Brief Report Back Nextdoor zoom gathering 9/1: "What Will White Womyn Do To End Racism?"

Tonight's gathering was slightly marred by technical difficulties: several womyn attempted to sign on but couldn't and I dropped off a few times, given my iffy connection.

We began our introductions by sharing our short term anti-racist goals and our long-term anti-racism goals which eventually led into a painful discussion about how faithfully and blindly white people cling to racism, despite having a good friend who is Black. The smashed hope that if only white people could mingle with Black and brown people, if only white people could get to know Black and brown people, they won't be so hateful or won't keep prejudices and stereotypes close to their bigoted hearts.

One womon spoke of a 40 year friendship with a white family where political discussions never were on the table until recently when the white man wrote an email expressing his support of tRump and claiming tRump is not a racist. How shocking and painful receiving this email was and is.

We spoke about how integration by itself cannot work unless and until white people are willing to examine and be responsible for racism. And white people's comfort in befriending a "token" Black person and how hurtful, enraging and deeply betraying of that friendship that that tokenism is.

This led to a discussion of gentrification, which is a huge issue in our Atlanta neighborhoods. And in neighborhoods across the country. How gentrification has taken the place of red-lining and is as devastating a practice to old Black neighborhoods as it's has always been. And when white people gentrify a neighborhood, what responsibility do they have to their Black neighbors? 

And of course we spoke of Tulsa and similar devastating destruction by furious white people of Black communities who did manage to build a thriving neighborhood - an overt racist practice that has morphed into a somewhat more 'gentle' practice of gentrification.

We talked about some of the stereotypes white people hold against Black homeowners, claiming Black people don't know how to take care of their property - thus bringing the value of the neighborhood down. And when white people really don't take care of their property, all white people are not blamed or held responsible.

An incident of unintentional racism arose when one white womon spoke of "women" and then "Blacks". So where does that leave Black womyn? The 'white' is understood in the term 'women', which is part of racism in this case and always; plus calling Black people "Blacks" is a demeaning term white people should avoid.

Historically, we know that "Blacks" did not get the right to vote, but Black men allegedly got the right to vote, but only on paper, not in practice, and still not in practice in too many places. Black womyn certainly did not get the right to vote when white womyn did, but not until the Voting Rights Act of 1964 did Black people legally get the right to vote - which has been undermined and suppressed in many creative ways ever since.