"Where it gets really tricky is with traditions or symbols that have roots in several different cultures. For example, dreadlocks are found in Indian, Buddhist, Rastfari, African, and Celtic culture. Most recently, dreadlocks are known as a symbol of Black resistance to racism and Rastafaris’ commitment to Jah. When white people wear dreadlocks, we/they strip dreadlocks from their symbolism of resistance to racism and a commitment to Jah. But as a general rule of thumb, it’s not appropriation if it’s from your own culture."
https://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/cultural-appreciation-or-cultural-appropriation/
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racism. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Wanting to be Indian
"Structural racism is a system of oppression in which the structures of society are operated and controlled by White people. Racism combines prejudice against people of color with political, economic, and social power over their lives. Racism is in the air we breathe. It is not so much about individual guilt or innocence, as it is an atmosphere of injustice with which we all have to reckon in some way."
https://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/wanting-to-be-indian/
https://unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/wanting-to-be-indian/
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Generalization w/ labels
"We have received messages and seen comments on this page about how some of the articles we have posted up have been generalizing about "white feminists."
It really doesn't take much to understand that when the topic of "white feminists" is discussed, that of course not all white feminists are to blame. Emphasis doesn't have to be placed on each sentence, stating that we don't intend to refer to every single white feminist as being wrong and in privilege-denial.
Why? Because it should be fairly obvious that the writer is NOT referring to every single white feminist as being a Femen-style racist. But living in a white supremacist world, critiques of racism and privileged behaviour not just from Femen but from any well-meaning person who gets it horrily wrong is something that we need. That doesn't make us divisive- those very people refusing to check themselves, and listen to what Muslim women have to say are the ones that are being divisive in the first place for provoking such criticism."-Muslim Women Against Femen
It really doesn't take much to understand that when the topic of "white feminists" is discussed, that of course not all white feminists are to blame. Emphasis doesn't have to be placed on each sentence, stating that we don't intend to refer to every single white feminist as being wrong and in privilege-denial.
Why? Because it should be fairly obvious that the writer is NOT referring to every single white feminist as being a Femen-style racist. But living in a white supremacist world, critiques of racism and privileged behaviour not just from Femen but from any well-meaning person who gets it horrily wrong is something that we need. That doesn't make us divisive- those very people refusing to check themselves, and listen to what Muslim women have to say are the ones that are being divisive in the first place for provoking such criticism."-Muslim Women Against Femen
Monday, April 29, 2013
Hey White Liberals
"Your constant prioritization of the lives of white people over the lives of people of color is taking a serious toll on my psyche and those of many in my community. And by that I don't mean what you might expect. Most of us already know that racism and its BFF white privilege have detrimental effects on people of color. Racial oppression leads to any number of unhealthy conditions, including high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, diabetes and even asthma. But what I’m talking about is something different. Something I’m going to call DSWP: desensitization to the suffering of white people."
http://blackgirldangerous.org/new-blog/2013/4/22/hey-white-liberals
http://blackgirldangerous.org/new-blog/2013/4/22/hey-white-liberals
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Political and Social Identity
"Identification with the Negro community demands considerable sacrifice. The Negro is not to be won by words alone, but by an obvious consistency in words and deeds. The identified person is the one who fights side by side with him for justice. This demands being so integral a part of the Negro community in its day-to-day struggle, so close to it in similarity of work, so near its standard of living that when problems arise he who stands forth to judge, plan, suggest, or lead is really at one with the Negro masses."
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
Violence
"Having lived in a society in which church, school, and home problems have been handled in a violent way, the majority at this point are unable to conceive of a solution by reconciliation and nonviolence. I have seen schoolboys in Arkansas laying away rusty guns for the "Time when." I have heard many young men in the armed forces hope for a machine-gun assignment "so I can turn it on the white folks."
-Bayard Rustin
-Bayard Rustin
Sit in the Back
"You ride in back."
I said, "My friend, I believe that is an unjust law. If I were to sit in back I would be condoning injustice."
"Get up, you...!!!"
