There is a certain kind of white person who would never say a slur, who reads the right books, posts the right graphics and describes themselves as an ally. They are politically aware, socially conscious and deeply offended at the idea that they could be racist. They are also often still participating in racism.
You can hear it in the small things they say. “I don’t see color.” “I’m still learning.” “I treat everyone the same.” These phrases sound thoughtful, even progressive. But they often function as shields. They shift attention away from harm and toward the speaker’s intentions. The message underneath is clear: I am a good person, so what I did cannot be racist.
You see it in how they move through the world. They are comfortable discussing racism in abstract terms, especially online. They share articles, repost infographics and recommend documentaries. But when racism shows up in their own lives, at the dinner table, in the group chat, in the workplace or in themselves, they get quiet. Confronting a relative, boss or friend risks tension they are unwilling to face. It threatens their image as agreeable and easygoing. So instead, they choose silence, then return to social media to talk about justice.
I have lost count of how many white “friends” I have had who fit this role of the progressive racist. They repost an infographic and then touch my hair. They say they hate Donald Trump, but their best friend is a Trump supporter. Their father says the “N word,” but I am still expected to shake his hand and sit comfortably in his home. They can acknowledge racist rhetoric around them while somehow removing themselves from the issue entirely. They celebrate diversity with an all-white friend group, attend a protest but cannot remember Black names, sexualize Black men while fearing Black women. Being a progressive racist means supporting equality as long as it does not require giving anything up. Progress is welcome, as long as it is convenient.
Audre Lorde once wrote, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” She was critiquing forms of feminism that claimed to represent all women while centering only white, middle class concerns. The same idea applies here. You cannot dismantle racism while protecting the comfort, power and perspective of the people who benefit most from it.
Another defining trait of this kind of wokeness is the constant need for reassurance. White people look to people of color to confirm that they are doing enough, saying the right things, being one of the good ones. When they are criticized, they react with hurt, guilt or tears. Suddenly the conversation is no longer about racism. It is about their feelings. The people most affected by racism end up doing emotional labor to comfort the very person whose behavior caused harm.
None of this looks like the racism many people were taught to recognize. There are no burning crosses or shouted slurs. Instead, there are book clubs, carefully worded statements and endless declarations of awareness. But racism does not require hatred to function. It only requires that unequal systems stay in place and that the people who benefit from them feel no urgency to disrupt them.
Calling yourself woke or progressive does not make you anti-racist. Awareness is not the same as action. Knowing the language of social justice is not the same as changing your behavior when it costs you something.
Real anti-racism is uncomfortable. It means accepting corrections without making it about your character. It means speaking up in rooms where silence would be easier. It means questioning opportunities that came at someone else’s expense. It means understanding that good intentions do not cancel out harmful impact. Real anti-racism requires a complete uproot of one’s normal way of living in a westernized country.
The problem is not that white people are trying. The problem is when trying becomes an identity instead of a practice. When being seen as progressive matters more than actually challenging the systems that keep others at a disadvantage.
Jazmyne Morgan is a fourth-year Philosophy major with a minor in Political Science. JM1001692@wcupa.edu