I shared this post on Facebook, where somewhere around half of my friends are from Utah or grew up there, but I invite my blog readers to read this as well since I know the problem of racism is by no means limited to Utah, or any other region. Since this began life on FB it may read a little oddly here, but I want it to be widely available and not limited to FB users.

Here’s the thing…Utah has a racism problem—and I find it even more troubling than what I’ve seen in the South.

I was raised in Utah by rabidly racist parents who are so toxic I cut off contact with them ten years ago. I am intimately familiar with the hard work required to scrub off layers of racial prejudice, and concerned that too many of my fellow Utahns—and those with Utah roots—are not doing this challenging work. In fact, many Utahns are quick to assert that they’re not racist, and provide examples or ‘proof’ to back them up: They have black friends who aren’t offended by the things they say or do. They served a mission in a country with predominantly brown people, and came to love those they served. Maybe they’ve even participated in a civil rights protest.

These examples are shared as if those things can provide us with an ‘I’m not racist’ award we can hang on a wall and point to if our behavior is ever called into question. In truth it’s my opinion that as whites living in the US and benefiting as we do from a system that has been biased in our favor for hundreds of years, we have inherited a predisposition toward racism and prejudice that is built into our cultural DNA. The question is not: are we racist. The question is: are we working on it. Because just as I can carry a genetic predisposition for heart disease or diabetes but through hard work and daily dedication can avoid the disease, we can also do the daily work of overcoming this bias or predisposition toward racism. But the hard work can only begin if we’re willing to acknowledge there’s a problem.

So I ask you, my fellow Utahns, are you willing to admit you have a racism problem? Having spent twenty years in Utah and twenty between VA and NC, I freely acknowledge that Utah’s racism is generally more subtle than the racial problems of the south, where confederate statues and confederate flag-waving members of the KKK shove the issue into everyone’s faces. Utah is predominantly ‘Mormon’ and despite some troublesome church history regarding race the majority of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are genuinely trying to be decent human beings. We embrace kindness, take time for family, jump at the chance to serve, and tell everyone God loves them. In hundreds of big and small ways we work to improve ourselves and try to become better disciples of Christ. The idea that despite all that we could still be guilty of racism is often offensive and gets a knee-jerk rejection.

The numbers back it up, though—Utah has a racism problem. Don’t believe me? Check out this small sampling of links—I’ll wait.
Where black people are most disproportionately killed by police–Utah is last/worst.
A social listening study on ethnic slurs.
The first hand experience of Charlotte Lartey (with many thanks for her courage in sharing this!).

A problem of this magnitude does not exist in isolation. For racism to be widespread and systemic it requires not only the rabidly racist folks who are quick to use the n word and even defend its use, but also latent racists, who stay silent when faced with this ugliness. Perhaps the most telling tick I’ve noted as an identifier of this second group is that latent racists have a knee-jerk defensive response when it’s suggested that there could be a problem. If that makes you squirm and you’d like to explore further, here are some other signs that indicate there’s work to be done:

• If during these protests you’ve shaken your head over the footage of looters, but have yet to watch the entirety of the video showing George Floyd’s murder, there’s work to be done.
• If you get all your news from predominantly-white sources, without listening to and/or reading what black people have to say, there’s work to be done.
• If you respond to ‘black lives matter’ with ‘all lives matter’ than you’ve definitely not understood the questions—let alone the answers, and there’s work to be done.
• If the books you read are all or almost all by white authors, there’s work to be done. I know of no better way to get a glimpse inside someone else’s experience than through books. If you’d like to grow your shelf to include POC, The Brown Bookshelf is my first go-to for books that help me get outside my own life experience.
• If in your private thoughts you believe that your black friend(s) is an exception to their race, and/or that black people who experience prejudice and complain about unfair law enforcement have done something to bring the problem on themselves, there’s work to be done.
• If you think combating racism is a ‘one and done’ battle, or only something that happens in other places or used to happen, there’s work to be done.
• If you think black people become more beautiful, more trustworthy, more capable, the more ‘white’ they make themselves in their outward appearance, there’s work to be done.

I could go on, and could also list the big obvious indicators of racism but I suspect most of us can identify those. I also suspect I’m going to get a lot of push-back for this post, and once again be told to ‘check myself.’ To which I answer thank you—I will. We should all be checking ourselves for symptoms of racism. I know for me this battle will likely by life-long, and as a gray-haired granny I’ll still need to be watchful. But I believe that only as we—each and every one of us—do this hard work can we heal our nation from the cancer of racism. I also know it will be worth it, and that our brown brothers and sisters deserve it. In truth, we all do. Because who really wants to live with cancer and make no real effort to cure it?

Honestly? These are mostly baby steps, but if you’ve made it this far I thank you for your willingness to open your mind to the possibility that there’s work to be done. Perhaps like me you’re already determinedly working to address it. Either way, I’m happy to journey with you. I also have to thank my many friends who’ve shared posts and helped me collect my thoughts. I learn from you and am grateful for the chance to grow.

And finally, I’ve included a cat pic because I’d really like this post to be read widely and there’s nothing better than a cat pic for that. This is Heimdall, who is at risk for developing diabetes and had to endure a weigh-in this week. You see? Even a Nordic cat god can’t shirk the work.

Please boost visibility for this post with a share or comment—I welcome civil and courteous discussion that speaks to the spirit in which the post was shared. Thank you!