The foundation on which these people stand is unequal, and that foundation, might we even say systemic, difference leads to some being able to watch the baseball game, while others cannot. The ground beneath them slopes, buckling beneath one person so significantly that person cannot see over the fence at all. Imagine if you will, 3 people -all the same goddamn size.

It is high time to rid ourselves of these white supremacy-laden “equity” ideas, and actually recognize the full humanity and capabilities of people of color. Volunteered with that organization maybe? Heard that before haven’t you?Įven those who “center equity” feed into this framework - people of color need our resources because they’re too broken to have their own. This feeds into the oh-so-familiar racist politic - people of color have little to offer, and yet take so many public resources. He is by fact, needy.ĭominant and oppressive narratives about people of color bleed into this picture: people of color are less than and thus, need more. And because he is shorter he is seen as the problem, he needs more help. The shortest boy is - by sheer presentation alone - not whole, not normal, especially compared to the tallest boy. He’s the one who is the pathology: he’s literally less than the others. He needs multiple boxes to see over the fence. This picture -the noble imagery of the equity movement - is white supremacy at work.įirst and foremost, the shortest boy is positioned as the problem.

From this picture people have actually begun to understand that treating everyone equally doesn’t lead to equity, and in fact, equal treatment often perpetuates and justifies racial hierarchies. In a picture-is-worth-1,000-words kind of way, this image simplifies the profound difference between equality and equity.

White box image