10 Questions To Ask About Racism In America, Anti-Racism School Is In Session, Episode 1, with Ashani Mfuko

In this first episode of my podcast, I'm sharing 10, crucial questions you should always ask during conversations about racism. Be sure to watch the full episode, and then post your #1 takeaway from what I shared in the comments below.

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Transcript

Speaker: 0:01

Anti racism school is in session. It's in session. Anti racism is not a diet. It's a lifestyle commitment. 365 days a year. Live a life that's anti racist. Ashini, teaching you, giving you that truth. With love, straight, with no chasing. I understand graceful and mindful, open your third eye and take off your blindfold. You ain't gotta agree to understand, but understand you gotta take a stand. Anti racism school is in session. What? It's in, it's in session. Anti racism school is in session. What? It's, it's in session.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Ashany Mufuko wants to educate people about racism. She created a family friendly monthly seminar called Anti Racism School is in Session, and every month she'll be talking about different ways to be anti racist.

Speaker 3: 0:59

Welcome to Anti Racism School is in session, bringing you an uncommon perspective to common issues related to racism. I'm your host, Ashani Mfuko. And on this show, we talk about how to become anti racist, how to live an anti racist lifestyle and how to raise anti racist kids. Why do we do that? Because we want to create a more beautiful. Safer, more equitable world for all people. So there are a few things that I want you to know. You are safe here. This is a safe space for you. You don't have to feel shame here. You don't have to feel judged. This is a no judgment zone. You are safe here. We're all here to learn, to grow, and to do better. So you never have to feel like, oh my gosh, this is so bad, I'm so ashamed, I can't believe I didn't know this. It's okay. You're in school and you go to school to learn. So you are safe to self reflect, to remain open, open minded. You are allowed to feel whatever you're feeling, accept what you're feeling, and then ask yourself, why do I feel this way? Some things that I may say on this show, they may offend you, but it's okay. That is how you grow. Ask yourself, why do I find this offensive? What is offensive about what she just said? And why am I offended by it? I'm all about asking questions. Which is interesting because the topic of today's show is 10 questions that you need to ask during every conversation about racism. 10 very important key questions you need to ask during every conversation about racism. See, the thing is, some people don't want you to ask questions. They want you to just accept and believe whatever they tell you. They don't want you to read books. They don't want you to get educated. They don't want you to research. They don't want you to explore. They don't want you to listen to the people who have lived experience. with systemic racism and anti Black racism. They don't want you to do that. They want you to remain ignorant about a lot of these issues. But guess what? You're in the right place because I'm here to teach you all the things that you didn't learn in school, all of the things that your parents never taught you because they didn't know any better. You're gonna learn them here. And not only will you learn here, but you are going to grow, you are going to transform your mindset, and you're going to get a deeper understanding of how insidious systemic racism and anti Black racism are, so that you can recognize them. When you see it in action, when you see it within yourself, showing up at times where you never thought like, Oh my gosh, did I just say that? Did I just think that? It's okay. You're here to learn and you're here to grow. All right? So the top 10 questions that you should be asking during every conversation about racism. I'm going to start off with the top 7 and then we're going to explore some ideas together. And no matter what I share on here, I always want you to know. To go and do more research on your own. Don't ever feel like I'm just going to take what Ashani said and that's what it's going to be. And I'm just, I'm just going to leave it at that. Or if you have questions and you say to yourself, well, Ashani said this on her podcast, but I never heard that before. Or I don't really know about that. I don't know how I feel about that. Listen, don't take my word for it Go and do your own research Okay, i'm always going to share resources with you. I'm going to share books with you I'm going to share documentaries with you that you can watch But always do your own research don't watch don't watch this podcast on youtube or listen to it on your phone or while you're driving in the car and then just say, Oh, okay. Well, maybe I'll get to that later. Maybe I'll research that later. No, make a plan. Every time you listen to this or watch this podcast, say to yourself, all right, after the podcast is over, I'm going to take five to 10 minutes just to research one thing that she said on the podcast. Just one. That's all. That's how you learn. That's how you grow. And you want to be in a habit of doing your own research on things. Okay, get into the habit of doing your own research and get into the habit of asking more questions. Thinking more critically, okay? And the ten questions that I'm going to give you today are going to help you to do just that. So let's get started. So before I give you the questions that you should be asking during conversations about racism, I actually have a few questions for you. Now, I will say this is a trigger warning because I am going to talk about abuse, okay? So, take a deep breath and let's explore something together. Now, I asked these questions in one of my recent videos on social media. If you're not already following on social media, you can follow the podcast at AntiracismSchoolIsInSession on Instagram and AntiracismSchool on TikTok. Um, if you want to follow me personally, I am Ashinee Mfuko Official. On Instagram and Ashinee and Foucault on TikTok. So I posted a video asking the questions that I'm about to ask you right now. And the response was overwhelming, overwhelming. I never expected to receive this type of response to this