Christina_howweunlearn_v1

The speaker believes in actively learning and unlearning anti-Blackness. They do this by reading Black history, listening to Black voices, acknowledging their own privilege, including Black scholars in their work, and speaking up against anti-Blackness. They mention a situation where a white man compared their work to slavery and a Black woman called it out. The speaker used their voice to support the Black woman and emphasized that the responsibility to do better lies with non-Black people. They conclude by stating that silence does not protect anyone and that unlearning involves doing the right thing. As the introduction and silly doctor's office scenario suggested, I believe in learning by doing. If we want to unlearn anti-Blackness, it is going to need to be an active process because anti-Black racism is transmitted and learned actively. As a scholar and professor, I unlearn by reading and learning Black history, listening to my Black students, friends, colleagues, and community members earnestly, checking my own privilege and believing their experiences, citing Black scholars, including Black authors in the syllabus, having Black experts guest lecture, and speaking up when I see anti-Blackness in the classroom, in faculty meetings, and in my personal life. I need to acknowledge that this didn't come out of nowhere. It came from ethnic studies, faculty learning communities where we discussed anti-Blackness, and friends and colleagues who asked me to do more, walk my talk, so to speak. Last year, a cisgendered white man compared the work they were doing in academe to slavery, and the only Black woman in academic senate called out the statement. People were angry at her before recognizing their error and apologizing. When the apologies happened, I felt the onus was still being placed on her to set things right and accept their apologies so they could feel better and move on. I used my own voice to highlight what I saw. Here's what I said. I hope we as non-Black people will leave this meeting recognizing that the onus should not be placed on her as a Black woman. It is our responsibility to do better no matter who is in the room. It felt raw to speak out in that way, but it also felt like the right thing to do. I think unlearning for me looks like doing the next right thing and remembering that in the words of Audre Lorde, my silence will not protect me. Your silence will not protect you.