RACISM IS THE WATER WE WHITE FOLKS SWIM IN

I owe the metaphor to my friend, Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, who recently wrote a column for our local paper about how a fish does not mark the water it swims in, so, too, for us white folks, racism is the unnoticed water we move through.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I read that the company which produces "Aunt Jemima" pancakes and syrup, is now, finally, changing their name. After the BLM protests and marches. I grew up with that cheerful face on the label of our fake maple syrup, thinking nothing of it, except that I liked how friendly she looked. Had absolutely no idea of the racism in this or in the name, "Aunt."

Then, too, we grew up with "Uncle Ben's Rice," with "Uncle" being the term for male slaves. Sigh. Even until rather recently I didn't bring this into my white consciousness.

What other things do I remember from growing up--the time which formed me and which was the water I swam in, all unknowing--?

--I remember in 8th great a boy commenting on my frizzy hair, due to the moisture in the air, "You've got n..... hair." I was so appalled and hurt, both by his casual use of a forbidden word in our house, but also that he thought my hair was frizzy. God.
--I remember at the time of our graduation, a friend commenting on how her life was opening up before her: "I am free, white, and 21." I did not like this phrase, but I did not muster up the courage to push back against it.
--I remember my Freshman Year at Bates College, when I was dated a young Man of Color, hearing some guy stating, "Pearls before swine, pearls before swine."  Again, did I confront this man? No, I did not.

If we white folks are going to be anti-racist, we have a lot, a lot of work to do. Fr. Richard Rohr says "anti-racism" is not a noun but a verb. Every single day we have to work on it.

There is another way I have participated in institutionalized racism. I believe it was Charles Blow, a wonderful columnist for the NY Times, who said that black people do not have the advantages of white inheritance. That we, white people, may have ancestors who accumulated property and wealth and passed it down to us, giving us a leg up. Case in point:  My maternal great-grandfather was the first president of Smith College and had amassed money in the stock market, which his grandchildren inherited, and then we kids benefited. This gave me the money to buy our first house. White privilege indeed.

Then my paternal great-grandfather, Daniel Lewis (my grandpa changed his last name, loathing this connection) was a small slaveholder in Arkansas, as well as an alcoholic. Two sides of white privilege here, though this is one I abhor.

What am I doing about my own deep racism which must be confronted and dug out? As a 74 year-old woman in not fabulous health, I cannot go to marches and protests, though I would if I could. I am setting some goals for myself now:

--when I see a column in the Times written by a Person of Color, I am going to make sure I read it, think about it, and pray about it. I cannot look at the headline, nod my head (as if I don't need to learn more!), and scroll past it.
--actually read Ta- Nehisi-Coat's first book which I have had on my Kindle, downloaded several years back when I vowed to confront my racism back then. (If I cannot remember the title, it is due to brain fog and my inability to access it from Amazon now.)
--donate to more BLM organizations, though I have done a few. Minnesota has a site where you can give money to help folks without money to post bail, so I shall do that.  Check out "The Bail Project," which I recently gave money to.  A young musician, who every Wednesday evening does a gig at home which appears on FB, gave all of his tips two weeks ago to different BLM groups. I chose Black Visions Collective, which supports Black Trans people and the Black Queer community.
--try to keep my eyes and mind open for subtle incidents of racism, and push back against them. It is all around us. It is the water we white folks swim in.

So, why not join me? Vow to push back; give whatever you can afford to organizations which support BLM; dig deep into your childhood and your past to find incidents of racial bias. Root them out. Pray over them. (I am certainly praying over mine!) Buy books by black authors, or prints and paintings from Etsy and Pinterest by African-American artists. It is the very least we can do. Oh, and don't forget--throw out the Uncle Ben's Rice, and any Aunt Jemima's food you have left in the pantry.

And here is one other tool for us white folks to use in confronting our often hidden racism: I saw this on Instagram yesterday from the feed, "We Are the Jesuits,"written by Patrick Saint-John, S.J. The Examen is an old prayer of consciousness, devised by St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is a way of reviewing one's day, looking at places where we have felt close to God, seeing when we have felt far away, and seeking forgiveness and a way forward. Patrick Saint-John wrote this "Examen for Racism:;

--Begin with an awareness of God's presence
--Review your participation in systems of racism
--Examine your emotions
--Look forward.

This is a good way to bring things to the surface, and I am going to use it.