The Impact of 'Race Neutral' Policies

There is no such thing as a “race neutral” policy. There are only racist policies, which produce inequitable and unjust outcomes, and antiracist policies, which produce equitable and just outcomes.

🎥 February 1 in Raleigh, NC. #YoungAntiracist 📚✨ pic.twitter.com/ro9ek5CZdB

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 3, 2023

When you start talking about outcomes, that’s when you can easily see whether people think of racial equality or racial hierarchy between groups, as you’ll see in the commentary below after this thread. 1/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

Those who see racial hierarchy (example: White people are superior to Black people) think equitable outcomes between groups through antiracist policies are impossible and those who call for antiracist policies are "stupid" or "grifting." 2/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

They are saying all at once: You can’t create equitable outcomes between *unequal* groups, thus demonstrating they see racial hierarchy, thus demonstrating their racist ideas, thus demonstrating they think Black or Latino or Asian or Native people are inferior. 3/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

And they want a Black scholar to “debate” someone on whether Black people are inferior, or on racial equality—and are shocked and enraged when we refuse to waste our time on matters that aren’t up for debate. 4/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

Or they know the racial groups are equals, and they know the policies are inequitable and unjust, and they know these racist policies are leading to racial disparities and inequities in everything from health to wealth to incarceration to police violence to houselessness. 5/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

But they think they are benefiting from all the disparities in our society, so they gaslight the rest of us by claiming the racist policies they support are "race neutral." They have been taught the false and divisive idea that anything that helps another group harms them. 6/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

They keep saying White supremacist talking points that policy efforts towards diversity, antiracism, and equity are anti-White (and they are starting to say, anti-Asian). When in fact, equitable and just antiracist policies benefit most White and Asian people too. 7/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

They claim the people who are supporting the status quo of inequity and injustice that is harming nearly all people are “not racist” and the people like me striving to create equity and justice for all are "racist." They inverted the term “racist” to exonerate themselves. 8/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023

They claim they believe in “equal opportunity” and “merit” even as we show them that the policies they are calling “race neutral” and "meritorious" are actually unfair and failing to create equal opportunity and thereby keep leading to unequal outcomes between equal groups. 9/

— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) March 5, 2023