Anti-Racism Is Hate Speech

Wait—what? But I’m a Black man! I’m supposed to be for anti-racism, right?

I know. Hot take.

But hear me out.

🧠 Where does racism come from?

Racism doesn’t come from babies. It comes from generations before us. It comes from the people we grow up loving—parents, grandparents, community members—who pass down their worldview, for better or worse.

Imagine a boy raised by a grandfather who teaches him to fear and distrust people who don’t look like him. The boy doesn’t know anything else—he loves his grandfather and believes he has his best interest at heart. So he absorbs those beliefs without question.

Then one day, this boy becomes a young man and enters the world on his own. He meets someone who calls themselves an anti-racist.

“You’re a racist. We hate people like you. You’re the problem. Stay away.”

Does that change his mind?

Does he reflect and reconsider everything he’s been taught?

Probably not. In fact, he might double down. He’ll feel attacked, not educated. Judged, not welcomed. Misunderstood, not engaged.

💬 Shame doesn’t change minds. Conversation does.

We don’t fight hate with more hate.

We fight hate with love.

🔥 Fighting fire with fire might work with actual flames. But with people, you need water. You need patience. You need a bridge.

The best thing anyone can do to begin unraveling a person’s racist ideology isn’t to shun them or shame them—it’s to sit down and talk. Shake their hand. Invite them into a real, human conversation.

Not a lecture. Not a takedown. Not a “let me tell you how wrong you are.”

Just a conversation. One that shows, not tells, that people who don’t look like them are worthy of dignity, respect, and friendship.

That’s how you start changing someone’s world.

💪 But here’s the hard part: love takes effort.

It’s easy to tell someone they’re wrong.

It’s easy to cut them off.

It’s easy to draw a line in the sand and stand only with people who already agree with you.

What’s hard is reaching across that line. Building a bridge. Choosing connection over condemnation.

❤️ Love takes work. Hate is lazy.

It’s lazy to stay in echo chambers.

It’s lazy to cancel people instead of connecting with them.

And yes, it’s even lazy to throw around the label “racist” without any attempt to understand where someone’s coming from.

Understanding doesn’t mean agreeing.

Grace doesn’t mean endorsement.

But if the goal is to change minds—not just score points—we have to be willing to do the hard thing.

🎷 The Daryl Davis Approach

One of the best real-world examples of this is Daryl Davis, a Black musician who befriended members of the Ku Klux Klan—not to cosign their beliefs, but to show them something different through human connection.

Over the years, he’s helped over 200 Klan members leave the group, simply by talking with them. Listening. Engaging. Being willing to sit down across from someone he fundamentally disagrees with—and staying at the table.

That takes courage.

I’m not saying every oppressed person has a responsibility to put themselves in danger or confront white supremacists face-to-face.

But in our everyday lives, we can choose to meet disagreement with curiosity.

We can choose grace over hostility.

We can choose to listen and befriend before we condemn.

That’s how real change happens—not by calling people out, but by calling them in.

Disagreements Welcomed.

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