Life’s Education

This blog, interruptED, was always going to be about how the coronavirus has impacted and, well, interrupted education in various ways. Life at schools and universities has changed drastically. But not all education happens in institutions like this. There are things you can educate yourself about and ways you can educate yourself – without a professor standing in front of you.

Over the past few weeks, reports and videos documenting police brutality have sparked outrage and – once again – highlighted the major issue of systemic racism. Breonna Taylor, a black emergency technician, was shot in her own home using a “no-knock warrant” in March. A police officer murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes for allegedly using a $20 counterfeit bill.

I am a white person. As in: I burn within 2 minutes in the sun and look dead during the winter white. What can I say about racism?

Well, nothing when it comes to how it feels to experience it first-hand. What I can speak about, however, is my white privilege.

Recently, I attended a Black Lives Matter rally/protest. It was the first protest I have ever attended. In 25 years, I have only gone to one (!) protest. No women’s march, no climate change activism, no black lives matter protest up until June 6, 2020.

There might be a variety of reasons why I didn’t go sooner. Sometimes it was because there was no protest near me and travelling wasn’t an option at the time. But, let’s be honest, sometimes it was also because staying home was more comfortable. So, I let others do the work.

I could get away with it. People who look like me weren’t being targeted. My life has never been threatened because of my exterior or where I live. Even if I did nothing, my life would continue being pretty comfortable. Which is a pretty shitty way to think.

When Michael Brown was shot in 2014 while having his hands up, starting the “Hands up, don’t shoot” protests, I followed everything closely. I think this was probably the first time I actively engaged and tried to educate myself on the issues that black people were dealing with. Before that, I read some pieces on racism, but I’d be lying if I said that I made a huge effort.

There’s this post going around saying “It’s a privilege to educate yourself about racism instead of experiencing it.”

I – and every other white person – will never be able to fully grasp what it feels like. But rather than going “this is uncomfortable,” “I don’t see color,” or defensively saying “but I’m not racist!”, there’s no time like the present to learn as much as you can about the issue.

There’s numerous posts summarizing a variety of useful resources that can help you learn more (I found this list called “First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources for White People” quite helpful). About the advantages that white people have in life just by being white. About the discrimination people of color face on a daily basis. About how to be actively anti-racist. The list continues.

I know that, especially because the protests around the world are primarily about events that happened in America, if you’re not from there, it’s easy to say that it’s only a problem in the U.S. or that such a thing would never happen in your country.

And there would be hundreds and thousands of pieces of evidence to prove you wrong – wherever you’re from.

To give a recent example from Germany: A well-known talk show announces it will discuss the events of the week. Among those: George Floyd’s death. The guests? All white. Oh wait, no. There is one (!) black person on. Who wasn’t originally announced, until the outrage apparently intimidated them enough.

Responding to criticism (before the show aired), Sandra Maischberger, the host, told people in a Twitter thread to “first watch the show, and then continue discussing afterwards”. She also justified inviting white people because she wanted to discuss events other than the protests in the U.S… such as German political subjects, which apparently could only be discussed by white experts.

A German Muslim activist and publicist, Nasir Ahmad, started a petition to stop the show from going ahead with their white cast. As he reported on Twitter, the team called him and asked him to take it down, proceeding to explain why his criticism wasn’t justified (and simultaneously reaffirming why it was).

Racism isn’t just physical violence.

The story above is especially important to me, because, as a journalist, I have to do better. I am part of the change that needs to happen. Black people and other PoC have to be included in conversations. Not just about racism, which white people simply don’t have the capability to adequately discuss, but also about other subjects.

If people of color live in your country (and they do), they get to speak about topics that go beyond the color of their skin. Why would, for example, a black politician in Germany be any less qualified to speak about German political issues than a white politician?

So, what is this blog post other than a white girl speaking about racism, the exact thing I just said you shouldn’t do?

It’s a call to other white people to learn. Get over being uncomfortable. Education doesn’t stop during times of corona.