Moving Walkway of Racism

July 11, 2015

I did not just have one professor of color. I had a second one when I was in graduate school at the University of St. Thomas five years ago. Dr. Sally Hunter. I was in her class with three other white women. Dr. Hunter was the first person to teach me what it means to be an anti-racist. She said that one who wishes to be an anti-racist, which means to actively fight against racism, must get on the metaphorical moving walkway (as are seen in airports), and as most are just riding or walking in the same direction, an anti-racist must turn around and walk against the current. The current of society has been to allow racist thoughts, words and actions to persist, so the only way to truly be an ANTI-racist is to walk in the other direction.

When I think of this metaphor, I imagine the looks a person would get if they walked against the walkway. Looks of annoyance, looks of avoidance, looks of fear of the unknown that go along with anyone who contradicts society. All of these looks exist when one works at being an anti-racist. Sometimes, if I bring up race, someone will wonder why I am going at it again: annoyance. Others will try to change the subject without sharing any of their own thoughts: avoidance. And still others will look scared or express words of concern that the status quo is being challenged. I share this metaphor with my 9th and 10th graders because I know that some of them are anti-racist wannabes, and I don't want them to have to wait until they are in their mid-thirties to discover that it has a name and it has a definition and they can be anti-racists.