I recently received an e-mail invitation to participate in International Blog Against Racism Week which will take place July 26 to August 2
While I'm honored and deeply appreciate the invite on one hand, on the other it's mildly insulting.
TransGriot, Womanist Musings, Racialicious, Race Wire and countless other blogs inside and outside the Afrospear deal with the subject of racism and all its ugly permutations and perniciousness in our society 24/7/365 (366 days in a leap year).
So to have a week dedicated to blogging about race tends to make me roll my eyes and say thanks, but no thanks.
I know the hearts of the people who organize this annual blogosphere event are in the right place. Yes, I am cognizant of my role as one of the leading African American bloggers who also happens to be trans and a womanist.
I catch enough hell during the other 51 weeks when I talk about race issues in conjunction with living my life as an out and proud African descended transperson and nobody wants to hear it.
What makes any post I write during this week any different from the almost 1800 plus ones I've written on TransGriot?
Those of us who blog about race issues for more than a week already know and are painfully aware that racism permeates everything about how this society is organized and how it functions. It's going to take more than just one week of blog posts focused on the issue in order to permanently eradicate 400 plus years of accumulated racist baggage from our society.
If people are serious about eradicating racism and not just dealing with it in half hearted piecemeal fauxgressive measures, then it is going to take consistent, sometimes painful education, lots of work and constant self examination to make eradicating racism in our society a reality.
One week of blog posts may jump start the education, discussion, and some action on the racism eradication front, but it can't stop with just a week of blogging and then go back to 'bidness' as usual.
It is going to require people stepping out of their comfort zones to confront racism as it occurs. It also means that some peeps need to get their 101 on.
And the fundamental piece to begin all of these upcoming Racism 101 discussions is based on this formula you'll need to commit to memory.
Racism=prejudice plus power
If you think otherwise, then this discussion is over before we even get a chance to get it started, and whatever post you compile for this week is a waste of your time and mine.
