Very well put, Paul. We cannot eradicate racism by practicing racism. And I define racism to include not just thinking of things in terms of race, because only racial thinking creates the soil in which racism can grow and flourish.
People naturally have preferences. We like some colors better than others, some songs better than others, some restaurants better than others, some trees better than others, some friends better than others. If you think of the world in terms of individuals, naturally you will prefer some individuals over others. And that's okay. But if you think of the world in terms of racial groups, you will naturally prefer some racial groups over others, and that's not okay. Is it?
If you want to be less racist, when you find your mind drifting toward thinking of the world in terms of race, remember the individuals, good and bad, in each group.
Oops! The third sentence of the first paragraph was supposed to read (inadvertently omitted material in italics),
And I define racism to include not just racist acts, from the extreme of lynching to the mild of racial hiring quotas, but even thinking of things in terms of race, because only racial thinking creates the soil in which racism can grow and flourish.
I'm not ignoring history. I'm looking at it primarily as a history of individuals, not primarily a history of racial groups. That's not to say much of history hasn't been about putting people into groups and treating them badly on that basis: Racial groups, religious groups, gender groups, sexual orientation groups, groups sharing a similar language, or culture, or disability, et cetera. But what all these groups had, and have, in common is that they have been made up of individuals.
I would suggest that rather than looking at a race-free society as some distant "promised land" always somewhere over the next horizon, we look at it as something to do our little bit toward building every day. Kind of like becoming vegetarian or vegan, or quitting smoking: If you can't go "cold turkey", keep focusing on eating a little less meat and dairy, smoking fewer cigarettes than you did last week. Keep focusing on being a little less racist, engaging in a little less racial thinking.
Hey....recommending we stop being so serious and sanctimonious and start having fun by acknowledging our races, and differences and preferences. And laughing at ourselves and each other more. We are all really pretty funny in special ways. Often flavored by our races and racial, cultural histories.