A Failure to Act is a Failure to Care

Renowned speaker and educator Catrice Jackson says white apathy is the pandemic we’re not talking about. 
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On the most recent episode of Racial Reckoning’s weekly podcast Bearing Witness, hosts Anthony Galloway and Georgia Fort discussed anti-racism work with renowned educator, speaker, and writer Catrice Jackson. Jackson says one of the principles of her teachings is “a failure to act is a failure to care.”

“So I don’t really care what people say – I watch what they do,” she said. “And as it relates to white apathy, this sense of just not really caring about what’s happening – specifically to black and brown bodies across the country – is one of the worst pandemics that we face.”

Jackson leads anti-racism workshops and has authored several books on white allyship. She also organizes a reparations initiative to purchase houses for Black women. Jackson says she struggles with balancing her time between directly supporting Black communities and doing the critical work of engaging white biases.

“I know we cannot do this without the collective white body having some kind of buy-in. And in order for them to buy in, they have to understand why they need to buy in,” she said. “And they have to be led by someone who’s a part of the movement. Because if you put white folks in a room trying to solve problems for black and brown people, we already know what happens. They cannot do it without us.” 

You can find the full Bearing Witness interview with Catrice Jackson on most major podcast platforms and on our website.

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