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Anti-Racism and White FolksWhat does it mean to be a white anti-racist activist? Obviously, the overt manifestations, such as racist jokes and slurs, are not tolerated. The white anti-racist activist has studied up on all the institutionalized examples of how racism is perpetuated through the justice system and the US “War on Drugs.” Those examples are often ready, on the tip of the tongue, to be repeated, shared, enlightening those who may not yet be aware. But what about the more subtle manifestations, such as tendencies to tokenize, or blindly organize in all-white social circles and then question without a clue, “Where are all the people of color?” We, the authors of this article, believe that to organize a movement for true liberation, white people must be willing to examine their own white privilege and talk about racism with other white folks. We are not here to lead -- we are writing this as an anti-racist critique, and hopefully, a conversation starter. We want to consider some of the underlying assumptions of our actions. Our opinions have been changing and continue to change as we educate ourselves and have more discussions on these issues; we consider it a process. This article is not meant to be a comprehensive overview of anti-racist activism and its complexities. We simply aim to discuss some of the underlying perspectives that we feel may be important in taking anti-racist action and provide some current examples of effective anti-racist efforts in action. As activists, we recognize the difference between charity and change. But the struggle gets muddier when we take on issues that, at first glance, don’t seem to connect directly to our personal lives. This is a common breeding ground for well-intentioned yet ultimately destructive gestures. Are we fighting against free trade in the name of the struggling people in Latin America? Are we also opposing the local neoliberal manifestations privatizing public entities in our own backyard? What about white activists joining in the fight against racial profiling, having never been guilty of “Driving While Black” themselves? Often dismissed by a claim of solidarity, the efforts are empty if they don’t reach deeper than that. In the wise words of Australian aboriginal artist Lilla Watson, “If you have come here to help me, then you can leave. But if you have come because your liberation is tied to mine, come let us work together.” Workshops Challenge White Privilege The Challenging White Supremacy (CWS) collective is a Bay Area-based group that has been creating and facilitating anti-racist workshops aimed at white activists since 1993. They use the term “white supremacy” interchangeably with “racism” and define it as, “a historically based, institutionally perpetuated ideology/system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations and peoples of color by white people and nations of the European continent for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power and privilege.” Members are white organizers who believe that the most effective way to create fundamental social change in the US is by building mass-based, multi-racial grassroots movements led by radical activists of color and that racism, or white supremacy, is the major barrier to creating these movements. So where do white activists begin to challenge white supremacy? We feel that a great place to start is at home with a concept called white privilege. CWS defines white privilege as, “preferential prejudice for and treatment of whites based solely on their skin color and/or European origin…exemption from oppression based on skin color and/or ancestral origin from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Pacific islands and the Americas.” It’s something we often don’t even realize. It’s embedded in personal experiences; often times the color of skin determines how “safe” individuals feel when there’s a police officer on the street. And it’s embedded in the justice system, as evident with drug laws which require harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Studies such as the Health and Human Services National Household Survey show that the majority of people who use and sell drugs are white, although African-Americans and Latinos comprise about 94% of the drug offenders in New York State prisons. And there are disparities in sentences for different drugs: anyone possessing more than five grams of crack can be sentenced to at least five years in federal prison – the same sentence for someone caught with 500 grams of cocaine. Because white privilege is present in so many aspects of our existence, it directly affects the actions we take every day. The workshops that CWS holds directly challenge white privilege. Van Jones, director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, believes that this tactical education is just what our movements need to be able to move forward. “To solve the new century’s mounting social and environmental problems, people of color activists and white activists need to be able to join forces,” Jones says. “But all too often, the unconscious racism of white activists stands in the way of any effective, worthwhile collaboration. The CWS workshop is the most powerful tool that I have seen for removing the barriers to true partnerships between people of color and white folks. If the CWS trainings were mandatory for all white activists, the progressive movement in the United States would be unstoppable.” CWS sessions are a mix of presentations by organizers of color and white anti-racist organizers, and small group structured discussions. In addition, the workshops require racial justice placements in which every participant is expected to volunteer 6-8 hours per week in a racial justice organization. Readings are assigned each week that are specially designed to strengthen participants’ capacities to work for racial justice and challenge white privilege