I said quietly, "If I sit in the back of the bus I am depriving that child -" I pointed to a little white child of five or six- "of the knowledge that there is injustice here, which I believe it is his right to know. It is my sincere conviction that the power of love in the world is the greatest power existing. If you have greater power, my friend, you may move me."
-Rustin Bayard
I said, "My friend, I believe that is an unjust law. If I were to sit in back I would be condoning injustice."
"Get up, you...!!!"
I said quietly, "If I sit in the back of the bus I am depriving that child -" I pointed to a little white child of five or six- "of the knowledge that there is injustice here, which I believe it is his right to know. It is my sincere conviction that the power of love in the world is the greatest power existing. If you have greater power, my friend, you may move me."
-Rustin Bayard
Sexism in Civil Rights Movement
"Baker did encounter sexism in SCLC that mirrored Rustin's political tribulations as a gay man. SCLC ministers resisted her authority, while King disregarded Baker's input on substantive matters. According to Baker, SCLC was fast becoming a "cult of personality" devoted solely to the upkeep of King's celebrity status. When she rased this concern with King, he replied, "Well, I can't help what people do."
Another woman on SCLC executive committee, Septima Clarck, affirmed Baker's point of view: "Those men didn't have any faith in women, none whatsoever. They just thought that women were sex symbols and had no contribution to make."
-The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin
Another woman on SCLC executive committee, Septima Clarck, affirmed Baker's point of view: "Those men didn't have any faith in women, none whatsoever. They just thought that women were sex symbols and had no contribution to make."
-The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin
Monday, January 21, 2013
Aversive racism, subtle racism
Research on aversive racism, subtle sexism, and heterosexism has shown that socialization and cultural conditioning fosters unconscious biases and misinformation about various marginalized groups in our society; some research even suggests that cultural conditioning can actually connect prejudices to emotions in a neurological manner. Thus, it is highly possible and even probable that most people have unconsciously inherited the cultural biases of their forebears and that of society.
The concept of aversive racism is central to our understanding of microaggressions (Dovidio, Gaertner, Penner, Pearson, & Norton, 2009; Gaertner & Dovidio, 2005). Simply defined, aversive racism is a contemporary form of bias: It is an insidious and less conspicuous form of racism that hides in the assumptions/beliefs/values of well-intentioned people and is difficult to identify in its motivational manifestations. This is especially true when such biases are invisible to perpetrators and are unintentional in nature.
According to Dovidio and colleagues, aversive racists truly believe they are nonprejudiced, consciously hold egalitarian values, and would never deliberately discriminate; yet, they are likely to harbor unconscious biases that may result in discriminatory actions. Studies reveal that training and education may be successful in confronting and lessening conscious biases, stereotypes, and preconceived notions but that implicit biases generally remain untouched and unaffected.
Because most people experience themselves as good, moral, and decent human beings, they find it difficult to entertain the notion that they may have acted in a racist, sexist, or heterosexist manner. Thus, in addition to holding hidden biases, getting them to confront their prejudices and discriminatory actions threatens their self-image as someone who stands for equality, justice, and respect for everyone.
Two layers of resistance are present: (1) the unawareness and unintentionality of their prejudices and discriminatory actions and (2) the need to preserve their self-image as an unbiased and good person. If one’s prejudices are unconscious, if one’s discriminatory actions are unintentional, and if one’s self-image is locked into a belief of one’s inherent goodness, the challenges and questions become: How do we make the invisible visible? How do we reach people so that they can become aware of their biases? How do we make people see the harm perpetrated against socially devalued groups in our society?
POC Organize! tumblr
The concept of aversive racism is central to our understanding of microaggressions (Dovidio, Gaertner, Penner, Pearson, & Norton, 2009; Gaertner & Dovidio, 2005). Simply defined, aversive racism is a contemporary form of bias: It is an insidious and less conspicuous form of racism that hides in the assumptions/beliefs/values of well-intentioned people and is difficult to identify in its motivational manifestations. This is especially true when such biases are invisible to perpetrators and are unintentional in nature.
