Unpacking the Rhetoric Around "Black Safety" and "White Spaces"

I was asked if I feel unsafe around white people.

Feeling momentarily out of place or different because of surface-level human differences is a natural human reaction, it doesn't necessarily or inherently mean that you are threatened or unsafe.

I was asked if I felt unsafe around white people as a black woman and I have to admit, when I first read this question, I couldn't help but chuckle. Not because it's a silly question, but because my instinctive reaction was - why would I?

But then I paused, remembering the numerous instances where people claim that black individuals can often feel a sense of unease or threat around white people, and that this feeling is supposedly justified.

This narrative has been used time and again to advocate for separate, race-based spaces - in academic institutions, workplaces, recreational venues like theatres, and beyond. Proponents argue these types of "black spaces" provide a haven where minority individuals can be their true selves.

However, is it really accurate that just being surrounded by people of the same race automatically means you can be your complete, authentic self? From my own experience and discussions with many other black people, I can definitively say no, it is not that simple.

I started to think about the recent viral TikTok trend where people confessed something they used to be afraid to admit. A young black man painfully shared how he avoided attending a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) because he feared being ridiculed and judged - by other black people. As he put it,

I feel like no one ever discusses it, but the minute you try to call it out, you are labelled as anti-black. It becomes about how you're saying it instead of the actual issues.

So this idea that black-only spaces are inherent safe havens free of judgment is clearly misguided. Within any racial, ethnic or cultural group, there will be those who face scrutiny for being perceived as different, unconventional or an outlier in some way. Shared skin colour does not prevent discrimination from occurring.

But back to whether I feel unsafe around white people, the obvious answer is no. However, there have been times when I have felt like the odd one out or out of place in certain settings. Not because of any sinister behaviour from others, but simply because I was objectively different than those around me. And this feeling of difference doesn't necessarily relate only to skin colour contrasts. You can share similar phenotypical characteristics with a group and still experience that disconnect. I remember dining at a local Eritrean restaurant. Everyone there was from the same culture, speaking the same language. And in that setting, I felt like the odd one out.

But here's the crucial point - that fleeting sense of standing out as the "other" is not synonymous with legitimate fears for my safety and well-being.

The issue is that words like "unsafe" and "threatened" have become overused and misapplied to the point of losing their original intent and impact. So many people now cheaply equate simply feeling uncomfortable, uneasy or out of place to being rendered "unsafe" - a term that should denote legitimate danger and potential for harm.

For me personally, I do not subconsciously brace for imminent danger or assume an inherent lack of safety when interacting with white people any more than I would with other racial groups. It would be misguided and unproductive to make blanket judgments about an entire demographic based on the demographics alone rather than evaluating human beings as individuals.

At the end of the day, a person's skin colour alone should not be the driving factor in determining if they can be perceived as safe or unsafe to be around. It is their individual words, behaviours and demonstrated character that provide those answers, regardless of race.

You can watch the full video below: