With the country at the precipice of potentially electing the country’s first Black and South Asian American woman, Kamala Harris, to the presidency, people may perceive that the country is entering another post-racial era, akin to Barack Obama’s election, and even a post-sexist era. However, 2020 reminded us that the US is anything but post-racial and post-sexist.
George Floyd’s murder that went viral in 2020 and the rise of anti-Asian racism at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led the country to another period of racial reckoning. Books, talks, and podcast episodes on race, racism, and how to be an anti-racist proliferated. People were marching and rallying on the streets, demanding racial justice. Companies and institutions from different sectors created Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments and positions to address inequities and provide training related to race, sex, gender, disability, and other marginalized identities in the workplace. Federal, state, and local governments and private foundations allocated funds to support research, programs, and services addressing racism. It seemed that the country was turning a corner once again to recognize how racism is entrenched in every aspect of our society and institutions. Despite all this progress, the backlash against anti-racism ensued.
Conservative legislators from states like Florida passed laws that sought to eradicate gains from the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter (BLM) movements, such as the Stop WOKE Act in 2022 and, subsequently, anti-DEI laws in 2023, which other states followed suit. Even though 65% of U.S. voters perceive diversity in race, ethnicity, and religion as a strength, support for racial justice has waned. A national survey by the Pew Research Center found that support for the BLM movement among U.S. adults decreased from 67% in June 2020, about a month after George Floyd’s murder, to 51% in April 2023; in fact, support for BLM was even higher back in August 2017 at 55%. Asian Americans, particularly women, continue to face physical and sexual violence, leading to their deaths, such as the recent murder of Melissa Jubane in Portland, Oregon, and Victoria Lee in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Racism is still a problem in this country, and, whether or not Harris is elected, this means that we still need to continue our struggle for anti-racism because it affects and benefits everyone. Here’s how and why:
Opponents of anti-racism used DEI as a starting point to draw back rights and resources for numerous marginalized groups. For instance, DEI bans on college campuses in states like Texas, Florida, and Utah not only removed multicultural centers but also eliminated LGBTQ+ spaces and networking groups for women. These spaces did not just provide a space and resources for people of color. They also served White women, White LGBTQ+ people, and people with various intersecting marginalized identities.
The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade eliminated reproductive rights and protection for all birthing people. Evidently, racial and economic disparities persist as Black women and low-income birthing people, including poor White women, are disproportionately affected by this ruling.
Anti-trans laws across different states that restricted access to gender-affirming care, and participating in sports, and using public bathrooms based on how they identify affect all transgender and gender non-conforming people, regardless of race.
Clearly, the struggles of marginalized groups are interconnected. While some people may argue that anti-racism efforts are exclusionary and divisive, supporting and enacting anti-racism laws and policies benefits everyone because it encompasses people who are marginalized based on their identities within institutions and systems.
As the country traverses another political and ideological juncture, it is imperative that we do not place anti-racism on political candidates as metaphors, on the mission values of colleges and organizations as a performance, and on offices or departments as band-aid solutions. Instead, we must radically reimagine how anti-racism can be embedded and transformatively change policies and structures in all aspects of institutions that not only address systemic racism but all forms of oppression. We must stop the habit of constantly swinging in a pendulum of progress and regression and take steps toward real change because, in the end, we will all benefit.
