Collective Action

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What Kind Of White Person Would I Have Been?

by Ali Michael, Ph. D. | January 2017
When I was growing up, we learned about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in school. And I always wondered which side I would have been on if I had lived in his time. I imagined I would have been one of the White people who marched in his marches, and befriended Black children in the newly integrated schools. I was sure that I would not be one of the mean people who resisted integration, who thought that White people were better than people of color because of the color of their skin. But that was all I knew — that there were two sides. There were White people who supported what Dr. King was doing and White people who fought against what he was doing. I didn’t realize at the time that there was a third kind of White person. And in fact, I’m sorry to say, it’s much more likely that I would have fallen into the third group.
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Colorblindness] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Accountability] [White Blindness] [White Privilege]

Do’s and Don’ts for Bystander Intervention

by American Friends Service Committee Staff | Date Unknown
If you witness public instances of racist, anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-Trans, or any other form of oppressive interpersonal violence and harassment, use these tips on how to intervene while considering the safety of everyone involved. Available to download as a PDF.
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Bystander Intervention] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Role Model] [Individual Change] [Strategies] [Advocacy] [Quaker] [Faith-Based/Spiritual]

What Do We Do With White Folks?

by Anthony James Williams | February 2019
But here is where the problem of progressive minded whiteness comes into play. No matter how “woke” mainstream media labels white people for doing things like reading The New Jim Crow, history has never given us examples of people in power who give up their power.
White supremacy is our abuser, and white folk are most often the ones embodying it and benefiting from it through their whiteness.
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [White Supremacy] [White Culture] [White Privilege] [Individual Change] [Black Lives Matter] [Reparations] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Accountability]

10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race

by Angela Watson | Janurary 2017
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room–why I am talking only to white people? Isn’t that racist? (Hold that question in your mind, because I want you to ask yourself that same question again after you’ve read my words here, and see if your thought process has changed.) I’m specifically addressing white people in this episode because around 83% of teachers in the U.S. are white. Most of you reading my blog are in fact, white. Conversations about race are super prevalent right now and for many white people, it feels like stepping into a minefield. They have literally no idea what to say, or feel like they don’t understand the history of people of color enough to contribute much to the conversation. Or, they say something they think is totally valid but inadvertently offend people of color in the discussion. Or get their own feelings hurt because they feel “attacked,” vowing to never, ever enter another conversation about race again. This can’t happen, teacher friends. It really hurts my heart to see so many misunderstandings in our country around race right now, particular when it’s among white teachers who are shaping the next generation of minds. Teachers are smart, thoughtful people tasked with raising up young people to be leaders. We cannot be ignorant about race or avoid talking about it. Includes PODCAST.
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Teachers] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [Accountability] [Podcast] [Anti-Racism] [White Supremacy] [White Culture] [“Reverse Racism”] [White Privilege] [White Defensiveness]

Colin Kaepernick Was Right About Us

by John Pavlovitz | September 2018
* He exposed us when we felt it was our right to tell another human being how to express their personal freedoms, during an anthem supposedly devoted to celebrating those personal freedoms. He exposed us when we treasured flags and songs over flesh and blood; when we repeatedly ignored dissenting facts in order to hold on to our easy and lazy outrage.
TAGS: [Collective Action] [Accountability] [Role Model] [2010’s]

Black Women Have Never Had the Privilege of Rage

by Kimberely Seals Allers | October 2018
The past several weeks have sparked an unprecedented conversation about women’s collective fury in this #MeToo, #WhyIDidntReport and post-Kavanaugh hearings era. Three recent books and a flurry of op-eds, essays and social media energy has everyone talking about rage in a brand new way. This is good news for women. But what’s been blatantly missing from mainstream dialogue is a nuanced understanding of how rage is perceived by and received from black women ― and whether this alleged new moment in the ongoing liberation of women will actually be an equitable one.
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Silencing POC] [White Privilege]

Police Incitement Against Black Lives Matter Is Putting Protesters in Danger

by Sarah Lazare | July 2016
* From the floor of the Republican National Convention to the online pages of the Blue Lives Matter Facebook community, it is now commonplace for public officials, police and first responders to openly declare war on Black Lives Matter—the civil rights movement of our times. “After the shooting, when they [the police] talked about the protest, they talked about how violent protesters were,” Mica Grimm, organizer with Black Lives Matter- Minneapolis, told AlterNet. “They never talked about how five people were shot. No one will ever bring that up. They really don’t care that much about protesters.”
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Policing] [White Supremacy] [Black Lives Matter] [Accountability] [Silencing POC]

The Effects of Structural Racism are Not Normal

by Erin Okuno | November 2017
*The feeling of wondering why everyone else was ok to be at a meeting of all-white people is what Heidi (of the Fakequity team) describes as a byproduct of structural racism. We often don’t think twice about why whiteness pervades our society and we’re conditioned to accept and normalize it. “…imagine if I walked you into a room and it was of a major corporation, like ExxonMobil, and every single person around the boardroom were black, you would think that were weird. But if I walked you into a Fortune 500 company, and everyone around the table is a white male, when will it be that we think that’s weird too?”
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Tips-Dos/Don’ts] [White Culture] [Systemic Racism]

The 5 Types of ‘Becky’

by Michael Harriot | August 2017
*Becky: (noun); a white woman who uses her privilege as a weapon, a ladder or an excuse. Ex: “A random Becky hit me up on Twitter to explain why not all white women are racist.” An eyeopening description of different levels of racism, could you be one of them? (note: in 2020 “Becky” changed to “Karen”)
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Accountability] [White Blindness]

How America Spreads the Disease that is Racism by not Confronting Racist Family Members and Friends

by Racism Recovery Center | August 2017
In counseling many white Americans who are against racism, one thing stands out: they are afraid to confront their racist family members and friends. They are against racism, but they also love their family and friends. I am often asked, “April, I don’t know what to do. How do I confront them without upsetting them?” Where do you fall on the Racism Scale?
TAGS: [Collective Action] [2010’s] [Systemic Racism]