He called it the racial equity industrial complex. I was struck with the layers of truth in his statement. To create anything within the context of white dominant culture means that which is created will inherit the DNA of white dominance.
I’m at fault too.
She came to the learning space enveloped in her degrees and expertise. It felt hostile. She used the space and curriculum as a trophy and evidence of her advanced understanding of racial equity. She was not positioning herself as a learner. There was little curiosity or humility in sight.
I did the exact same thing with her.
Upon seeing how she was entering the space, I lost all curiosity. I allowed myself to feel annoyed by her and held the belief that she was just like so many other self-declared allies that do this work for the optics rather than the actual dismantling of white dominant culture.
Her evaluation of the learning space was effectually “meh”. I hadn’t reached her. My own judgement of her upheld white dominance. It was a total miss on my part.
From where I stand, the only clarity and focus I have is a result of my location. The past is a memory and thereby subject to the revisionist tricks my mind plays. The future looms ahead as a place I will climb to but also shrouded in mystery and wholly out of focus.
Do I ultimately believe and prioritize… process over perfectionism? collective understanding over individual mastery? multiple perspectives over the unicorn of the one right way?