in all their social justice work. The sessions also include a laboratory to practice and model respectful and accountable behavior. Many emerging anti-racist organizers practice their skills as facilitators, coordinators and small group organizers. Each week’s session revolves around a different theme, delving into issues such as “Women of Color Feminism,” “Legacies of Liberation,” “How Mother Earth Became a Piece of Real Estate,” “Shinin’ the Light on White Privilege,” anti-racist organizing with mostly white social justice organizations, and also in solidarity with multi-racial organizations, and a section on racial justice in which organizers of color challenge state violence. A project of the CWS, Anti-Racism for Global Justice, began in 2000 by a younger generation of organizers who came out of the movements for global justice that confronted the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999 and are actively involved in the growing anti-war movement. Members were inspired by Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez’s highly influential essay “Where was the Color in Seattle?” which highlighted the need for white activists to examine racism and how it affects organizing. Over the past two years, they’ve led over 50 workshops for primarily white social justice activists around the country, using interactive exercises and participatory learning to engage more than 1600 participants to look at histories of racism, explore how racism operates today and develop strategies for strengthening their own anti-racist organizing. Prioritizing long-term work with groups and activists to develop leadership and expand organizing skills, project organizers collaborate with national student networks like the STARC Alliance (Students Transforming and Resisting Corporations) and United Students Against Sweatshops as well as other training organizations like the Ruckus Society and Active Solidarity to develop organizing skills, analysis, and leadership. In the fall of 2003, the Thomas Merton Center’s Global Justice Now project brought two of these organizers to Pittsburgh to do a two-day training that included a session on anti-racism and white privilege. Confronting White Supremacy
Another group doing anti-racist and
anti-fascist work is the Anti-Racist Action network. Anti-Racist Action is an
international movement of people dedicated to stopping racism, sexism,
homophobia and other forms of bigotry from harming our communities. ARA attempts
to “expose, oppose, and confront” hate in whatever form threatens the diversity
and safety of the places we live in and the people we live with. ARA also firmly
believes in building a fun, diverse, liberated and explicitly anti-racist,
anti-sexist and anti-homophobic youth culture. Locally, the Pittsburgh chapter of ARA has confronted organizers of a group called the White Pittsburgh Front, a local fascist and racist group. Because of their stance against fascist organizing in Pittsburgh, armed members of the White Pittsburgh Front and several other Nazis visited the house of several local ARA members. While the visit remained mostly peaceful, this is an example of the backlash folks doing street level anti-fascist work sometimes receive. The main organizer of the White Pittsburgh Front was a man named Hardy Lloyd. Hardy was also a member of a group called the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC), whose leader Matt Hale is currently in jail for conspiring to kill a judge in Illinois. Hardy himself shot and killed his girlfriend in Squirrel Hill on August 6, 2004, and is facing murder charges with a possible life bid. Violence is a consistent underlying theme in the White Supremacist movement in the US and locally in Pittsburgh. Neo-Nazis have harassed people serving meals to the homeless through Food Not Bombs in Oakland before being directly confronted by ARA members. Also, there have been altercations at punk and indie rock shows. Nationally, Benjamin Smith, a member of the WCOTC, went on a shooting spree in suburban Chicago killing several people and injuring many more while specifically targeting people of color and queer couples. The seriousness of these groups is often downplayed because of their lack of support from the majority of people in the US. However, after many neo-Nazi rallies and demonstrations, attacks have been reported on isolated individuals Nazis view as enemies. ARA believes that confronting organized racists is integral to building a radical anti-racist movement because it shows these types of people that Pittsburgh is an unfriendly town for fascism and that, racist groups, ideas and individuals will not be tolerated or allowed to organize in our city. When there are rallies we need to go and shut them down. When there are groups organizing to build a racist and fascist movement or group we need to stand up and defend our communities and prevent racist violence. A recent example of an anti-fascist action that Pittsburghers participated in was a counter rally to the fascist National Socialist Movement (NSM) rally this past September in eastern Pennsylvania. The Minnesota based NSM considers itself to be America’s Nazi party and the fastest growing neo-Nazi organization in the US. On September 25, 2004, the NSM held a permitted rally at Valley Forge National Battlefield. They were met with resistance from ARA and other anti-fascist militants. The timing and location of the NSM rally were dubious at best, taking place during Yom Kippur and on ground considered hallowed by many Americans. Private security guards were on-hand at the announced meeting point for ARA, and made every effort to prevent mobilization against the NSM. So, rather than a large contingent, ARA began to trickle into the park in small groups and new arrivals were met with raucous cheers. Police presence was negligible at first, consisting of a few US Park Rangers and a few disinterested local cops. Several hundred DC Park Police had