The Daily Grind of Racism and Exclusion

Hello friends,

Last year I talked to Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey as part of his Authority Series to discuss my book, I’m Tired of Racism. We covered a number of topics, including Black privilege. Today, I’m sharing some more lightly edited insights from that conversation. This time, the focus is on the daily experience of racism and what advocates can do.

This seems particularly pertinent at a time when:

• There have been "race" riots in the UK (aka Global Majority people facing even more racism)

• There's even more racism and misogynoir in the US in the wake of VP Kamala Harris running for president

• There is an ongoing genocide in Palestine

• There is continued oppression in Sudan, Congo and elsewhere

• And the concerns of the Global South are regularly ignored (despite the complicity of the Global North in the history that’s led to the present)

Here's the excerpt:

Dr. Jonathan: What high impact activities can people take away after reading the book? What can they do once they've read it?

Sharon Hurley Hall: What people can take away from this is understanding that the Black people you're coming into contact with every day are having these experiences.

As I talk about in Paper Cuts Still Make You Bleed, people can have a number of microaggressive experiences throughout the day, throughout the week, throughout the year, throughout their lives. And those are cumulative. Having an understanding that this is what your Black and Global Majority colleagues are going through, doing your bit to avoid adding to the problem… we're talking about action, but it's almost a what not to do as well, you know, don't ask certain questions, don't take certain actions and raise your level of awareness of what your colleagues may be going through so that you can avoid being part of the problem.

And then spread the word, right? It's not enough for you as one white person to know that this is going on. Educate your colleagues, share the book with them, share the stories that stood out to you, make sure that we're … reducing the incidence of harm.

Dr. Jonathan: Is there anything in this book that you wrote that is misunderstood by people in your audience?

Sharon Hurley Hall: What many people don't understand and what I hope I've conveyed through the book is that racism is not a question of calling people names, okay? It's not just that. That is almost only scratching the surface. Yes, it's hurtful, yes, it's harmful, But it is those day to day, minute by minute, little microaggressions, little incidences of racism, little exclusions, little signals that you don't belong, or you're not considered to belong. Those are the things that really wear on you day in, day out, year in, year out.

And I think a lot of people, you know, think, okay, I haven't called anybody a nasty name, so I'm not racist. But then my question is, have you, to what extent do the Black and Global Majority people that you work with every day feel included in what is going on in the workplace? To what extent are they considered for every opportunity that is around? To what extent do you socialize with them outside of work without further imposing any microaggressions? To what extent do you just see them as people like yourselves?

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What I hope that people get from the book is that those are some of the questions that you need to be asking yourself.

You know, you can't sleep easy if all you're doing is passively avoiding calling somebody a name. Right? What are you doing actively to bring people in to recognize them as fellow human beings, right? I think that's an important thing I would like people to take away. And I do believe that some readers of the book do get that.

Dr. Jonathan: This is something that really stood out to me. The idea of intention versus impact, as well. Given what you were saying about, it's not enough, okay, you didn't call someone a name. It's not just about that. You linked it to inclusion, which we talk about the whole time. But the idea of the intention,

Sharon Hurley Hall: You know, I don't go around every day crying over my lot. You know, I am realistic that there are some things that I've experienced that are wonderful. And I have also experienced racism everywhere that I have lived and the pain of that. And that is part of my experience as Sharon being a Black woman in the world and that is the experience that many Black people share and many Global Majority people share.

I think it's something that the people who read this book and people who are in community or who have Black colleagues, you know, need to be aware that these two things go hand in hand.

*Note that though this question was about Black people experiencing racism, the same is true for many deliberately disadvantaged, disenfranchised, discredited and overlooked people of the Global Majority. I often ask myself what more I can do to highlight these issues and platform the people whose voices should be heard most. And I challenge you to ask yourself the same question.

If you want to hear the whole conversation, please check out the podcast.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

Note: poll feedback is private - if you’re happy to share your thoughts in public, then please also leave a comment.

I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2024. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).