Anti-Racist Efforts for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is here! You may have just wrapped up traveling from Thanksgiving, started brainstorming Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah gifts, or scheduled plans for a December feast with family and friends. For many, this time of year is reminiscent of hot chocolate, tree-lighting ceremonies, laughter, and community. For others, it is a time of worry, financial struggle, and loneliness. 

Here at ARCC, we want our anti-racist measures to be actionable 365 days a year, and we have compiled some ways in which you can practice anti-racism this holiday season. The first is to support businesses owned and operated by people of color. Although it is easy to find gifts at the click of a button these days from massive profit-yielding companies, we encourage you to vote with your dollars and spend your holiday budget by shopping small and equitably.  Amazon, Walmart, Target, and the like are raking in billions of dollars, and while they may have the lowest price available, purchasing from them almost certainly also has the lowest socio-environmental impact available. 

By buying from small businesses owned and operated by people of color instead, the systemic inequality of the racial wealth gap will shorten and we can see minority communities thrive. 

The second way to champion diversity this season is to educate yourself and others on celebrations other than the mainstream Christmas holiday. Traditions like Kwanza, Hanukkah, and Diwali are greatly commemorated by Americans of diverse cultural and religious groups and deserve the same respect. 

Christianity has been labeled politically as the most “patriotic” religious group, and America has been inaccurately portrayed as a Christian nation. To love our friends, coworkers, and family fully, we must begin with education on how this season looks different from the view we hold. 

Another way you can support anti-racist efforts this season is to have hard conversations when presented with harmful rhetoric, microaggressions, or racist remarks from family. The powerful work of erasing ignorance and seeking equality and equity starts with those in your closest circle. It can be tempting to “keep the peace” at the dinner table when a relative says something insensitive or racist, but we urge you to think about the long-term effects by taking the role as a bystander. There is only racism and anti-racism. Being a bystander does just as much to support racism as actively spreading racism. 

Lastly, you can volunteer and or donate to your local organizations that support the fight for racial justice. This can be in the form of hands-on help, monetary donations, or rallying your community to gather goods that are in need for lower-income minority groups in your city. By becoming aware of how racism is being fought in your area, you are making a tangible step towards a society that can operate peacefully and support diversity, not tolerate it. 

Your contributions to any of these suggestions mentioned will create a ripple for a better world. We at ARCC hope that your holiday season and new year are filled with joy, community, and a renewed commitment to anti-racism for 2025 and many more years to come! 

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