I think it’s first important to recognize that white supremacy isn’t “the good whites” and the “bad whites.” How To Be an Antiracist author Ibram X. Kendi reminds us that we can be antiracist one minute and practice white supremacy the next. Racism happens on a continuum, say a scale of 1 to 10. So one minute I may email friends about a local law that will improve well-being for black folks, and an hour later I may be on the bus and looking at an overweight black woman and think to myself, “She’s too fat and not doing anything for herself.” So it’s not “they.” It’s “we.” It’s up to each of us to end white supremacy within ourselves, in our institutions, in our policies, etc, so instead of judging another white people. That means we take action that improves the safety and well-being of black and brown people in their daily lives.

I don’t see that the author is trying to change anyone’s views. How are her words actually helping anyone to intervene on white supremacy? What tools is she offering to white people who value anti-racism to end white supremacy? Are virulent white supremacists going to read this, then suddenly have a change of heart? I don’t see any chiseling away at views in the article — There’s no route to it. I don’t have answers about how to effectively intervene on those with virulent white supremacist views — It’s something I’ve thought a lot about, but I don’t have answers. Changing personal views by writing of course can be and is effective. Ta-Nehisi Coates has talked about that in interviews about The Water Dancer. But this article we’re speaking about does not achieve changing views, because it doesn’t challenge, offer information, or offer actions people can take. That’s why I call it fluff in my initial response. I can offer this article, which offers actions white people can take that could actually help black and brown people to have increased safety and well-being.