video, but it was eye opening for so many people. They said, I never thought about that before. I never looked at it like that before. Wow. This just opened my eyes. This just gave me a new perspective that I never considered before. Some people even said, I can't believe I missed this. How could I have not understood this? How could I have not made this clear connection before? But that's all a part of the process. On your anti racist journey, learning and growing. Okay, we've taken a deep breath, and now we're ready to talk about something really difficult. Okay? I'm gonna ask you a few questions, and then we're gonna tie it back in to how systemic racism and anti Black racism started in this country and how we see it still happening today. Okay. So my first question for you is what happens when your abuser tells the story of your abuse? What happens when your abuser tells the story of your abuse? Would you want your abuser to tell the story of your abuse? How their abuse traumatized you harmed you? And how it negatively affected you. Would you want them to tell their version of your story? Would you want your abusers family and friends to decide how your abuser is held accountable for their abuse towards you? Would you want your abusers family and friends to be the ones who create the laws, the policies, and the practices for abusers based on the version of the story that your abuser told about the abuse that they inflicted upon you? Would you want that? I know it sounds utterly ridiculous. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, right? I'm guessing your answer is no because when I asked on social media Everyone said absolutely not blank. No. Okay. No way. I would not want that. Absolutely not Well, here's the thing. That's exactly how systemic racism works So if you wouldn't want that for you Why would you accept that for us? That's how systemic racism works. So when we go back hundreds of years, and we think about the founding fathers, when we think about the European settlers who came here, and brought West Africans here against their will, and created this system of chattel slavery, created systemic racism, created this ideology of white supremacy, we have to remember that That those people, and their ancestors, which is what? Their family, right? Their ancestors, their family, their friends, for hundreds of years, what did they do? They enslaved, they murdered, they stole, stole land, right? If you go even further down the line, they were stealing inventions. They were stealing intellectual property and ideas. Which we understand today just how valuable ideas are. And we understand today just how valuable intellectual property is. Right? So, if you were enslaved, you were not viewed as human. You were viewed as chattel. You were viewed as property. Right? So you were being abused on the daily. You're being raped. On the daily, you're being mistreated, you're being dehumanized, you're being criminalized. And if you think of when chattel slavery ended, a new slavery came in. A new version of slavery came in, right? And you hear about that. If you have watched the documentary 13th, if you have read certain books like the New Jim Crow, which I'll show you in a moment, because I want to recommend some books for you to read, you understand that chattel slavery, it didn't really end, it transformed. Right? It transformed into what we know now as the prison industrial complex, the prison system, right? Because prisoners do not have the same rights as those who are not in prison, okay? I'm getting ahead of myself. So these same European settlers and their ancestors, who we can refer to now as European Americans, just as the West Africans that were brought here are now African Americans, right? They created everything that you know today as far as the system structures and institutions in our country when you think of who wrote the Constitution, it's the same people, the abusers. That's really what they were. You're enslaving other humans and treating them as property, not human, taking away their human rights. You're an abuser. You're a human trafficker, right? Among many other things. So these are the people who wrote the Constitution. And if you go throughout history, and you look at who created all of the laws, and the policies, and the practices for this country. Who created all the systems, and structures, and institutions in our country. Right? You think about that. Think about the top news and media companies. Who owns those companies? Who created that? Right? Think about it. There is a clear lineage and a clear connection from that time in our history. Right? So, your abusers ancestors, right, their family and their friends, they got together and decided, this is the story that we're gonna tell about how we abused African Americans. This is the story and we're gonna make sure that even though we were the abusers We come out looking like the heroes in the story We're gonna make sure we downplay how we really abuse them because we don't want people to know about all that Because oh my goodness if they know about it, then they're probably gonna Want to do something about it, and we can't have that so we're going to make sure that we put in place laws and policies and practices That help people to believe our story versus the true story even though we know that that's going to negatively impact african americans and other people of color And even indigenous people, all of the lies, you know, they start to add up after a while and then you have to tell more lies to cover up the other lies that you told, but they were cool with that because they're benefiting from all of these systems and structures and institutions and laws and policies and practices that they created to advantage white people or European Americans and disadvantage and oppress and marginalize Black people, African Americans, and also indigenous and other people of color. This is the reality. This is the truth that they don't want you to learn in school. This is the truth that they don't want you to talk about. That's why they tell you talking about racism is divisive. It is unprofessional. It's too political. You should not talk about it, right? Because guess what? You can't fix a problem that you don't talk about. You can't change a problem that you don't talk about. Right? You see the mental