>From: thesis11 at att.net
>To: Grbosypsl at debs.pinko.net (Greater Boston YPSL)
>CC: SocialistsUnmoderated at debs.pinko.net (SP list)
>Subject: [SOCUNMOD] Thoughts on Building an Interracial and Anti-Racist
>Student Movement
>Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 12:16:50 +0000
>
> > AlterNet
> >
> > November 3, 2000
> >
> > WireTap Magazine/The Activist
> >
> > Ain't Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us 'Round:
> >
> > Thoughts on Building an Interracial and
> > Anti-Racist Student Movement
> >
> > By Amanda Klonsky aklonsky at s... and
> > Daraka Larimore-Hall daraka at d...
> >
> > In the summer following his junior year of college, together
> > with nearly one thousand other Northern college students,
> > Andy Goodman traveled to Mississippi to participate in
> > Freedom Summer 1964. Organized by the Student Nonviolent
> > Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Freedom Summer was a call to
> > Northern white college students to join black Mississippians
> > in the drive to register black voters in the South. SNCC
> > staff members last reported seeing Andy, along with his
> > friends Mickey Schwerner and James Cheney, alive on June
> > 21st, 1964. The three activists were found dead weeks later.
> > Lawrence Rainey, then Neshoba County sheriff, was one of
> > seven men later convicted, not of murder, but of "conspiracy
> > to deprive the dead men of their civil rights" (pg. 115, In
> > Struggle, by Clayborne Carson). Andy Goodman made a heroic
> > decision and cast his fate with the Black Freedom Struggle
> > in the Jim Crow South. He became one of many martyrs; a
> > symbol for people working towards racial justice in the
> > United States.
> >
> > If you believe what you read in the press, both mainstream
> > and left, the recent rise in political activism has been
> > composed solely of white people who oppose globalization.
> > While the coverage of political activism tends to ignore
> > the rich and inspiring work that goes on in communities of
> > color, it is true that white students are on the march, and
> > largely overlooking questions of domestic racism in favor of
> > internationally flavored anti-corporate activism. People of
> > color (as well as the mainstream media) have noticed with
> > some distaste the overwhelming whiteness of the protests in
> > Seattle and D.C. (See for example Elizabeth Betita Martinez's
> > article "Where Was the Color in Seattle?" in the Spring issue
> > of The Activist.) The activist causes and organizations
> > receiving the most attention, funding and support on
> > campuses are predominantly white anti-corporate and
> > anti-sweatshop groups, while organizing in communities
> > of color has been routinely ignored.
> >
> > While it is tempting to simply obsess over the whiteness of
> > campus anti-corporate activism, we believe that such obsession
> > makes us miss the most important point. Both on a practical
> > level, in terms of building good relationships with campus-
> > based organizations of color, and on a political level, in
> > terms of making an anti-corporate vision meaningful, white
> > students have to take up the fight against racism in a
> > serious way. This means, if you are a white activist,
> > incorporating anti-racism into your own work, and doing
> > work against racism that you do not yourself lead.
> >
> > The leadership of many predominantly white student
> > organizations have begun to discuss how the white portion of
> > an expanding student movement can adopt an explicitly anti-
> > racist agenda. Some of these organizations, such as the
> > Direct Action Network and United Students Against Sweat-
> > shops, are beginning to discuss how to confront racism
> > with their activist work.
> >
> > The coalitions mobilizing protests at both the Republican
> > and Democratic National Conventions have focused their
> > attentions on issues facing Black and Latino communities,
> > and have begun to reach out to activists within those
> > communities. Despite their good intentions, however, these
> > efforts have not gone far enough. To succeed, we must transform
> > more than our slogans and symbols; committing for the long haul
> > to fighting against, for example, the proliferation of the
> > prison industry, or fighting for equitable funding of public
> > education. While this is the beginning of new direction and
> > dialogue, we still have a long way to go.
> >
> > We do not claim to have forged a magic bullet, but we would
> > like to raise some questions which may point our organizations
> > in the right direction. In considering the role of white
> > students in opposing racism, we should remember the story
> > of Andy Goodman and his sacrifice. Let us ask ourselves
> > what the equivalent of Freedom Summer is today. Where are
> > the spaces for white students to act in solidarity with the
> > struggles of people of color; to assist in building an anti
> > racist movement led by people of color? Where are our
> > Mississippis, and who is going down to help?
> >
> > White students cannot answer this question alone. Only
> > through accepting the leadership of those who experience
> > racism in their daily lives, can white students identify
> > their role in building an anti-racist movement.
> >
> > As a white woman, I (Amanda) have been very much a part of
> > the anti-sweatshop movement at the University of Wisconsin.
> > The growing anti-sweatshop movement is fundamentally good,
> > and it has been a powerful force on our campus. Many students
> > who have never participated in social justice work before
> > have gotten involved, breathing new life into campus activism.
> >
> > While it is right to organize in solidarity with exploited
> > workers of color in the Third World and at home, as the
> > anti-sweatshop movement grows, we have a responsibility to
> > make sure that we take on local racial justice issues as
> > well as international ones. On campuses like UW Madison,
> > white students have too often ignored this responsibility.
> > Because such an overwhelming majority of most college
> > campuses are made up of white students, it is very difficult
> > for students of color to make gains without white support.
> > This is especially true around such issues as increasing
> > recruitment and retention of students of color or the
> > creation of a long sought after Chicano Studies Department.
> >
> > This is not to say that anti-sweatshop organizing in Madison
> > should end; but simply that we must take another step forward,
> > connecting the work we are doing to oppose discrimination
> > around the globe with that which is happening in our own
> > communities for students and faculty of color. For example,
> > in prior years at the UW, white students, as part of an
> > interracial coalition assisted in a successful campaign led
> > by people of color to strengthen the University's ten year
> > affirmative action plan.
