Why ‘Reverse Racism' Isn't a Thing

Hello {{ first name | friends}},

There's a thing that's happening in many countries now: the idea that people racialised as white are suffering from racism and discrimination based on their skin colour. This false narrative is used, for the most part, to target and stigmatise organisations trying to address and redress disparities and imbalances in marginalised communities, especially for those working mostly with people racialised as Black.

It's wild, and doesn't even make sense. Because reverse racism is not a thing. Systemic racism is where prejudice and power intersect, and in countries where most people are racialised as white, those racialised as Black and people of the global majority rarely have the power to oppress them. In fact, it's the opposite. Just look at what's been happening across the US, where a majority white Supreme court and majority white state governing bodies have been able to make massive changes to laws and practices to the detriment of Black and Global Majority people, and others facing oppression for their identity.

The accusation of "reverse racism" is a defensive tactic meant to shift responsibility and accountability by accusing Black people and the organisations supporting them of being unfair or racist because they name racism and address discrimination and inequity openly. It's a DARVO move, and would be named as such in other circumstances. And it's also gaslighting. But calling out racism isn't racism. Nor is addressing inequality in a system that largely still favours those racialised as white on a global scale.