[lbo-talk] Looking for Color in the Anti-War Movement

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Fri Jun 3 10:39:32 PDT 2005


lbo at inkworkswell.com quoted:


>Why, for example, is there
>not more color in today's anti-war movement when the troops who fight and
>die are disproportionately black, brown, and red? Why isn't there more
>color when those who pay such a heavy price for cutbacks in vital social
>services due to military spending are often people of color?
>
>The first answer is the way that racism conditions the attitudes and
>conduct of many anti-war activists, often without their realizing it.

This is not a new piece, is it?

In any case, I'm not sure this is the full story. One of the first anti-Iraq war demos in NYC was in the northeastern corner of Central Park, right at the edge of Harlem. It would have been quite accessible to people walking by, but it remained almost all white. It may be - emphasis on the may - that people of color are more concerned with immediate survival issues than with foreign policy. Antiwar organizers have tried to draw connections between war abroad and austerity at home, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Doug



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