Race, Racism, and Black Lives Matter — Some Basics

The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was begging for his life while a white police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes, became a symbol of police brutality and the persistent systemic oppression that Black people still face. The Black Lives Matter movement has gained new momentum and people, organizations, and companies everywhere have been reckoning more deeply with America’s history of slavery, white privilege, and ongoing racism and racial inequalities.

We asked Matthew Kincaid, founder of Overcoming Racism, an organization based here in New Orleans, to share some of the essentials for understanding race and racism with us so we can all do our part—whether this means having difficult, courageous conversations with family and friends, educating ourselves more, or actively supporting racial justice causes.

What is Black Lives Matter all about?

Black Lives Matter is an organization that was started by a group of Black women after the murder of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman in 2012. The Black Lives Matter organization supports a wide platform of initiatives aimed at addressing the impacts of racism across systems, particularly our criminal “injustice” system. It is important to note that Black Lives Matter grew into a decentralized grassroots movement, so local chapters may have different priorities than the national organization. Generally, Black Lives Matter is a movement and a mantra that is about centering Black voices in efforts for intersectional anti-racist change, especially the voices of Black folx who exist in intersecting, marginalized identities.

The Problem with “All Lives Matter”

The principal issue with “All Lives Matter” is that it doesn’t actually stand for anything. People shout “All Lives Matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter,” but people who use that slogan actually aren’t advocating for anybody’s life. “All Lives Matter” is nothing more than an anti-Black Lives Matter chant.

There are numerous metaphors floating around that try to explain why “All Lives Matter” is a silly response to “Black Lives Matter.” For example, firefighters spraying water on a house that is not on fire while the neighboring house is burning, saying “all houses matter.” Or the metaphor about people shouting “all cancers matter” at a breast cancer fundraiser. Sure, there are numerous ways to debunk the “all lives matter” narrative, but honestly, I think that is a waste of time. People who genuinely believe in all lives mattering support the Black Lives Matter movement. We have big issues to solve, we shouldn’t waste our time arguing with people who are intentionally working to detract from the movement. People don’t say “all lives matter” because they don’t understand, they say it to silence Black pain and dissent.

Equality vs. Equity

Anybody who has watched a track meet before understands the concept of equity. The inside lane of a track is the shortest distance and the outside lane is the longest distance around the track. How does the sport of track address this issue? Well, they stagger the runners. Equality would mean that each runner starts at the same place on the track in a straight line even though the inside lane has the shortest distance to run. In the United States of America some groups of people have been running in the short lane for centuries while arguing that staggering the running lanes is unfair. We will know that equity is achieved in the United States when we can no longer predict negative outcomes for entire groups solely because people are born into those groups.

What does it mean to be racist?

The focus on who is racist and who is not racist is a waste of time. While white people wrestle internally and externally with whether they are racist or not, the actual system of racism is killing us, mass incarcerating us, it is gentrifying our neighborhoods, it is forcing our children into failing schools, the list goes on. The system of racism and white supremacy gives advantages to all white people, there is nothing that a white person can do individually about that. If a person is willing to accept those advantages, while doing nothing to address the disadvantages that people experience as a result of that same system, what do you call that exactly? I don’t have the privilege to worry about who is racist or not, the important question is: are you anti-racist? Are you living your life in a way that seeks to eliminate the existence of racism? People who care about animals might not eat meat or might not use products tested on animals. People who care about the environment might recycle, drive a fuel-efficient car, or carpool to work. People who want to help the movement should only care about being anti-racist. What changes have you made to your daily habits and behaviors to live a life in opposition to systemic racism? Anything less than anti-racist only serves the continuance of the existence of white supremacy, so “not racist” is nothing to be proud of or aspire to.

What does systemic racism look like?

Prejudice exists at the individual level. Anybody can be prejudiced; in fact, all people are. Discrimination exists at the interpersonal level. When people act on their prejudices, that is when discrimination occurs. Anybody can discriminate, and it is safe to assume that all people have at some point or another in their life. Systemic racism exists on the institutional and societal level. This means two things:

It does not require individual people to be racist in order for systemic racism to exist. As long as racist systems and policies exist, people of color will be targeted by them regardless of whether or not their white friend or co-worker is racist as an individual.

Systemic racism is when people’s prejudices and actions upon those prejudices are backed by society, policy, political structures, and institutions as a whole.

White Privilege

Racism is first and foremost a system of advantage. When conversations about racism happen, people tend to focus solely on the disadvantages that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) experience. However, those disadvantages are usually a consequence of the maintenance of white advantage, or white privilege. White privilege is the small and large unearned advantages that come with being or, in some cases, looking white in this country. White privilege does not mean that a person “has an easy life” or that a person is rich, or many of the things that people associate with privilege. White privilege simply points out that we live in a society that provides advantages to white people solely because of the color of their skin and disadvantages people of color for the same reason.

Color-Blind vs. Color-Conscious

Anti-racism is not about creating a society in which people do not see color. The underlying assumption in the world of color-blindness is that noticing someone’s skin tone, or taking race into account, is by default considered something negative. We are advocating for a world in which we see, celebrate, and embrace our racial and cultural differences. A “color-blind” world is not only not a reality, it is also certainly not something we should strive for. I like to remind people who identify as color-blind that if they can’t see my color, they are also willfully ignoring how my race impacts my lived experience in the United States.

OVERCOMING RACISM seeks to build more equitable institutions through comprehensive race and equity training. With a primary focus on education, Overcoming Racism equips educators with the tools to build culturally responsive schools and classrooms that promote the development of the next generation of anti-racist agents of change.

Want to get Overcoming Racism to work with your school? Reach out to info@overcomingracism.com for tips on broaching a conversation with your school administration.