Educating Yourself on the Path to Fight Racial Discrimination

Educating Yourself on the Path to Fight Racial Discrimination

Throughout the past year, countless incidents have rightfully amplified tensions throughout our country. In the path to fight racial discrimination, we must first educate ourselves.

By Jayme Baker

Over a century ago, slavery was abolished within the United States. It is now 2021, 155 years later, and the events of racial discrimination have yet to meet their end. This past year has no doubt been a turning point in the fight against racial discrimination. 

According to the Pew Research Center roughly 71% of black Americans and 52% of Hispanics surveyed reported that they have been personally discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity. Similarly, 4 in 10 black Americans and 5 in 10 Hispanics claim that their race or ethnicity has ultimately made their life harder in one way or another.

These statistics are very disheartening because they show just how common racial and ethnic discrimination is throughout the United States.

There are endless ways that people can fight discrimination in their own community, but arguably the most important thing one can do is to become educated. The National Network to End Domestic Violence argues that “[o]ne of the first steps to eliminate racial discrimination is learning to recognize and understand your own privilege.” Additionally, privilege is not subjected to only the color of your skin. 

Privilege can occur due to your race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexuality, and many other important aspects of how someone defines themselves. Unfortunately, privilege occurs throughout almost every aspect of life. 

People must step back and educate themselves on the privilege that they hold and how it affects their community. People that have this inherent privilege, have a duty to use their platform to not only help others educate themselves but also to become an ally in the fight against the current crisis of racial discrimination. The article, “White Privilege, White Poverty: Reckoning with Class and Race in America,” by The Hastings Center Report mirrors the thought that failure to not only reflect but talk candidly about white privilege in America is a key threat to the United States.

A common belief is that people with this so-called privilege should be the last people to help. The white superiority complex refers to when people exhibit behaviors “that [suggest] a person believes they’re somehow superior to others.” This leads to the controversial topic about how white people tend to go into a foreign situation thinking that others need their help in order to solve their own problems.

I would argue that on the topic of racial discrimination, it is crucial that people who are non-indigenous or non-POC get involved. 

More often than not, it is the same non-indigenous, non-POC that are the ones creating these acts of racial discrimination. To see results, the majority of Americans must not only acknowledge the root of the problem but make a change that will lead to positive results.

Once people are educated, they are able to give support to the already large movement in efforts to help bring an end to racial discrimination. Simply educating yourself on current events or the privilege that you may hold will not single handily bring an end to this crisis. 

After you engage in self-reflection and educate yourself on the matter, there are still countless ways that you, yourself, can make a difference. 

Another way that you can make a difference is by starting uncomfortable conversations. When witnessing racist remarks, microaggressions, or blatant acts of discrimination, it is important that you stand up for what is right. By helping them understand what may be wrong or offensive about what they said, you are making a difference. No action is too small in the fight against racial discrimination.

There are endless ways that you can make a change within your community. It all starts with you becoming educated.