programming here? This is why it's important to ask questions, to do your own research, to listen to those with the lived experience, and also to think critically. To think critically. Because if your abuser's in control of everything, if your abuser's always telling your story of how they abused you and your ancestors, And you currently with the current systems that are still in place from hundreds of years ago, right? They just transformed. They never, they never ended. That's the thing. And then you have to remember too, even as laws and policies transform, people's mindsets stay the same because how do you begin to shift someone's mindset? It's through education. That's why education is always being attacked. And here's a little extra tip for you. Here's a red flag for you to look out for anyone who does not want you to read books. Anyone who wants to control what books you're able to read, what books you're allowed to read, what books you're allowed to use in your classrooms, right? That's a red flag. That's a manipulator. They are trying to manipulate you. They're trying to manipulate and lie to you because they want you to believe their lies. They want you to believe their version of the story of abuse and not the truth and not the facts. That's why they're telling you, no, you can't read that. No, those books are banned. No, you can't talk about that. No, you can't talk about this because they want you to only listen to whatever story that they're feeding you. Doesn't that sound like an abuser? And then they get their friends and family involved. And then they get people to turn against you. That's called anti black racism. They tell you lies like black people commit more crimes, which is a lie. And guess what? You have access to the internet where you can research that for yourself and find out that is an untruth. That is absolutely not true at all. But if they can lie to you and manipulate you and get you to believe these things, then obviously you're gonna look at black people differently because you're like, oh, well, of course they were shot unarmed by the police. I mean, they're criminals, even if they're just standing there, even if they're just walking down the street, even if they're sleeping in their home, they're criminals. So yeah, they, you know, the police should probably shoot and kill them even though they're unarmed. It makes sense. Does it though? Does it really? Because I'm sure there's a part of you inside that's like something about this just doesn't seem right Something seems off Something seems off Follow your gut Follow your gut because deep down inside, you know someone telling you who was in a position of power an elected official It's telling teachers and educators, you cannot have access to these books. You can't read these books. Kids cannot see these books. Why not? Why is it that you want to keep them from learning the truth? Think about that. Because if you don't teach our children, if you don't learn for yourself the truth and the facts about our country's history and how it connects to and impacts what's happening today, The only thing left for you to teach them is lies. Are you okay with that? Those are literally your options. Teach the truth, teach the facts, or teach lies. An abuser is always going to opt to choose lies. They're going to always want to create their own version of the story of their abuse towards you. And they're going to get together with their powerful friends, and they're going to create systems. Maybe laws. Like, as a teacher, you can get prosecuted if you read these books to your students. A teacher getting prosecuted for reading truthful, accurate, historical books to their students? What does that sound like to you? Think about it. Think about it. It's deep. It's deep. So, let's get into these questions because for those of us who are truth speakers, like myself. And those of you who are truth seekers, these are the kinds of questions that you need to be asking. These are also the questions that people in positions of power who want to control you, lie to you, and manipulate you, so that you will always and only believe their version of the story of their abuse towards African Americans, indigenous, and other people of color. These are questions that they don't want you to ask. But I'm going to give them to you anyway, all right, because we are in this together and we're all about making the world a safer, more beautiful, more equitable place for all people. You ready for these questions? Let's dig in. Here are the top 10 questions that you should be asking during conversations about racism. Number one, who's telling the story? Who's telling the story? Because remember, we know that the abuser. Has one version of the story while the person who is the victim of abuse has a completely different version of the story So when you're talking about anti black racism Systemic racism ask yourself who is telling this story also ask yourself What story are they telling is it a story that? Glorifies the abuser makes the abuser look good puts them in a more positive light While not telling the accurate story of their abuse and how it has negatively affected the victims of their abuse, how it has traumatized, right? And trauma is generational. That's serious. Generational trauma is a serious issue. So who's telling the story? What story are they telling? And number three is whose version of this story am I hearing? Am I hearing it from the people who have been harmed by this abuse, right? So when we're talking about anti black and systemic racism, what version of the story are you hearing? Are you hearing the story from the people who have been targeted, the people who have been negatively impacted, the people who have been harmed? Are we telling our own story or is someone else telling the story for us? Now it's going to start getting good. Number four, who has the most money in this story? Now you might say, well, Ashnee, why is that relevant? Who has money? Who doesn't have money? Because typically the person who has the most money also has the most power. So I want you to ask yourself, who has the most money in this story? Who has the most power in this story? And who has the most influence in this story? Okay. I was four, five, and six. Who has the most money in this story? Who has the most power in this story? Who