If you’re shocked by what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, anti-racism expert Catrice Jackson says you never paid attention to your history lessons in school.
Jackson joined Nekima Levy Armstrong on Citizen Ed’s “Rise Up” program last week to discuss what the insurrection incited by President Donald Trump means to Black students, parents and educators.
“If this is shocking or unbelievable to you, it tells me you are unplugged from reality,” Jackson said. “You are not really on your ‘anti-racist journey.’ It tells me all I need to know.”
The reason? White Americans’ blindness. They don’t see that the justice system treats them with extreme lenience for armed terrorist actions inside federal property, with intent to harm the lives of Congresspeople, staffers, and other Capitol employees. Compare that to unarmed Black Lives Matter protesters outside of federal property last summer.
“Society has conditioned white people to be blind to the ways in which they benefit from and uphold the system,” she said.
Where Do We Go From Here?
First, watch Jackson’s appearance on “Rise Up,” embedded below.
Then digest what leaders like Jackson and Levy Armstrong have been saying for years. Then talk about it, reflect on biases in your own life, and vow to take actual steps to change.
Because, without those changes, Jackson says “there is no safe space for Black bodies.”