According to Dovidio and colleagues, aversive racists truly believe they are nonprejudiced, consciously hold egalitarian values, and would never deliberately discriminate; yet, they are likely to harbor unconscious biases that may result in discriminatory actions. Studies reveal that training and education may be successful in confronting and lessening conscious biases, stereotypes, and preconceived notions but that implicit biases generally remain untouched and unaffected.
Because most people experience themselves as good, moral, and decent human beings, they find it difficult to entertain the notion that they may have acted in a racist, sexist, or heterosexist manner. Thus, in addition to holding hidden biases, getting them to confront their prejudices and discriminatory actions threatens their self-image as someone who stands for equality, justice, and respect for everyone.
Two layers of resistance are present: (1) the unawareness and unintentionality of their prejudices and discriminatory actions and (2) the need to preserve their self-image as an unbiased and good person. If one’s prejudices are unconscious, if one’s discriminatory actions are unintentional, and if one’s self-image is locked into a belief of one’s inherent goodness, the challenges and questions become: How do we make the invisible visible? How do we reach people so that they can become aware of their biases? How do we make people see the harm perpetrated against socially devalued groups in our society?
POC Organize! tumblr
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Terrified dialogues white Americans sometimes entertain...
Baldwin does not seem to be trying to make whites feel bad or guilt trip them. In fact, he seems empathetic toward whites who are caught up in a history based on violence and lies and, seemingly, their evident desire to rationalize or justify it, but yet refuse to examine that history more closely, a refusal that makes them appear pathetically "incoherent:"
"This is the place in which, it seems to me, most white Americans find themselves. They are dimly, or vividly, aware that the history they have fed themselves is mainly a lie, but they do not know how to release themselves from it, and they suffer enormously from the resulting personal incoherence. This incoherence is heard nowhere more plainly than in those stammering, terrified dialogues white Americans sometimes entertain with that black conscience, the black man in America. The nature of this stammering can be reduced to a plea: Do not blame me. I was not there. I did not do it. My history has nothing to do with Europe or the slave trade. Anyway, it was your chiefs who sold you to me. I was not present on the middle passage. I am not responsible for the textile mills of Manchester, or the cotton fields of Mississippi. Besides, consider how the English, too, suffered in those mills and in those awful cities! I, also, despise the governors of Southern states and the sheriffs of Southern counties; and I also want your child to have a decent education and rise as high as his capabilities will permit. I have nothing against you, nothing/ What have you got against me? What do you want? But, on the same day, in another gathering, and in the most private chamber of his heart always, he, the white man, remains proud of that history for which he does not wish to pay, and from which, materially, he has profited so much."-James Baldwin
"This is the place in which, it seems to me, most white Americans find themselves. They are dimly, or vividly, aware that the history they have fed themselves is mainly a lie, but they do not know how to release themselves from it, and they suffer enormously from the resulting personal incoherence. This incoherence is heard nowhere more plainly than in those stammering, terrified dialogues white Americans sometimes entertain with that black conscience, the black man in America. The nature of this stammering can be reduced to a plea: Do not blame me. I was not there. I did not do it. My history has nothing to do with Europe or the slave trade. Anyway, it was your chiefs who sold you to me. I was not present on the middle passage. I am not responsible for the textile mills of Manchester, or the cotton fields of Mississippi. Besides, consider how the English, too, suffered in those mills and in those awful cities! I, also, despise the governors of Southern states and the sheriffs of Southern counties; and I also want your child to have a decent education and rise as high as his capabilities will permit. I have nothing against you, nothing/ What have you got against me? What do you want? But, on the same day, in another gathering, and in the most private chamber of his heart always, he, the white man, remains proud of that history for which he does not wish to pay, and from which, materially, he has profited so much."-James Baldwin
White Americans have not yet been able to do this...
