America’s history is inextricably linked with racism.

Would I Have Been on the Right Side of History?

Spoiler Alert: I’m not so sure I would have.

Looking around at the America I see today, it’s hard for me to imagine what the institution of slavery would look like if it still existed. Shoot, it’s even hard for me to picture seeing “Whites Only” signs on businesses, so just speaking for myself, it feels easy to look back and assume I would have been on the right side of history, had I been alive “back then.”

OF COURSE I wouldn’t have owned slaves!
OF COURSE I would have let Black kids in my house.
OF COURSE I would have gone to the Black area of town to make friends and hang out there with them.
OF COURSE I would have condemned all of my racist friends and family members for their dehumanizing and antiquated thinking on race.
OF COURSE I would have been for Black men and women having the right to vote.
OF COURSE I would have taken action to stop segregation.
OF COURSE I would have fought for equal enforcement of laws for Blacks and whites.
OF COURSE I would have supported interracial marriage.
OF COURSE I would have fought to help improve Black employment both in terms of quantity and quality of opportunities made available for them.
Back THEN, when things were really bad for them, I would have absolutely been on the right side of history.
FORTUNATELY, Blacks have the same economic opportunities as everyone does now. Segregation is no longer legal and now that they have equality in our system, there isn’t really any more work required on my end. If there was then sure, I’d be for it, but that work is done now. (Thank GOD, right?)

…Did that take a weird turn for you?

Like, all those first statements make me look good, sensible, kind and caring. What happened after that though? It’s like I went straight from positioning myself as an ally to a becoming a stumbling block through being outright dismissive of any possibility these issues are present today. Essentially, I went from A to B:

A). “Oh man! Things were that bad before? That’s awful! I would totally have helped if I’d been alive then.”
B). “Wait, you’re saying these are still issues? That’s nonsense, and I know that to be the case. Don’t bother trying to explain to me why you think it isn’t, because you’re wrong and you’re just playing the role of the victim and looking for handouts. I worked HARD for what I have! Why can’t you just stop whining about these challenges you face and just take some personal responsibility? It’s not like things are like they used to be!”

To be perfectly clear: That is NOT my viewpoint. Sadly though, the dichotomy I presented is not an unfamiliar one. I’ve seen and heard varying degrees of this position from white Americans for much of my life, and while I’m not proud to say it, there was a time period of my life in which I held somewhat similar sentiments.

The thing is that it’s not just easy to think to think you would have been on the right side of history, it’s APPEALING. You WANT to be good, and when looking at a situation so unfamiliar it feels foreign, it’s hard to NOT think you would have done the right thing if you were alive then. The problem is that the question itself (what you would have done back then) is pointless. It literally doesn’t matter, and any discussion around it serves no other purpose than stroking one’s ego. You can’t change history, but if you choose to open your eyes and put in the work, you can change history.
Go back and look at that list of things I WOULD have been for or done “back then,” and tell me which ones don’t apply nowadays.

- Supporting slavery?
- Discrimination?
- Voluntarily integrating yourself into Black culture?
- Condemning racism from friends and family members?
- Fighting ongoing disenfranchisement of Black voters?
- Confronting segregational thinking and practices?
- Advocating for equal enforcement of laws for Blacks and whites?
- Supporting interracial marriage?
- Increasing the quantity and quality of employment opportunities for Blacks and other minorities?

Every single one of these is still an active battle being fought in this country today. It may look different than it used to, and in some cases we’re closer to the finish line than others, but ALL of these are ongoing issues that do NOT lie outside of our sphere of influence. With all of this in mind, let’s go back to the initial question of “would I have been on the right side of history?”

The bad news is that you’ll never know.
The good news is, you still can be.

Everyone starts from somewhere different. We have all lived vastly different lives, and nobody is the way they are by accident. We were all raised in different areas by different people with different backgrounds, experiences, belief systems, personal traumas, levels of education and parenting styles. Consequently, through no fault of our own, we are all blind to certain injustices in this world, and in my experience it’s pretty hard to address something you don’t know exists.

If any part of you reads this and disagrees with my assessment of the current state of affairs for BIPOC, I believe the best thing you can do for yourself is open yourself up to the POSSIBILITY that you might not be right and then seek information that could prove or disprove my points. Maybe I’m wrong and research will confirm the accuracy of your initial thoughts or opinions. But if I’m not, and you learn something new, now you have a brand new opportunity to be on the right side of history moving forward.

Just remember: You can’t change history, but if you choose to open your eyes and put in the work, you can change history.