Imagine you are at the airport, standing still on a moving sidewalk, you feel the breeze in your hair as you get closer to where you intend to go. This is the overall nature of the well-known moving walkway analogy. This famous analogy comes from Dr. Tatum as she understands it by comparing it to an “ongoing cycle of racism is like a moving walkway at the airport.” Overall this concept sets an understanding and conceptualizes systemic racism. This analogy is to be best understood as if you are not actively walking against the moving sidewalk, you are being carried along with it.
In other words, if you are not actively walking against, you are unconsciously or consciously not doing anything about it. Which in turn means that if a person is not actively doing something to prevent systematic racism, they are only letting it happen and ultimately adding to these racist ideals. Therefore, active racist behavior is connected to walking fast, whereas passive racist behavior is related to standing still.
How come we as humans and individuals are in most cases compelled to go with the current and do what everyone else is doing? Does it all perhaps stem from our natural instincts and inclinations as human beings? Why are we not ALL taught at a young age that we should stand up for what is right and what we believe in, even if it is not the “simple” and “normal” thing to do? Just because something is not “simple” does not mean that both the time and effort that will be put in, will not be worth it in the long run. In fact, in most situations, where I find myself actively doing what I feel is right, I find it to be even MORE rewarding no matter how long and how much effort that goes into it. That leads to the question of, how can an individual then take those important and necessary steps in a meaningful and positive manner to go against racism?
One day hopefully, individuals will feel both empowered and actively go against systemic racism in some form or another. This then leads me to wonder what steps can we as individuals actively take in the anti-racist view, to help diminish forms of systematic racism? How can we also address microaggressions within our interactions with one another to have more inclusive environments in both workplaces and within our communities?