Bringing it All Together
Anyone can commit a harmful racist act even if it was unintended. For example:
- Telling a ‘joke’ based on a person’s cultural or racial identity
- Exhibiting aggressive body language towards racialized people
- Excluding people based on their cultural or racial identity
No matter what someone’s intention is, racist language, actions, and incidences can have real and harmful impact.
Everyone has implicit biases, and they may engage in stereotyping or commit a microaggression. Everyone can help interrupt racism by:
- Learning from mistakes
- Learning from each other
- Taking responsibility for continuing individual and collective anti-racism learning
Reflection
Think about a time when you or someone you know may have committed a microaggression or racist act — even if it was an accident, a ‘joke,’ or well-intentioned.
- Consider how harm might have been caused to the other person.
- Consider how the situation could have been avoided with more understanding about what it means to be anti-racist.
