This is a conversation I had with the amazing Dr. Sheena Mason, where we discuss the Theory of Racelessness and the intricacies of embracing alternative narratives on Blackness.
Similarly to my introductory article, I’ve been trying too hard to make this one perfect and I’m having a little trouble writing this. This week’s topic is one that I used to be very attached to, but I’m noticing how increasingly detached I am from it. My opinion on the matter is in the process of changing again, which makes writing an article about it a little challenging. But I still want to take the time to share my experience as well as my past and present perspectives. Without further ado, I present to you the evolution of my racial consciousness. (This is pretty fitting considering it’s Black History Month… this wasn’t planned, I promise!)
Before we move forward, I wanted to take the time and say this. I started off by mentioning how challenging writing this article is due to how I feel about the concept of race itself. Race has never been much of an issue for me and I always felt awkward describing myself using racial terms. That’s because I don’t subscribe to the word “race”. The term in and of itself is racist, and presupposes that we can be categorized according to skin colour; something that was done in the past, to justify the exploitation and killing of others (colonization? Slavery? Holocaust? Yeah). It is absolutely absurd and incoherent for us to continue to talk about each other in terms of race. This is why I use terms like ethnicity, culture, or skin colour instead.
The Roots
I am mixed (Jamaican, White/Québécoise, and Lebanese) and growing up in a multiethnic household, race was never a “thing”. I wasn’t raised colour-blind, but there was never any emphasis on race. Rather, I was taught to acknowledge cultural differences but more importantly, to focus on the person rather than where they’re from/their skin colour. In turn, I had a strong understanding of what my ethnic/cultural background was, but also I had a strong understanding of who I was beyond that. I was always surrounded by diversity: in my household, friend groups, school, neighbourhood, etc. Any time I was made aware of my “race” was through others. There were a handful of awkward exchanges where people had a hard time classifying me in any clear-cut category. Which never bothered me per se, but became a bit of an obstacle when it came to fitting in with my Black peers. At a time when I wanted to mark my place in the Black community, I decided to adopt the mainstream pro-Black woke mindset. And in doing so, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole.
Wanna Be Startin’ Something
During my late-teen years, I decided I would be pro-Black and jump on the bandwagon. I educated myself on the American Civil Rights Movement (code for I became obsessed with Malcolm X) and delved into the complex history of colonialism. When I got to University, I was exposed to an entire range of courses from a variety of disciplines, that touched on colonialism and its legacies. It was an exciting discovery for me at the time, because I now had the academic tools to justify my pro-Black attitude. I could blame everything wrong with the world on colonialism and the racial hierarchies it created, and it fuelled my “racial angst”; I was getting outraged about things of the past, and projecting it onto present conditions. I was interpreting the world around me through lenses tainted by the past, a past that had nothing to do with me personally besides being the topic which I studied. But it didn’t matter; everything was a result of colonialism and racism, and my duty as a Black person was to be an exemplary Social Justice Warrior and call out racism anywhere I saw it — even when it wasn’t really there to begin with. By year two of my bachelor's degree, all of that started to crumble. I slowly started to realize that I did not agree with the majority of what I was thinking/doing. The narratives that I had accepted about race, the narratives that I accepted as fact, were proving to be inconsistent. The idea that colonialism happened in a vacuum and that the only people responsible are Europeans, the way the Transatlantic Slave Trade was talked about, and most importantly, the way Black people were portrayed as victims of all the ills of society who can do absolutely no wrong…none of it was sitting right with me at all. The questions I started to have would multiply and they were continuously met with arguments that only served the mainstream narrative. There was no room for critical thinking and I had enough.
No Turning Back
The summer after I completed my studies, I decided to start from scratch and discard everything I thought I knew about race. I was a clean slate. I opened myself up to exploring alternative narratives and discovered a variety of intellectuals in the field. I slowly started to rebuild my perspective on race, a perspective that resonated much more with how I was raised, and how I viewed the world before being “woke”. I realized that it was okay to go against the mainstream and that it was also okay to speak up about it. That’s when I discovered the Theory of Racelessness, by Dr. Sheena Mason. With the Theory of Racelessness, I felt like I was going back to square one, and reconnecting with what I always felt deep down, but could never put my finger on. The Theory offers the following:
"In eliminating “race,” the Theory of Racelessness helps people recognize and imagine themselves outside of race(ism). It enables people to see themselves and others more clearly, without the distorting filter of “race.” In this way, the theory also helps people become more astute at recognizing and solving race(ism). Importantly, the theory’s core is bringing our shared humanity to the forefront (…)1”.
Discovering this felt like a breath of fresh air. I could finally let go of viewing everything through the constraining lens of race, and simply drop the label and re-embrace my humanity/individuality, as well as others’. The Theory of Racelessness reminds you to consider your humanness before anything, it encourages a healthy form of skepticism about race, instead of getting wrapped up in the mainstream narrative and taking everything it offers as the truth. Once I discovered it, there was no turning back.
Final Thoughts…
Quoting my first article is the best way to summarize how I feel at the moment: “I do not subscribe to any sort of woke rhetoric or any of the entitlement or judgement that it breeds. I value individuality over groupthink, striving for a balance between objectivity and subjectivity. I don’t like my convictions to be set in stone or dictated to me, I like having the space to grow and change my mind, and explore what’s outside of the mainstream. I want to be able to question everything, and push boundaries. I like to look at things holistically, deciphering the origins of why come to believe or act the way we do, and always taking into account the past and respecting it because we wouldn’t be here without it2”. So, in disengaging with race in this manner, I can more clearly see things and people for what and who they truly are and thus more accurately identify racism when it occurs. It gives me the space to be an independent critical thinker. Now that being said, questions of race and identity will always interest me because their political, historical, social, and artistic implications still affect our daily lives and I enjoy analyzing how they do, it’s fascinating to me. But I will never again let race limit how I view myself, others, or life — ever. I rather embrace human complexity and be guided by empathy. I invite you to try it on, for size.
FYI:
American Shade With Brittany King
Africa Brooke: an interview with Mikhaila and Jordan Peterson
Ayishat Akanbi: on the limits of identity with Coleman Hughes
Coleman Hughes’ Youtube Channel
Well put. Race divides more than it could ever unite
Wonderful article Violette! It's so interesting to hear so many people's experience surrounding this topic. Thank you for writing it!