"According to Baldwin, it is this guilt that keeps white America from looking honestly at itself, from addressing its history, and from seeing in that history the lingering racism of today. He states:
"The fact that Americans, white Americans, have not yet been able to do this- to face their history, to change their lives-hideously menaces this country. Indeed, it menaces the entire world. For history, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On- the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously con- trolled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be other- wise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations...And it is with great pain and terror that one begins to realize this. In great pain and terror, one begins to assess the history which has placed one where one is, and formed one's point of view. In great pain and terror, because, thereafter, one enters into battle with that historical creation, oneself, and attempts to recreate oneself according to a principle more humane and more liberating; one begins the attempt to achieve a level of personal maturity and freedom which robs history of its tyrannical power, and also changes history."-James Baldwin
"The fact that Americans, white Americans, have not yet been able to do this- to face their history, to change their lives-hideously menaces this country. Indeed, it menaces the entire world. For history, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On- the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously con- trolled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be other- wise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations...And it is with great pain and terror that one begins to realize this. In great pain and terror, one begins to assess the history which has placed one where one is, and formed one's point of view. In great pain and terror, because, thereafter, one enters into battle with that historical creation, oneself, and attempts to recreate oneself according to a principle more humane and more liberating; one begins the attempt to achieve a level of personal maturity and freedom which robs history of its tyrannical power, and also changes history."-James Baldwin
Thursday, August 9, 2012
"Why
aren’t White men subjected to racial profiling? Why aren’t White men closely
scrutinized? Does any woman clutch her purse or cross to the other side of the
street when approaching a White man? It’s no secret that Fortune 500 companies
like Enron and persons holding positions of power that led to the housing
debacle were White men. Not to mention the current Barclays investigation.
White collar crime perpetrated against hard working employees and innocent
consumers should make everyone suspicious of White men. Does this make sense?
I
say no. At the root of racial profiling is fear, negative stereotyping and the
lack of sufficiently meaningful relationships. Consider this – White men are
found in every sector of society and are considered as a group the founders,
backbone, and therefore creators of this country. Forty-three presidents,
doctors, lawyers, teachers, business leaders, major news casters, athletes, bus
drivers, pilots, engineers,entertainers,
co-workers, colleagues, friends and next door neighbors. And let’s not forget
fictionalized characters: Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Superman, Spiderman,
the Pillsbury Dough Boy and the list goes on. Even Jesus has been adopted and
portrayed as a White man. And let us not forget the daily reinforcement via the
media. Don Imus is offset by Dan Rather, Anderson Cooper, and many, many more.
If the bad guy such as McVeigh is arrested, tried, convicted and executed as
the perpetrator of such a horrendous crime, regardless the number of times his
image is plastered in the media there are many more depictions of White men
that are positive. When we have a plethora of positive images and experiences
stored up, so when the perpetrator falls into the category – White Male – like
an antibiotic we have enough positive history to counter any fear that may seep
into our stream of consciousness. With so many positive roles models, and
experiences, an isolated incident here and there does not nullify the overall
picture and reputation. Conversely, in our society at large, Black and Brown
adolescents and men do not have the same luxury. Nor do women of color."
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
An Important Message for Us to Ruminate
"Greetings
everyone,
We
all got caught up with Duggard
infestation and got it cleaned up. The blogging, vlogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, and
word of hand spreading around became viral. The action we partook in was not
based on a localized community front, but rather a strong national front
consisting of deaf people from all across the U.S, which for me is very rare.
To
be a Social Justice Activist, we must be continuously aware of our privileges.
ALWAYS. For instance, I am a Deaf, Blind, and Queer Woman of Color, yet I still
have many privileges that other people do not have within our community. I ask
you activist to please be mindful when you ask us, especially culturally
conscious Deaf people of color (DPOC), to participate in Deaf causes. People
often make the fatal mistake of associating culturally conscious DPOC with
other DPOC who only want to only associate themselves with being just Deaf. No
one within the Deaf community would like it if d/Deaf people, who do not
believe in language rights, to collaborate with hearing people by telling them
that we, Deaf people, are making to big of a deal about language oppression. We
would be infuriated if people within our community would try to unhinge
hundreds of years of constant work for the sake of ASL rights.
The
most deliberative, harmful and destructive mistake that you could make is to
ask us:
“As
a Deaf person of color, this is why you should fight with us because it impacts
you in many ways that you could never imagine.”
You
just reconfirmed and signed a proclamation that you are way more privileged
than we will ever be by saying that.