> >
> > Let's work so that our anti-sweatshop organizations are
> > explicitly anti-racist, and build a committed and long
> > standing relationship with the communities affected by
> > oppressive labor standards; namely immigrants and women.
> > This work will bring issues of racism to bear on what has
> > been seen, incorrectly, as a "white" organizing issue.
> >
> >
> > The Color Line Divides America, As Well As The Student Movement
> >
> > Because racism is such a powerful force in our economic
> > and social systems, it is ridiculous to think the student
> > movement could somehow be immune or disconnected from the
> > legacy and consequences of racism. Social justice movements
> > in this country have at many other points in history been
> > divided along racial lines. This has happened both because
> > of white racism, and because of the legitimate desire on the
> > part of activists of color to build independent organizations.
> >
> > It's a mistake to feel like every student activist organization
> > should look like a Bennetton ad. We should not approach this
> > whole question with the goal of simply "diversifying" our
> > organizations. This article is not a guide to "shopping for
> > minorities." It is a call to action for white students to
> > put real work behind the fight against racism.
> >
> > White students should respect the expressed need and desire
> > for separation by student of color activist groups. Of
> > course, none of the "predominantly white" student movement
> > organizations out there are exclusively white, and there
> > are some practical things that white activists can do to
> > make their organizations a better place to work for people
> > of color. All white people enjoy the fruits of racism, both
> > historical and contemporary, psychologically and spiritually
> > as well as politically and economically. White people need
> > to break down the structures and change the institutions
> > which give them privilege. If we are truly committed to
> > building an inter-racial movement, then white people must
> > constantly assess their privileged position in society.
> >
> > We think that the most important thing white students can
> > do to build an interracial and anti-racist movement in this
> > country is to stand in solidarity with people of color who
> > are organizing against racism. Concretely, this will require
> > white students to take direction and leadership from people
> > of color, but it also means that white students have a
> > special duty to exercize leadership amongst white people,
> > fighting racism in our own communities. This is no simple
> > task; there are no rules or formulas for being a good white
> > ally, and standing in solidarity with people of color has
> > meant many wildly different things throughout history. It
> > is likely that in twenty years, we will look back and laugh
> > at the positions we are taking in this very article. Let us
> > seek guidance in the history of anti-racist organizing in
> > this country; becoming students of the interracial and and
> > anti-racist movements that have come before us.
> >
> >
> > Practical Suggestions
> >
> > Here are some steps that white students can take to begin
> > the process of building an anti-racist movement:
> >
> > * Include racial justice issues in your organizational
> > discussions and analysis.
> >
> > * Commit to doing serious work against racism as part of
> > your organizing and to forming meaningful, principled
> > alliances with people of color organizations in your
> > communities.
> >
> > * Make sure that your agenda isn't set before considering
> > the goals and demands of activists of color. Too often,
> > white activists think of the issues that they are working
> > on as "universal" and approach activists of color asking
> > them to join their "big tent". Why aren't white activists
> > holding themselves accountable in the same way and viewing
> > racism as a universal concern?
> >
> > * Take steps to create a more tolerant culture within your
> > own organization. Sometimes, white culture is "invisible",
> > meaning that methods of work, choice of music, food, ways
> > of communicating, etc., are thought of as "progressive"
> > ways of doing things, instead of "white progressive" ways
> > of doing things. One way should not be held up as
> > "authentically progressive", especially when that cultural
> > form is typically or historically white.
> >
> > * Consider the needs of people of different backgrounds than
> > your own. Can people with jobs attend your meetings? What
> > about people with children? What email list or social
> > scene do you have to be a part of, to hear about meetings?
> >
> > * Work to build long term, authentic and trusting
> > relationships with organizations led by people of color
> > in your community. As we stated above, white activists
> > are prone to "shopping" for minorities. Too often, when
> > it comes time to host a conference or chose speakers for
> > a rally, white activist organizations are out looking for
> > brown faces, when they haven't supported the daily work
> > of anti-racist organizations all year long.
> >
> > * Speak up when people of color in your community are being
> > attacked! Don't wait for the Black Student Union on your
> > campus to write all the letters to the editor of your
> > student newspaper. It is time for white people to police
> > their own communities around these issues - after all,
> > whose responsibility is it to fight racism in the white
> > community?
> >
> > * Listen harder, and better. Too often, white activists try
> > to be the savior - instead of the ally. One of the legacies
> > of the early Civil Rights Movement's organizing style, which
> > came from people like Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer and Bob Moses
> > of SNCC, was the deeply rooted belief that there is no one
> > who knows more about the experience of oppression than those
> > who are oppressed themselves. Simply put, go to meetings of
> > people of color organizations, find out what they are up to,
> > and help out. Period.
> >
> >
> > Working in an interracial coalition can be a difficult and
> > humbling experience, but also a sweet one. The most important
> > things we should take with us on this winding road are a
> > willingness to be vulnerable, to make mistakes and be self
> > critical, and to listen to each other. We have a lot to
> > learn, and we need all the brains and hands we can gather.
> > Within the movement, as in the civil rights movement of the
> > 60s, we need a "division of labor," in which the special
> > responsibilities of various groups are recognized. Andy
> > Goodman was one of the many who acknowledged his own
> > responsibility and sought to accept leadership from African
> > American activists. To broaden and deepen today's movement,
> > we need to learn from that spirit of listening, uniting and
> > acting with courage.
> >
> > Copyright (c) 2000 Independent Media Institute.
> >
>
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