Am I Racist? Is My Grandma?

My Grandma Ruby (Mother’s side) was a racist.

I remember her teaching me “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo,” and it wasn’t a “tiger” that caught us by the toe. More seriously, I remember her talking about Los Angeles being overrun by “black people” (again, another word was used), and suggesting they were all criminals.

Even so, my primary memories about my grandma don’t center on her views on race. I remember her teaching my brother and me how to play canasta when we stayed overnight. And the chicken she fried and the biscuits she baked. And her teaching us Psalm 23, the Shepherd’s Prayer that she recited every night.

In Matt Walsh’s new film Am I Racist?, he meets quite a few people who wouldn’t care that my grandma did Jack LaLanne exercises or that she had a succession of Black Labs all named “Lady,” plus a line of parakeets all named “Peppy.” To the people like the ones Walsh meets in the film, all that would mean is that she was a racist — as all white people are.

This is the second documentary for Walsh. The first, What is a Woman?, was only available through streaming on the Daily Wire. This was his first theatrical release. It debuted at #3 at last weekend’s box office. Much of the film’s financial success comes from the fact that it is genuinely funny. A combination of documentary and comedy, Walsh explores the lucrative DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) industry. The film is made in the fashion of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat, with Walsh going into disguise to put people in quite awkward situations. To Walsh’s credit, he pays most of the DEI “experts,” who look rather foolish in the film.

Walsh pulls some very funny stunts along the way, such as circulating a petition to get the George Washington Monument renamed for George Floyd. (It would then be painted black, of course.) He goes to a biker bar to teach the inhabitants to “decentralize their whiteness.” And he convinces Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, to give reparations to his black producer, Ben Capel ($30 out of the $15,000 she was paid to be interviewed).

But there are moments in the film that aren’t at all funny. Walsh attends a DEI seminar led by an instructor who teaches students that, though she used to be a Christian, she had to put away concepts such as “patience” and “kindness,” as these had no place in the work of anti-racists. Another woman featured hosts an anti-racist dinner and calls the United States “sh*t.” Another woman says the only two things “white civilization” has given the world are “buying and stealing.” (Hate to break this to you Shakespeare and Beethoven, but…)

I found the most unsettling moment at the end of the film. Walsh teaches a workshop (“Doing the Work Workshop”) and expounds on the importance of lecturing others, especially family members, about racism. His producer, Ben, then wheels out Walsh’s “Uncle Jack” in a chair. He rants at his “uncle” (an actor) about inappropriate jokes. He offers the students a chance to talk to his “uncle,” a quite defenseless old man. A couple of the women swear at him. “F*** you,” they say.

I realized that if my grandma had been in that seat, they would have happily cursed at her as well.

One of the worst things about the DEI movement—along with the greed, ignorance and guile—is the way they reduce people to one quality. For example, the only really important thing about white people is that they are racist. The only really important thing about black people is that they are victims.

Walsh does a good job of reminding us that there is more to all of us. (Which these people would understand if they had ever tasted my Grandma’s fried chicken.)