Member-only story
Caryn With a C is Still a Karen
Progressives also need to address their biases
Many of us White fighters for social justice spend so much time combatting racism that we forget to reflect on our own biases, microaggressions, voting decisions and thoughts. We ignore how we also have miles to go to become more evolved humans. To become part of solutions rather than unintentional perpetrators of unjust systems.
In recent months, I’ve overheard a spattering of comments from White liberal friends that illuminate how far we have to go.
Things like “You’re a credit to your race,” or “You’re so well spoken.” Phrases such as “When I look at you, I don’t see color,” and “There’s only one race — the human race.”
While statements like these seem well-intended and harmless, they convey deep racist undertones implying that the rest of Black people don’t live up to some mythical white standard. They invalidate a person’s identity as a proud Black man or woman.
Today, blatant racism is often called out. White women get labeled “Karen,” for example, when they act like they’re superior. Liberal Amy Cooper famously earned the moniker when she dialed 911 after a Black male bird watcher asked her to leash her dog in Central Park.
