Around the world, there are differences in the specifics of racism, but there are similarities in how it insinuates itself into societies, how it replicates itself across generations, and how it resists efforts to dismantle it. We can and must learn from one another as we do this work together.
What forms does racism take where you live (or where you’re from)?
Voting is essential to democracy, but it is not the entirety of democratic processes. We discuss, we debate, we think about whose voices have not been heard (and seek them out), we express concerns and work through them, we combine our experiences in order to make something better.
How do you participate in democratic decision-making?
We have committed ourselves to inclusive processes of decision-making. Together, we need to figure out just what that means. How do we build processes that welcome difference, that give voice to the marginalized, that honor complexity, and that still lead us to a result in the end?
What does it mean to you to be included in a process?
We understand systems of oppression to be more than individual attitudes or prejudices. They are insidious ways of being, baked into cultures, and connected to each other. They are given power and the ability to replicate themselves into the future.
How does the understanding of oppression as systemic change the way you approach it?
The structures of systemic racism have been carefully constructed throughout our society. They are deeply engrained and need to be examined, deconstructed, and dismantled. This work starts within us–with unlearning the internalized lessons of racism that we have been taught.
What is a lesson of racism that you are unlearning?