been bussed in for the rally and had managed to cordon off the rally site. Those who wished to voice their opposition had to pass through a security checkpoint. Approximately 100 anti-fascists came from as far as Texas and were a spirited mix of ARA members: assorted anarchists using a black bloc tactic, punks, traditional skinheads, even Maoists. Some were people of color, many were women. All carried their black and red flags on suspiciously heavy poles, including axe handles, hockey sticks, and banisters. When it was determined that entry to the rally would be nearly impossible, affinity group delegates held a spokes council meeting and decided to force the NSM and its supporters to run a gauntlet to reach the rally. When a vehicle full of Nazis would reach the entrance to the park, the militants would step out in front of them, forcing them to stop, and for some unknown reason the fascists thought it would be a good idea to roll down their windows and hurl insults. This proved to be a mistake, as their open windows were soon filled with sticks, and their vehicles and their persons were pummeled. In one of the day’s stranger moments, a law enforcement official told the anti-fascists, “Just don’t hit my car.” This continued for nearly an hour, resulting in some NSM supporters riding through grass, around stopped traffic at a red light and onto a major road to escape. Soon the entrance to the park was closed to traffic and the fascists began trickling in on foot, also a mistake. At this point, the police moved in with helmets and batons in an effort to break up the melee, and one of a half-dozen US Marshals deployed chemical weapons in an effort to disperse the crowd. One woman of color however seemed immune to the effects of the chemicals and continued to engage one of the Nazis until a comrade pulled her away and guided her to a safe place where the medics could go to work decontaminating her eyes. By this time, the advancing police had managed to disperse ARA and their allies, but not before an estimated 25 of the rally’s 100 attendees had been confronted by militants. Two of the Nazis were hospitalized. Several hundred people also showed up to symbolically voice their opposition to the NSM and were granted permission to stand in a protest pen. Regardless of how people feel about these types of tactics they have proved effective in stopping the growth of violent fascist gangs in many areas. Also, many people of color and white folks from queer, punk and anarchist communities, view these tactics as self-defense since they are often targets of neo-Nazi hate crimes and violent physical attacks. Strangely enough, one of the few situations where white privilege becomes less of a determining factor, is during the expression of dissent, which some would argue is a civil right. When the buses and the flex cuffs show up, everybody goes to jail, whether an innocent bystander or a direct participant. One of the most glaring recent examples was the profiling and harassment of “activist types” in Miami leading up to the FTAA Ministerial in November of 2003. Those who had gone down to Florida in the months and weeks before the summit complained of being stopped for no lawful reason, searched without probable cause, were subject to surveillance, harassed and finally arrested while being told by police, “You can beat the rap but not the ride,” meaning that the charges had no merit but would result in a 72 hour detention. This culminated in a brutal charge by heavily armed police who fired “less-lethal” projectiles and chemical weapons indiscriminately into a crowd who had finished up a permitted AFL-CIO labor march. What is important to remember is that many white activists can then leave these situations and often go back to live where police violence is a rarity or doesn’t exist at all. What is key is that we take lessons from these experiences. Police violence is a reality for virtually every community of color in this country. No Easy Answers This article is by no means meant to be an overview of the White Power movement, our own internalized white privilege or a survey of all the ways we can dismantle racism. We are just trying to give some specific examples of ways activists are fighting organized racism and internalized white privilege. As white activists, we have to ask ourselves hard questions. We have to acknowledge that we benefit every day from our skin color and from racism. We have to be able to talk about race and privilege with other white radicals. Ending racism is not solely the job of people of color, especially since white folks preserving their own social status invented it. And this is not meant to induce guilt -- a paralyzing and self-centered notion. This is meant to induce conversation, self-examination, and ultimately and most importantly, action. Our motivation to write this article sprang from our desire to articulate some of the questions we’ve been asking ourselves in hopes that we can begin some dialogue with other white folks in the activist community. Are we organizing in a predominantly white social scene, thus making it more difficult for others outside of it to organize with us? Do we see ourselves as allies in a broader movement? Do we truly respect the diversity of tactics employed by groups around the world fighting racism and fascism? Do we consider anti-racism not only important but central to a true egalitarian movement that can bring about radical structural change? Do we try and view our government through the critique of white supremacy and racism? We don’t have all the answers. But the first step must be to begin the process of asking the right questions. - Jeremy Shenk, Marie Skoczylas and Mike Vesch are all members of the editorial collective. They are also three white folks who feel anti-racism is central to creating a just and peaceful world. Resources:
Challenging White Supremacy:
www.cwsworkshop.org
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