Center at American University:
Twitter: @auantiracismctr
Instagram: @auantiracismctr
Facebook: facebook.com/ARPCAU
Website: american.edu/centers/antiracism
Stay Connected to Better to Speak:
Twitter: @BetterToSpeak_
Instagram: @bettertospeak_
Facebook: facebook.com/bettertospeak
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/bettertospeak
Website: bettertospeak.org
Learn More + Take Action:
Read the Transcript:
The transcript for this episode is coming soon!
