Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America

Black Lives Matter is a social movement that aims to battle racism, inequality, and discrimination against Black people and to promote anti-racism. Its mission is to dismantle white supremacy and empower Black communities. One of the movement’s main concerns is institutional racism expressed through incidents of police brutality and racist violence that kills Black people.

Black Lives Matter emerged in 2013 as a response to the acquittal of the police officer who murdered Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American boy. The movement regained attention after the murder of George Floyd, a Black American man, by the police, and increased protests and demands for systemic reform. In Tears We Cannot Stop, Black Lives Matter is an affirmation of Black humanity and aims to put African Americans at the center of American society.

Racial colorblindness is an ideology that disregards race, culture, or ethnicity as the most effective way to end racism. As a practice, colorblindness erases the lived experiences of people of color and obscures the effects of racism. Colorblindness is also used as a means to avoid discomfort in conversations about racism and race.

Colorblindness perpetuates racism by denying its existence. The colorblind person who claims to not see color also fails to see and address inequality, prejudice, racial violence, and the history of racism that still impacts social hierarchies.

Colorism refers to skin tone discrimination. It is the practice of privileging lighter skin over darker skin within a racial group or across ethnic groups. Dyson describes colorism within the Black community as an expression of self-hate and of false privilege. Colorism is rooted in racism, as it results from the socially constructed idea that white skin is superior. It can also be witnessed among white people. Discrimination based on skin tone is also manifested institutionally and sustained by the media.

In the text, empathy is a key tool for overcoming discrimination and achieving equality. Empathy refers to the ability to share and identify with the experiences and feelings of others. By connecting with others’ perspectives, people gain a better understanding of humanity. Empathy battles “otherness” and division between racial groups and cultures, promoting equality and social change.

nstitutional racism, also referred to as systemic racism, is racial discrimination perpetuated by political and economic institutions as well as by the criminal justice system. Institutional racism reinforces disparities between racial groups in education, health care, civil rights, employment, or housing. It remains a pervasive problem in America. Throughout its history, it has been manifested with slavery, segregation, and disenfranchisement of non-white racial groups. Institutional racism operates on stereotypes and generates discriminatory policies. Often, it involves redlining, racial profiling, police violence, and criminalization of specific racial groups.

Police brutality is a crucial issue in American society and a dominant cause of social unrest. It refers to the excessive and unwarranted use of force by police officers against civilians. It is an extreme form of misconduct and a civil rights violation. Police brutality ranges from intimidation and harassment to beatings and murder. Even though all racial groups have been subjected to police brutality, African Americans have experienced the highest rates of police violence with the greatest casualties. Police brutality reflects systemic racism that maintains anti-Black prejudice within law enforcement. It reflects historical systemic efforts to control Black bodies. Few policemen are indicted for their actions against African Americans.

Within the context of race theory, whiteness does not only signify white skin color or white humanity. It refers to the hegemonic racial construct that attaches power and privilege to white people. Whiteness appears as the standard and the norm, usurping humanity from non-white racial groups and individuals. Whiteness has been disconnected from diverse European ethnicities and identified with Americanness.

White fragility refers to the discomfort white people experience when confronted with racism and responsibility for their white privilege. The term was popularized by sociologist Robin DiAngelo, who authored a book of the same title. White people resist confronting racism by expressing rage, grief, guilt, or denial. Such defensiveness by white people undermines the experiences of Black people and reinforces racial privilege.

White fragility can be countered through self-reflection and criticism, activism and individual work, and through education about Black history and culture.