Seeing Black Scholars Targeted, Noticing What Too Many Miss

The New York Times placed an ugly spotlight on a Black scholar in mid-July and on another (across the pond in England) a few weeks later. These stories revolved around Black individuals, but the framing came from white people. In the wake of these features, the most widely circulated article by a Black person appeared in The Atlantic. How did it command attention? By saying Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts probably caused his negative experiences.

All I could see was how whiteness managed to stay out of the spotlight.

While watching discussion of that Atlantic article, my sanity was saved (not to mention my time and energy) because I notice how white mediocrity shapes so much of what we encounter. And when white mediocrity is at play, it facilitates white villainy. Especially given the tragic turn Professor Arday’s story has taken, I am reminded of the life-saving power of clarity.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: in a society determined to convince you there’s nothing to see, noticing white mediocrity is a form of self-care. Obsessing over whether a person of color deserves a spot prevents everyone from noticing that white people get and keep positions without needing to be impressive at all.

Some will rush to say self-care is no match for systemic change and that self-care is, by definition, individualistic. I both agree and disagree. Only systemic change is systemic change, but our violent systems were created. They didn’t fall out of the sky. People made them, and people will have to unmake them—with consistent effort. When we find ways to survive and thrive, we can make the effort that will always be required.

As important, I see self-care as communal. As I put it in The People’s Project, “I take care of myself because I want my life to be a contribution.”

So, I want to put in one place a few things that might help folk weather the storms our society makes sure are always coming…