Hey White Liberals, The Black Community Does Not Need Saving
By: Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Tags: Equality, Social Work, BlackLivesMatter, Racism, Education

Hey White Liberals, The Black Community Does Not Need Saving

The white community, however, desperately needs you

Image by Tan Cunandrawn on Pixabay

If there’s one thing I’ve come to notice about white liberals in the 5 short years I’ve known them, they love to “fix” us, they love to “help” us.

They get fancy social work degrees and decide to take their expertise to the black community, where they are obviously much needed. They love to educate and mentor black youth. They love to eradicate all the “toxic masculinity” from black men. They love to provide black women and girls a healthy outlet for their anger. They jump at the opportunity to write books on racial reconciliation and start non-profits to support marginalized communities.

It never once occurs to them that all these good intentions are directed at the wrong group of people. For all the manufactured ills plaguing us, it is not black people who need your tender care and attention (but thank you kindly for it.)

Please, for the love of God, go fix yourselves. Go help the white community. The white children are racist. It is not less potent because of their age. Not when they are still surrounded by mostly images of themselves in media and entertainment. Not when the school system teaches them lies about history and constantly shuns the idea of proper anti-racist education. Not when you yourselves teach them “colorblindness”, or protect them from confronting their unearned privilege because it would mean a loss of innocence.

Is racism in white youth not as interesting to fix as “urbanness” is in black youth?

The term toxic masculinity is almost synonymous with black men now, but can we speak to the idea that white men possibly hold the world record in toxic masculinity? Where are the non profits teeming with social workers and experts and progressives seeking to help make white men’s masculinity less toxic?

If such existed, maybe I wouldn’t have been forced out of my writer’s block by the vile message from one Isaac Curtis of Oleonta, Alabama, who saw it fit to find me on social media and call me a “racist black bitch”, among other things. If “good” white people took any kind of responsibility for the fact that while they congratulate themselves for fulfilling careers and the consumption of anti-racist literature, their friends, family, neighbors and pastors are still slavery-era racist. Yet they are so desperate to be viewed as different, as morally advanced compared to those misguided conservatives.

White people, your community needs you!

All of this unwanted attention you have been giving the black community would be put to better use on yourselves. Start an after school program to help white boys be less arrogant, entitled, and disrespectful to anything that moves. Create a book club on how white girls can grow up to be less racially manipulative and opportunistic. Form a coalition to fight against laws that foster police brutality. Take your financial advantage and your gilded cape and fix those who look like you. Maybe you will have better luck in that regard, because as any honest black person would tell you, you are royally failing at fixing the black community.

That’s because what’s broken about us is you and your system being wedged directly up our ass. You are not the solution to our problems. Yes, even if you’ve watched every Ava DuVernay documentary and went to every protest in 2020. Yes, even if you have a degree in African studies and you’ve adopted 14 black children. Yes, even if you run a non profit full of black people telling you that you’re amazing for seeming to give a fuck about us.

Your people are broken. Every despicable message they send us is a cry for help. While your great-grandparents had all the time in the world to construct racist systems and beliefs, you seem to have no time to de-construct them, having found better things to do- position yourselves as our saviors.

And in case it’s rocket science, let me break it down. There’s a difference between using your time and energy to eradicate racist policing, and using your time and energy to “fix” black youth in the hopes that they would be less of a target for racist policing. There’s a difference between rallying for anti-racist curriculum and practices in the education system, and trying to “help” black kids better navigate a racist education system. Do not attempt to help us better survive your fragility and privilege. Destroy the fragility and privilege that surrounds you and sustains you. We are well-equipped to survive and fix ourselves, all the while having to heal from your microaggressions and patiently educate all the good little helpers like you.

Fixing the white community’s racism problem is unchartered territory. You all love to pioneer things, right? That would be the most helpful use of your skills. Less school shooters. Less Karens. Less Trumps. Less terrorists. A less racist society, overall. But we can’t do it without you. Really, we can’t. Go fix your people. And when they’ve all turned into Jane Elliots and Tim Wises, then come back and ask us how you can help the problem of crime in black neighborhoods.

I guarantee you the solution lies in creating an anti-racist society.