Code Pink Journals CodePINK Journals

Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

Brief Report Back “NOW What Will White Womxxn Do To End Racism?” Zoom Gathering Sunday July 4th

We began with our usual intros: our most recent ‘success’ in challenging racism or practicing our anti-racism skills; and our most recent ‘trial’ challenging or missing our opportunity to challenge racism.

We continued briefly our conversation about whiteness and wanting to have a ‘secret’ handshake or code words or another way to easily identify those white people committed to anti-racism – and to stand out, separate from other tRumper white womyn. At the same time owning and being accountable for the privileges and superiority we’ve been showered with and share with all white people.

A major focus of our discussion revolved again around how we take personal responsibility for addressing racism that happens in our presence and/or within our relationships with Black and brown womyn. When we make that horrific weaponized racist action or remark or unconscious unintentional assumption/viewpoint.

How do we embody always being aware of race and never being aware of race, if we do. We expounded on our white feelings of not being able to relax within our relationships with Black or brown womyn and the origin of those feelings. Do we attribute that inability to relax as our burgeoning awareness of how much racism we carry and weaponize through relating? Or to our labeling the attitudes of Black womyn as hostile, defensive, attacking?

We discussed feeling “beat up” when we are confronted with our racism; as well as challenging that confrontation: could this Black person be mistaken, after all we didn’t mean to be racist. What if we disagree and think our friend or colleague or neighbor is mistaken. If white people don’t challenge Black people re:racism, is that not also racist?

We discussed why and how white people think we are the ‘experts’ on racism, so much so we can inform a person of color they are wrong or ‘enlighten’ them – and how this is part of what we mean about racist white privilege.

We talked about our anti-racism job is to listen to Black womyn, to hear, to accept, to change our behavior accordingly – and to take our feelings to a group of white people like on our zoom gathering instead of laying those feelings on the very people who are caring enough to call us on our racism.

So moving from feelings of “beat up” to feelings of embracing accountability for racism. People of color are the experts on racism. Period. If we have the kind of relationship with a Black or brown person, and if we are aware enough of our own racism, asking questions to clarify & come to a great understanding might be part of that relationship. If not, bring those questions to a zoom like ours.

We also talked a little about the timing of challenging racism: how much of the white person’s personal life and circumstances do we take in before deciding to challenge their racism. Some of us felt it is important to wait in some cases of extreme distress or unrelated difficult circumstances before challenging racism. Others felt that there is never a “right time” – it just doesn’t come. To be continued.

Resources https://indianlaw.org/node/529 Apology that is not an apology

“Indian schools” circa 2019 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-ending-birth-alerts-1.5285929

“What to the slave is the 4th of July” by Fredrick Douglas

The ‘other’ ways in addition to legal slavery white people made sure Black people would never be ‘free’ in this country: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/fugitive-slave-acts

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home