Anti Rasistarnir

Anna, Jóhanna, Kristín and Vala run the instagram account Anti Rasistarnir, which translates, ‘The Anti Racists’, They are a group of girls all living, studying and working in Reykjavík, Iceland. Some of them were born here like Jóhanna and Anna, as children of immigrants but Vala and Kristín were adopted to a couple here at the age of 10 months. They met the modern way, online, or more in particular on Instagram, which is their platform of choice now to spread their message. Their message, we’re done with racism and are going to speak up about it whether you like it or not.

We meet for a photoshoot at Saga Sigs studio, and have a little chat. I ask them how the instagram page came to be. They explain to me “there was an incident that happened on social media where a grown white man was being racist on his companies page. We were all sharing the incident through our own personal Instagram stories, and our conversation with the said man. Johanna decided to reach out to all of us, about making an instagram page where we would talk about racism in Iceland and how it has influenced our lives”.

Anna

Since they are such young girls I’m curious to know how social media has affect their lives, both positively and negatively. “Social media's impact on social justice has been a double edged sword. Social media can often give people a false sense of activism. Especially when they don’t exercise the values that they claim to have, in real life.

The negative effect social media has had on younger children is that they often hide behind the camera, they write nasty comments under some videos without thinking about the consequences it may bring towards the creator of that video, and they get away with it without a trace sometimes.

Vala

Maybe the positive effect is that it creates more opportunities for black and POC’s voices and at the same time reaches bigger audiences. On the other hand it can also create a platform for bigots and it can be easier for them to gain an audience for the wrong reasons. Even comedians in Iceland take advantage of our struggles and profit from it. Their influence on the Icelandic youth is tremendous and has had harmful impacts on people of color in Iceland.

Kristín

Social media gives a platform to social constructs such as european beauty standards to flourish. So many people don't get to see themselves represented in the media due to these beauty standards”.

I ask them what is the kind of racism they encounter most living here in Iceland, Kristín explains to me that “people speak to me in english, then often they keep on speaking to me in english even though I answer them in Icelandic. It is easy to figure out when an Icelander talks english, because of their Icelandic accent. I feel like I’m in a competition with the customer, I feel like I have to be ahead of them to “wish them a good day” in Icelandic. before the interaction begins, otherwise there could be some probability of them speaking to me in english just because of my skin colour”.

Anna then tells me that “I experience it mostly online with people resembling me to a monkey or calling me a disgusting ‘n-word’. People also often speak to me in English and get quite shocked when I speak Icelandic or just get really embarrassed”.

Vala then tells me her side which is that “here it tends to be more micro aggressions, but one incident that I vaguely remember is when I was working in a supermarket as a cashier, one guy comes up to me. I said hello and he didn’t answer. I asked him 2 times if he wanted the receipt and the third time he said “not from you ‘n-word’”. I was extremely shocked because I had never been called that word so bluntly. I also recall him having the federal flag ring on his finger”.

We speak about how a lot of white people get very defensive when you point out racist behaviour even though people might not be inherently racist, how some behaviour can stem from ignorance or lack of thinking rather that actually disliking black people or POC. With that in mind I ask them what is good for people to keep in mind when they’re faced with a situation like this. “People have to understand that the repercussions of what they say is more important than intent. Black people and other people of color are more likely to recognise racist behaviour or language influenced by racism as they experience it daily. Most white people don't recognise how far their white privilege expands and how ingrained racism is in their mind. White people have to unlearn their behavior and understand that most people are going to have unconscious bias, if they grow up in a society where racism thrives”.

Moving on from that I ask them if it has been hard growing up black in a very much so dominantly white country such as Iceland. They all agree and explain to me “it’s hard growing up black in a country which is dominantly white, it’s difficult finding people that you can relate to based on your experiences with racism, especially when it’s something that impacts your life so much. Growing up with few to almost no people that look like you is extremely hard on young black girls. Particularly when you don't get any representation or role models in the media. Standing up for yourself as a young black girl was always a struggle up until this point, that many of us decided to get involved and speak out against racism.

We then move onto subjects like social media, and how it’s influenced their lives and activism such as BLM. “It's easier to reach wider audiences through social media. You´re able to build a community even with little to no resources. We of course met through social media and created our page all through our phone screens”.

After a lovely afternoon with these incredibly smart young women, I feel so hopeful for the future and their generation. On a leaving note I ask them they feel that kids and teenagers today are more knowledgable and take more part in activism. They tell me an interesting point, “the new generation is more open to take part in activism that is accepted by their peers or as it's more commonly known as a trend. when it's a trend, there are too many people who only participate in activism when it fits inside their comfort zone. It is important that they allow POC to critique their activism and that they understand that real activism is an educational journey”.

Words by Lilja Hrönn.
Photography by Saga Sig.