White Liberal Racism

"White Liberal Racism" is a term used to describe the racism that is propagated by those who consider themselves to be progressive. It usually presents itself as a pattern of behavior; the person doing it says that they believe racism is wrong, then they do or say something racist, and when called out about it they deny that it happened. Racism is complex, and it incorporates many biases that some people aren't aware that they have. White Liberal Racism halts progress, as any accountability is halted by refusal that it happened or claims that "it's not racist, it's just a personal belief."

In Howard County, MD, parents gathered in the summer of 2019 to protest a school redistricting plan that would relocate lower income students into more affluent school districts. The parents claimed that they were worried about their children's safety and education, but other (white and non-white) families in the area claimed that it looked like a sight predating the civil rights protests. When a person refuses to acknowledge that they have said or done something hurtful, it creates a barrier in which we as a group of people can't progress past racism; it's uncomfortable to change, so white liberals often choose to do things performatively, or joke that they "would have voted for Obama three times," instead of working towards personal change.

In Publishing

In the publishing industry, people of color are rarely hired, and when they are employees report a high frequency of microaggressions and discrimination. Being the only non-white employee, being treated like a commodity, not being trusted with important tasks, or being praised for behaving or dressing differently than others of their race are among experiences reported by employees of color in the workplace. In some accounts the employee also claimed to be shocked, as the person saying these things to them had previously presented themself as being very progressive and anti-racist. Assuming the competence or incompetence of someone based on their race is a bias that many people have, even if they don't realize it.

References

Kitchen, Scholarly. “On Being Excluded: Testimonies by People of Color in Scholarly Publishing.” The Scholarly Kitchen, 15 Apr. 2018, scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2018/04/04/excluded-testimonies-people-color-scholarly-publishing/.

Blake, John. “How ‘good White People’ Derail Racial Progress.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/01/us/white-liberals-hypocrisy-race-blake.