“We sometimes have the impression that white people are more afraid of being called racist than of the consequences of racism itself.”
“Racism”, “racised” or “racial”: why are these words so difficult to use in France? In politics, in the media or in our conversations, their use tends to frighten and provoke rejection. To analyze the historical and societal biases at work behind this fear, Donia Ismail receives the journalist and podcaster Anas Daifin this first episode of I’m not racist, but.
Donia Ismail observed this difficulty in confronting the subject and the term racism in person, the day she witnessed a scene between a white man and a black employee in a cafe. Donia calmly initiates a conversation, but the man turns away: “I keep yelling at him and saying, ‘Do you realize that’s racist?’ The pronunciation of this word plunges him into a state of panic. He gets angry, asks me not to see racism everywhere.”
Here we provide you with some definitions. “Racised” designates a non-white person who experiences racism. In this context, the «race» is not considered biological, but is a social construction that serves to exclude certain categories who experience racism. «Racial·e» is relative to “social race” and therefore a legitimate term, used in sociology.
Resources:
– Racism is a white problemby black British author Reni Eddo-Lodge (2018)
– At the intersectionpodcast produced by Anas Daif
– History of white peopleNell Irvin Painter (2019)
Every other Tuesday, in I’m not racist, butDonia Ismail analyzes the racism that we say is ordinary, but which is not ordinary, through testimonies and interviews with specialists. If you like I’m not racist, butconsider expressing it by giving it the maximum rating on Spotify, Apple and elsewhere, by talking about it around you and leaving lots of kind comments on social networks.
I’m not racist, but is a podcast by Donia Ismail, produced by Slate Podcasts.
Editorial direction: Christophe Carron.
Editorial production: Nina Pareja.
Editing and direction: Mona Delahais.
Music: Thomas Loupias.
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