has the most influence in this story? I want you to think about that. Question number seven. How does their money, power, and influence impact the story they tell and their role in the story? Did you catch that? How does their money, power, and influence impact the story they tell and their role in the story? So if your abuser is in a position of power, right? If your abuser is in a position of power, we can think about how we've seen this play out in corporate America. We can think about how we've seen it play out in politics. We can think about how we've seen it play out in, in Hollywood. If your abuser is in a position where they have lots of money, way more money than you have, they're in a position of power, they're in a position of influence, people look up to them, people respect them, people listen to them because they have power. And then here's you, the victims of their abuse, right? Trying to bring light to this, to this abuse. Trying to bring attention to this abuse. If they're telling the story and they have all the money, power and influence, what story are they really telling and what role do they play in their story? Is it the actual factual role that they play in the story or is it a modified version that they're telling to make themselves look better? There is a clear connection here y'all between the stories that you hear. From an abuser and the stories that you've been taught about systemic racism and anti Black racism. Think about who told me the stories that I know? Who told me the history that I know? Who told me the information that I know about systemic racism in America and anti Black racism? Who told me that? Who taught me these stories? And what role did they play? What role did they play in the story? Were they innocent? Hey, I didn't do anything. You know, this stuff happened years ago. It has nothing to do with me. Actually, it has everything to do with all of us because we're living here. And the reality of our society today is a direct reflection and directly connected to the reality of our past. Think about it. People who say, well, just leave the past in the past. Forget about the past. That was so long ago. Those are the people who are okay with the status quo and they are more than likely benefiting from the status quo, knowing that people are being harmed by the status quo. They want to maintain it because they think, well, it's benefiting me, so I don't care. Leave the past in the past. That was so long ago. Why are you talking about the past? The past has no connection to what's happening today. Ooh, the biggest lie ever. When you go to the doctor for the first time, what do they ask you about? They ask you your medical history when you go to the doctor. Why? Because what happened in the past directly connects with and affects what's happening today. You go to apply for a job, you go on an interview, what do they ask you? They ask you about your work history. Why? Because what happened in the past is directly connected to and affects what's happening today. Does that make sense? Are you understanding what I'm saying? Our history is directly connected to our present, the past and the present. We cannot separate the two as a result. People want you to be ignorant, and they want to prevent you from learning the truth so that you will be more easily accepting of the lies that are being fed to you. But, this is the information age, y'all. We have the internet, okay? We have our phones, we have social media. And shout out to all of my amazing TikTok followers who are underage. who watch my anti racism education videos and are learning the truth, learning the facts, learning how to be anti racist, and sharing it with your family members who are older than you, who are adults, who are grown ups, who don't know half of the things that you know because you're learning the truth on TikTok. Shout out to y'all. Shout out to you. All the 12 year olds, 13 year olds, 14 year olds, 15, 16 year olds. Sending y'all all the love. Sending you all the love. Keep on learning. Keep on asking questions. Keep on seeking truth. Don't let anybody tell you that you cannot learn the truth. That you shouldn't read books. That you shouldn't research. That you shouldn't explore. It's a red flag of a manipulator. Of an abuser of a liar that they don't want you to be educated Because the less educated you are the less, you know, the more easy it is to manipulate you Mm hmm. And when you start to believe and internalize those lies They can control you without even doing anything without even talking to you because they've programmed you mentally And that's what happens to a lot of people. Okay, so before I get into these last three questions, I want to let you know something really important. Talking about racism is not divisive. I'm going to say that again. Talking about racism is not divisive. You know what is divisive? Racism. Mm hmm. Racism is the problem. Systemic racism and anti Black racism. They are the problem. And the people who uphold Those racist systems, the people who embrace and perpetuate anti Black stereotypes, ideologies, biases, that's the problem. So anytime someone tells you that talking about racism is divisive, red flag. Because talking about the problem is not the problem. The problem is the problem. That's common sense. Talking about the problem is not the problem. The problem is the problem. So talking about racism is not the problem. The problem is racism. So let's make sure we stay focused on that. Okay? Now, during conversations about racism that you're going to Inevitably have at some point, typically people try to avoid them, but you can only avoid them, but so much, especially if you are someone who says, I want to be a part of the solution. I don't want to just sit back and be a bystander. I don't want to just sit back and pretend like I don't know what's happening. Like, I don't know what's going on. I don't want to sit back and say, well, I didn't do anything. Well, why didn't you do something? Right? Turn that statement. I didn't do anything into a question. I didn't do anything. I knew all of these horrible things were happening to my African American brothers and sisters around me, to my neighbors, to my friends, to my family members, and I didn't do anything? What's up with that? Okay? So, I want you to get more comfortable talking