Ask a Question

Do you have questions about racism but feel uncomfortable asking them in a small group setting or one-on-one with a partner/mentor? If so, you can ask your questions confidentially and we will provide an answer to you. Our goal is to educate as many people as possible through any communication channel they are comfortable with. You can ask a question here.

Here are some of the questions we’ve received.

Q: I am unsure of what terminology to use: Black, African American, or People of Color. Is there one term more appropriate than another?

A: “Black” refers to dark-skinned people of African descent, no matter their nationality. “African American” refers to people who were born in the United States and have African ancestry. Many people use the terms interchangeably.

Young black activists in the United States started using “Black” in the 1960s when referring to descendants of slaves as a way to leave the term “Negro” and the Jim Crow era behind, says Keith Mayes, associate professor of African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota.

“African American” caught on in the US in the 1980s as a more “particular and historical” term than the generic “Black,” Mayes says. “People of color” was originally meant to be a synonym of “Black,” but its meaning has expanded to accommodate Latinos, Asians, Native Americans and other non-white groups, says Efrén Pérez, a professor of political science and psychology at the University of California Los Angeles. To say you are a person of color is more celebratory and positive than to say you are part of a “minority,” he says. All three terms are acceptable. Which you prefer comes down to personal choice, the situation you’re in and how invested you are in your racial identity, Perez says.

CommonBondz has chosen to use the terminology of African American. Our view is that the history of African ancestry is important in understanding the history of racism in the United States, starting with slavery in the early 1600s. The meanings of words and phrases can change over time. For example, the words “colored” and “Negro” are now considered dated and offensive – but they weren’t when the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Negro College Fund were created in the early 20th century. Those organizations haven’t changed their names, but “by no means they are trying to perpetuate a name that is offensive to Black people,” Mayes says. “Their very history, it’s about advancing the Black cause.” There are other terms you may hear in referencing how to refer to Blacks, African Americans, and people of Color. You should assume that these terms are offensive and inappropriate, and should not be used.

Q: I’m a white person who wants to learn more about racism. How can I do that, and how can I get involved in helping eliminate it?

Our advice is to be open to learning, listening, getting to know friends who are African American on a more personal basis, and getting involved in your community. 

Educate yourself and listen. This step is often overlooked but is crucial in understanding issues of race. Turn to books, articles, movies and other resources to deepen your understanding of the various forms of racism. Be open to listening to the personal experiences of African Americans about how they have had to live with racism within our society. In many cases, whites have no idea the embedded systematic racism and implicit bias that is built into our day-to-day lives. Our CommonBondz resource library is a great way to learn about specific areas of racism, and our community forums are another great way to learn from others. 

Start conversations. Initiate discussions about racism with your partner, family members, friends, children and coworkers. If you have a friend that is African American, ask them if they are comfortable with having conversations with you to help your understanding. Be open to sharing how you feel, what you are concerned about, as well as what you don't understand. Look for examples of how racism plays out in your communities and what you can do about it. And if you witness someone saying or doing something racist, speak up. If you are looking to develop personal relationships and don’t know where to start, sign up for our CommonBondz partnership program on our website. 

Get involved and take action (don't be silent): In many cases, whites are hesitant to be involved due to the fear of saying or doing something wrong, and having a fear of being deemed "racist.” Due to this, they remain silent on learning and discussing the issues. Silence is accepting the status quo, and pretending nothing is wrong. Silence doesn't allow action, and action, especially from whites, needs to occur to understand the issues and make progress. Get involved in community groups that are discussing racial issues and actions. Understand the history curriculum that your children are learning at school to ensure it talks about the history of African American oppression. Get involved with affinity groups at your employer that educate you on different races, cultures, and beliefs. Find out what it takes to end structural & institutional racism and act: vote and where you have influence, change practices. However you can, help level the playing field. If you’re nervous about what to say or how to start, go to the Ask a Question link on our CommonBondz website and we will get you answers to make you more comfortable.

Q: Why don’t Black Lives Matter protesters also address Black on Black crime?

A: This may seem like an innocent question, but to many people it sounds loaded. If the only time someone asks this is when African Americans protest police violence, it sounds like a “dog whistle” — a coded message among bigots ignoring that white-on-white crime also takes an enormous toll on law enforcement. It’s common for victims and perpetrators of violence to share a race. The 2018 National Crime Victimization Survey, which tabulates numerous crimes, including assault, burglary and rape (but not murder), found that in crimes where whites were victims, the offender was white 62.1% of the time. When Blacks were victims, the offender was Black 70.3% of the time.

The FBI’s 2018 numbers for homicides with a single killer and a single victim, which are not comprehensive, show a similar breakdown. Roughly 81% of white homicide victims that year were killed by another white person, while with almost 89% of Black victims the killer was Black.

Also,  Black Lives Matter has protested Black-on-Black violence and community groups across the US have addressed it for decades. For example, this summer in Chicago alone civic groups have led peace walks, held neighborhood vigils and mentored Black youth about avoiding crime. BLM and other activist groups actually consider the systemic racism that lands so many African Americans in poor, crime-riddled neighborhoods a form of structural violence.

Among its tools for addressing conflict, BLM directly addresses community violence and warns that some neighborhoods are complicit in “ignoring, minimizing or encouraging violence.” It asks residents of crime-plagued communities to educate themselves and “support social norms and conditions that prevent violence from happening.” The group counts “combating and countering acts of violence” as one of its primary missions, along with advocating for the LGBT community.

