Op-Ed: Sustaining White Antiracist Action by Dr. Ben Kohl, Jr.

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”
Benjamin Franklin

Adapted from remarks made on May 31, 2020, at Candlelight Vigil for George Floyd in Chestertown, Maryland.  

As a therapist, I think about the value of anger. Anger can motivate constructive action. We tend to be less comfortable with rage—which is seen as uncontrollable. As we sustain a national call for justice for the murder of Floyd George and protest the relentless consequences of racism and white supremacy, I invite us to embrace rage. But instead of outrage, let’s cultivate a “core rage,” a “courageousness,” an act of courage to dismantle racism. 

To my black brothers and sisters, I see your cumulative pain, and I acknowledge that I am accountable to it; and I pledge to strive each day to undo racism within myself, within my community and within our country.   

But today I want to speak to the white people. Because we have work to do. I want to speak to white people about our outrage against racism. I want to speak to white people about how to cultivate, to sustain, and to channel our rage against white supremacy and racism.   

To acknowledge our unearned privilege is not enough; we have to leverage privilege into action. To recognize how our behavior reflects white entitlement is not enough; we have to give up power in order to heal. To use our unearned advantage to do good works is not enough; we have to take direction from black leadership at every stage of social action. (And we need to be much thicker-skinned about it.)  

Our work is not easy. The gravity of white privilege pulls us back into amnesia, into unproductive guilt, learned helplessness, and inaction. Sometimes we think we are woke, and we slowly and unknowingly drift back into the ease of white sleep. 

But not today! Today we honor George Floyd and all Black lives.  

• White people honor Black Lives when we protest and demonstrate against the murder of Black people by law enforcement. 

• White people honor Black Lives when we wear a mask to stop the disproportionate number of deaths of People of Color from COVID-19.

• White people honor Black Lives when we study the history of institutional racism and white supremacy.

• White people honor Black Lives when we speak up against racism in white spaces and when we listen deeply to Black voices in mixed spaces.

• White people honor Black Lives when we realize that we cannot just declare ourselves allies, but rather need to build trusting relationships with black people so we can become allies

• White people honor Black Lives when we challenge a bigoted family member or friend and interrupt individually mediated racism whenever we see it.  

• White people honor Black Lives when we assume the primacy of the impact racism regardless of the intention.  

• White people honor Black Lives when we use our positions as institutional gatekeepers to hire and promote Black people in the workplace.

• White people honor Black Lives when we Use our financial resources to support black-owned businesses even if that means white business might suffer.

• White people honor Black Lives when we talk with each other about our implicit bias and stereotypic beliefs and help each other with our blind spots. 

• White people honor Black Lives when we accept and promote Black leadership in all its forms.

• White people honor Black Lives when we each day renew our commitment to end racism. 

• White people honor Black Lives when we organize, organize and then organize some more.

• White people honor Black Lives when we work from our hearts, and when we work with love.   

 Dr. Ben Kohl Jr. is a member of the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice in Kent County. He is President of the Boards of Midshore Behavioral Health, Hedgelawn Foundation, and Bridges at Worthmore.