•
Where were you when Deaf children of color, undocumented immigrant children,
adopted children (internationally) and Deaf children of refugees were not
getting language rights? Where were you when they were being bullied because
they lacked ASL competency? When Special Ed specialists assigned ASL tutoring
for EVERY inner city (black and latin@) Deaf children?
•
Where were you when Deaf Queer youth and adults were constantly bullied and
taunted in the Deaf community? We wrote them off as pranks. It is not those
whom are LGBTQQI activist job to fight- it is yours as well, if you claim to be
a social justice activist.
•
Why are we not fighting for the Deaf Blind communities? We only joined when a
Deaf Blind leader shakes up something.
•
Why we are not holding our rapists and abusers accountable? Complicity equates
violations; you knew about it and say it’s not your business as she/he
continues to abuse this person or people. You make excuses for those rapist and
abusers by saying that they could not have done so: because they are well
known, and highly respected Deaf leaders. Having rapist, who hold highly
respected positions within our community is indeed, terrifying.
•
Why do we allow Rape Culture to be a part of the “Deaf /ASL experience”? Why do
we make a mockery of survivors by making rape jokes, gestures in ASL? That
should never be allowed- but we do not fight against them. It is not just the
Deaf Domestic Violence Agencies’ job but yours too, if you claim to be a social
justice activist.
•
Where were you when the Deaf community practiced “colorblindness”? The concept
of “We all are the same” is what is breaking up the communities within the Deaf
community because privileged people continue to say “we are all the same” and
not acknowledge DPOC’s injustice which in the same breath marginalizes and
minimizes the oppression we face.
•
Where were you when Deaf Leaders and Deaf elitists continued to minimize Deaf
marginalized people? Something is wrong with this equation:
A=
Deaf Person of Color B= Privileged White, Deaf person
a.
I don’t mind fighting with you to protest against AGB. Will you fight with me
to stop racism in Deaf schools?
b.
“Racism in Deaf schools, never heard!” But audism is very big- sure I’ll fight with you!
a.
Im not
talking about audism. Im
talking about racism, oppression based on the color of my skin.
b.
We, Deaf people don’t do that, we all are the same- D E A F ! I think you need
to reevaluate the issues. I don’t think its racism, but more so the
establishment of cliques.
As
a Social Justice Activist, I know my job. I know what is required of me, and
being non-judgmental is one of them. To watch and listen fervently, to
validate, to not minimize other people’s experiences are also very key
components that I take responsibility in. Most importantly, I do it for ALL
without questioning your cultural identity, language identity, and community
identity. The only people/groups I will READILY challenge is the white, body
abled, heterosexual man/men (both hearing and Deaf) and white people who claim
to be Social Justice activist and ask me to stand with them because they need a
person of color (tokenism).
I
close in hopes that we have all learned something from the Duggard
storm and that we really need to take the time to revisit what it means to be a
“Social Justice Activist”. We should be having communities within the community
dialogues- redevelop our approach; actively listening and participating.
Actively
yours,
Stephanie
D. Johnson"
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
"Hi
Leala,
Your
thinking is so bent that you are not aware of the extremely high number of
blacks that commit crime as compared to whites.
As usual you are offended by the truth.
If the TRUTH makes me racist, then so be it. I am racist and proud of
it, although none of my black or white friends would call me a racist. Even
they are offended by the overt actions by the crimimal blacks. No matter horrendous the
offences of blacks against all races you still make excuses for them. What does
that make you, a Socialist? You even
twist my innocent and heart felt words and use them against me by calling me
"racist." That is extremely
cruel to an old man simply trying to help a wayward granddaughter see just a
little truth. I have come to the
conclusion that you do not recognize even simple basic truth. I have heard that
Liberalism is not so much a political ideology as it is a mental disorder. You appear to be trying SOOOOOOOOO to prove
that.
I
will continue to pray for your eyes to be opened.
In
Christ,
Love,
Paw
Paw"
"I
would not want to associate myself with an overtly racist grandpa who promotes
prejudice, hate and superficial lies about other minority groups. Good
bye.
Leala"
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