You may be asking: Where are those headlines? Well, it’s important to remember that, especially in the mainstream media, certain types of protests and actions tend to get more coverage.

Johnetta Elzie of Campaign Zero, a police reform organization, was one of BLM’s top leaders when media outlets descended on Ferguson, Missouri, to cover the weeks of unrest that followed the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown.

But that is just what you saw on TV and in newspapers. She and other Ferguson demonstrators were in the city for 400 straight days, long after the media went home, advocating for all manner of change in the city and region. Unfortunately, the media moved onto other topics and didn't come back to covering the additional efforts being done in the city. 

A critical point to reflect on is why is this question a typical question by people (especially whites) when discussing Black Lives Matter. The implicit bias built into this is when African Americans protest police violence, it sounds like a “dog whistle” — a coded message among bigots ignoring that White-on-White crime also takes an enormous toll on law enforcement.  It's an area we will focus more on when we address Individual Racism and Implicit Bias, along with Law Enforcement. 

Another key reflection point is more often than not, when there is black-on-black crime, black people are held accountable. They are arrested, tried, and sent to jail. When whites/police commit crimes against black people, more often than not, no one is held accountable. 

Q: What’s wrong with saying, “All Lives Matter?”

A: We believe that All Lives Matter. That said, the reality is until Black Lives Matter, there's no truth to the statement, "All Lives Matter.”  Black Lives Matter doesn't mean everyone's life isn't important, it means that Black lives, which are seen as without value within our white-dominated society, is what we need to focus on in order to get to a place where All Lives Matter. Being open to becoming educated on the data and facts around institutional and systematic racism will open your eyes to the reason why we need to acknowledge Black Lives Matter as a separate movement, and all work together to get to a place of equality, where all live truly matter equally. 

Here is a short video that explains it as well.

Q: What is White Privilege?

White privilege refers to the individual and systemic advantages afforded to white people by virtue of them belonging to the dominant ethnic group in society.

White privilege is seeing mostly people who look like you on TV and in movies. It’s having the history of people who look like you taught in textbooks. It’s not needing to worry about whether the negative actions of another White person will reflect badly on you.

It’s applying for a loan or opening a bank account without your race possibly working against you. It’s being pulled over by a police officer without having to fear for your life.

Scholar and activist Peggy McIntosh articulated the concept in a 1988 paper, describing the term as an “invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious.”

In other words, white privilege is subtle things that often go unnoticed – unless you’re not white. A common argument against the existence of white privilege is that it doesn’t reflect the experiences of white people who grew up poor, or who faced obstacles because of other facets of their identity, such as their gender, religion or sexual orientation.

Certainly, there are white people who experience stark poverty, and there are people of color who are extremely wealthy.

But acknowledging the existence of white privilege isn’t to say that all white people have had everything handed to them, or that they haven’t overcome significant challenges in life. It’s that with all other things being equal, a white person will still have an advantage because their race won’t be one of the things working against them.

White privilege has nothing to do with who you are as a person. It has everything to do with the systematic realities of the world we live in. It is one which generation after generation oppresses people who are black and benefits people who are white at all levels of society. When white people dismiss the idea of privilege with statements like, ‘But I had it hard too," it’s irrelevant. Because no matter how poor you were, no matter what neighborhood you grew up in, no matter what struggle you identify with, you were still white while experiencing it; which means compared to any black person living a paralleled experience, you were indeed reaping the benefits of societal preference towards white skin. Realize that no matter ‘how good’ black people are, no matter how well spoken, how successful, how wealthy, or how educated we bring ourselves to be, racism and unfair treatment due to skin color remains a constant.

White privilege isn’t a stab at your character, it’s a reminder of the world we live in. Acknowledging it promotes a shift in our culture. Dismissing it twists the knife in our country’s already wounded system.” At CommonBondz, we are working to help white people listen and learn about what white privilege is, and how we can effectively work and lead in driving a culture and society where, as our founding fathers stated, "all men are created equal.”

Q: Are white people racist?

Most white people define being a racist as someone who blatantly and openly holds and demonstrates conscious dislike and prejudice against or is antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. The actual definition does not include the items above in bold. So while white people have one perception of what a racist is, and may not intentionally exhibit racist behavior based on their definition, most white people fall under the true definition of being racist based on their unconscious biases and beliefs, and all white people have benefited from structural and systematic racism that has been established in our country over the past 400 years.

Why? The reason is simple. Racism is so ingrained in the US – its history, institutions, and even pop culture – that it’s almost impossible for a white person to not absorb racism.

“You start off with the assumption that you are, because everybody living in the United States has internalized stereotypes about Black people,” says Mark Naison, a professor of African American Studies at Fordham University.

So, what can white people do about this? First, put aside your defensive response to being perceived a racist, and focus on how you can listen, learn and lead in helping overcome racism. Honesty is a great start, because denial perpetuates racism. A willingness to become educated is another key acceptance that helps in truly understanding how racism permeates our society on a daily basis. Scholars also say an indispensable key to overcoming racism is forming sustained personal relationships with people of color.

The unique multi-channel approach of CommonBondz helps white people understand more about racism and how they can become a key ally and leader in working to eliminate it . Our robust resource library, speaker series and FAQs are a great resource for people to become educated and knowledgeable on different topics of racism in a direct, honest and respectful way. Our partnership program allows African Americans and whites to establish personal relationships which provide a great avenue to learn more about someone's life experiences and help educate each person on perceptions and facts that drive racism. Our goal is to not only educate our followers on racism, but also what each and every one of them can do, regardless of their race, the eliminate racism and drive equity for everyone.