about racism because we cannot Solve or fix or change a problem that we refuse to talk about. So as you embark on these difficult, challenging, and uncomfortable conversations, I'm gonna give you three questions that you can ask when you're having this conversation and someone says something that is just off. It is racist. It is racially biased. It is a negative racial stereotype about a group of people. I'm gonna give you three questions that you can ask them to engage them and to help them to start to think a little bit more critically. and to reflect on what they just said. Okay? Again, no shame, no judgment. We are having conversations because we want to know better and do better. So here are the last three questions and the top ten questions that you should ask during conversations about racism. The first question is, where did you learn that from? Where did you learn that from? Right? So, let's say someone says to you, Well, blacks commit more crimes than everybody else. Where did you learn that from? Where did you learn that from? Right? Because more than likely they have not done any research, which is why they're saying something that's not true. It's just them repeating. Right? That racist programming, the racist lies, the racist manipulation that they've been told. Black people commit more crimes. That is not true. And they could easily find that out if they did a basic search online. But they don't. Because that's where that lack of education comes in, and that lack of critical thinking and that lack of a desire to explore and research on their own so that they can learn the truth and learn the facts. So you always ask, where did you learn that from? The second question that you can ask them, and this is actually number eight in our top ten, is do you think that you know all there is to know about this? Do you think that you know all there is to know about this? So when you're having a conversation with someone and they're saying all of these racist stereotypes, these racially biased comments, and you're just cringing, you're just like, oh my gosh, the hair on my arms is standing up. This is terrible. This is awful. Ask them. Do you think you know all there is to know about this? I mean, it sounds like you might be missing a few things, right? Because then that causes them to kind of stop for a second and say, well. I don't know if I know everything about this, but, well, if you don't know everything, that means there's more for you to learn. So maybe you should explore that a little bit. And the last question, this is question number 10. Is it possible that there may be more for you to learn about this? Very simple questions, but they cause someone to stop in their tracks, self reflect, And think a little bit more critically about what they're saying. So use these questions, use these 10 questions as you're having these conversations. I want you to think about it. Don't just take whatever information is given to you. Don't just accept whatever your parents told you and taught you, whatever you learned in school. Don't just take that and accept it. as truth. We have access and we gain access to new information every single day. So that means that you should be learning something new and growing every single day. Questioning things. Well, I know that that's what my parents taught, but maybe they didn't even know. Back then we have access to new information now and then consider how am I taking the new information that I now have access to and allowing that new information to transform how I view things to transform what I believe about things to transform how I show up, how I interact with people, how I operate new information leads to transformation, education. Leads to transformation. So you shouldn't just say well, that's just what I was taught. That's what I've always believed So my parents told me that's what I learned in school. How long have you been out of school? You've been out of school for a while. So you may want to pick up a few books and learn something new. And if you want to do that, I have two amazing recommendations for you today. My first book recommendation that I have for you today is called The New Jim Crow. It is by Michelle Alexander and it is Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness. Being color blind. Using that statement, I don't see color, during conversations about racism, is very harmful. Very harmful. So if you've ever said that, please don't ever say it again. Please stop saying it today. It is very harmful. Why is it harmful to say I don't see color? Right, because you're saying it because you're telling yourself that I treat everybody the same. Well, first of all, you don't treat everyone the same. That's just the reality. We are living in a systemically racist society. So we've been breathing in racist ideologies, white supremacist ideologies since we were born. It's in the air in this country. You don't have to choose it. It chooses you. You breathe it in all day. You receive the programming through the media that you consume. You receive the programming through the education system that doesn't teach the truth. You receive it through your family, through your community. everywhere, right? So you have to understand that saying that I don't see color is not a flex. It's actually a negative thing because what you're truly saying is that I don't see how you are treated differently. I don't see the struggles and the challenges that you face that I don't face, right? There's so much more to that. So that's not a good thing to say. Okay, last but not least, this incredible book that will change your life. It's called C. A. S. T., The Origins of Our Discontents, and it's by Isabel Wilkerson. An amazing, incredible book that will literally transform your entire life. If you want to get educated about systemic racism and anti Black racism and how the past impacts what's happening in the present, you have to read. You have to research. You have to think critically and you have to be open to learning more So make sure you check those books out and make sure you subscribe to this podcast Keep watching keep coming back keep learning and then take a few minutes after each episode to research something on your own Okay, because remember anti racism is not a diet. It is a lifestyle. So for joining me and i'll see you next time