Our world is sick, poisoned by the pain, rage, and tears of hundreds of people victims of racial violence. No one can deny that xenophobia and systemic racism are worse in the United States now than before Donald Trump’s presidency.

Before you ramble about my “Democrat left-wing socialist ideas, trying to destroy America and its values.” I don’t blame Trump for everything that happened during his presidency.

Still, I think he is guilty of many things, like how he handled the pandemic, the false idea of massive voter fraud, and inciting an insurrection. But the most dangerous thing is for promoting dividing ideas of “us” vs. “them.”

As I said before, I am a racist in remission, and here are the three steps I think could end racism. Simplistic or naïve, you might say, but they are the start and also what is helping me on my way to becoming anti-racist.

. . .

Sanzaru, the three mystical monkeys

The first part of my conversion was to accept I didn’t want to be this way. Years of living in a racist environment made me unaware of my comments, so I had to change my ideas.

I was like Sanzaru, the three Japanese monkeys covering their eyes, ears, and mouth against evil. It is hard to accept being a bigot, but now I am a racist in remission, struggling to change.

I’m not totally unbiased. I’m a work in progress. Sometimes I get a flare and do or say something wrong and immediately try to mend it. It is what I call a bias recurrence.

After Breonna Taylor and George Floyd’s tragic deaths, the BLM protests, and reading several books about this topic, I’ve realized that being a racist is like pregnancy; you can’t be a little pregnant or a little racist, either you are, or you’re not.

If you want to become anti-racist, work each day and change the things you consciously or unconsciously do. It is what I’ve learned and why I think these three steps could help.

. . .

Step 1.- Mizaru

The first monkey sees no evil, and covering his eyes, hides from the images or the consequences. Here, about the agony and suffering that discrimination causes.

I also hid from the truth that race isn’t just about pain and oppression to some individuals, but to deprive an entire group of people of their culture and history.

The goal of a racist economic system is financial and political supremacy for white elites. It presents the promise that white folks will get more because people of color will earn less.

Racialists use successful black people like Oprah and Beyoncé as an example. Arguing that they succeeded because America is a land of equal opportunity, which is false and misogynist.

I used to debate arguing about who or what is racist and who had the right to complain about suffering from it, unwilling to see the other’s perspective.

To heal from these comments, thoughts, and attitudes, I searched for different perspectives, especially those who suffered oppression or discrimination.

I read about the history, the meaning, and the consequences of racism from people who suffered it.

Books like “How to Be an Antiracist,” by Ibram X. Kendi, “I’m Still Here,” by Austin Channing Brown, “They Can’t Kill Us All,” by Wesley Lowery, and “Breathe: A Letter to My Sons,” by Imani Perry.

They showed me a different perspective on what is being a black person, the challenges and the struggle of coming of age in a black community, and how police violence perpetuates systemic racism.

. . .

Step 2.- Kikazaru

The second monkey hears no evil, covering his ears, isolates himself from disturbing messages. I also hid from news or conversations about racism, avoiding the opportunity to learn and understand how others felt.

Searching for speeches regarding African American history, I learned from Reverend Martin Luther King; there’s nothing wrong with being a Muslim.

They believe in Allah as God, and those of us who are Christians believe in the same deity. The only difference is that we call Him God, and the Jews call him Jehovah.

Also, judging a man by their skin color is immoral because it is the worst kind of judgment.

From Malcolm X, I’ve learned to get involved in voter registration, help others understand what they are voting for, and the influence they will make on the politics or the politicians who represent our communities.

It is not about being anti-Democrat or anti-Republican. It is to question politicians about their sincerity and promises while campaigning and don’t intend to keep.

But most of all, almost 50 years after their deaths and 150 from the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans still suffer from novel forms of segregation and discrimination.

Years later, they still live in poverty and are exiled in their own country. As Malcolm X predicted in 1964:

“They still have to sit around and wait for some cracker senator to filibuster when it comes to the rights of black people.”

This year I’ve learned that we all have to listen to every speech, every conversation, or broadcast willing to present the other point of view until we live in the country that Reverend King preached:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal.”

. . .

Step 3.- Iwazaru

The last monkey speaks no evil, covering his mouth. I also kept my mouth shut and never expressed my opinion on this topic, avoiding being criticized or confronted.

I never talked about the injustices I’ve seen, defended abused people, or stood up against discrimination or bullying. Not only that, but I felt it would be better not to be judged, singled out, or set apart from my friends.

Last year, I wrote against

child-sex abuse, hate crimes, and violence against women denounced the alternative forms of racism and slave trading in the United States and call out politicians suppressing voting rights and who deny police violence and systemic racism. Without fear of being criticized or judged.

After reading Ijeoma Oluo’s book “So You Want to Talk About Race,” I accepted I was going to screw this up more than once. But now, when I fail, I’m willing to learn.

I might still hurt people with my words, even if I don’t mean it, but I learned to apologize when I do and not beat myself up for doing it. Also, to remember that it is worth the risk and trying again.

Following her words, I learned, researched, and took the chance to write about racism and change my wrong ideas.

. . .

Remember that people fear what they ignore.

This is how I started my recovery towards anti-racism. The journey has been challenging and, many times, painful. It’s never easy to change all the wrong things you’ve learned all those years.

To become a better person willing to end discrimination, racism, bigotry and help others to eradicate this plague, you can follow the three steps:

1. Uncover your eyes and look at the other’s point of view. Dare to read and learn from people suffering from racism, oppression, and discrimination.
   Commit part of your reading schedule to include work from authors talking against racism.
2. Start listening to people who dared to talk against segregation, bigotry, and discrimination.
   Go to Blackpast.org, and learn from people who wrote against it. From 1787’s Gouverneur Morris speech against “The Curse of Slavery” to 2017’s Barack Obama’s Farewell Address as President of the United States.
3. Start denouncing any injustice, either by talking or writing about it. Don’t fear expressing your thoughts against injustice.
   Yes, you will screw this up and maybe hurt someone, and if you do, apologize and commit never to do it again.
   If you fail, practice, and learn from this experience, never doubt to speak out against racism, discrimination, and oppression.

Dare to do these three steps, and share them with your friends and family. Let’s end the disease of discrimination, the plague of racism, and the poison of oppression.

We need more people willing to speak against segregation, discrimination and help others to find the path to anti-racism.

“If I had a thousand tongues, and each tongue were a thousand thunderbolts and each thunderbolt had a thousand voices, I would use them all today to help you understand a loyal and misrepresented and misjudged people.”

— Joseph C. Price, Livingston College, North Carolina.

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This post was previously published on Equality Includes You.

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