Archive for category antiracism
The Myth of Color-Blindness
Barack Obama’s success…far from disproving white power and privilege, confirms it with a vengeance.
~Lipmagazine.org
…Whiteness is not seen as negative, as something to be conquered or transcended. Indeed, whereas blacks are being asked to rise above their racial identity, for whites, the burden is exactly the opposite: the worst thing for a white person is to fail to live up to the ostensibly high standards set by whiteness…
White privilege at work (a lot of work remains…)
Posted by taino8632 in analysis, antiracism, demography, education, history, privilege, racism on July 1st, 2008
Why Whites Can’t ‘Get Over’ Color
Diversity Inc’s “Ask a White Guy” Column has a wonderful response to people who are still lost in the fog of white privilege. Below is an excerpt of the letter that trigerred a journey down the United States’s legacy of white supremacy and racism. Click on the link for the full exchange.
Anonymous writes:
I am a white female and I can tell you that I don’t talk about blacks for fear I will be called a racist or be called to the table, especially in the workplace, for discrimination. We (whites), at my company, are not allowed to talk about blacks or any other ethnic group because we would get fired. I will say that whites are very sensitive now because we are discriminated against. Blacks can have the NAACP, BET (Black Entertainment Television), Black History Month, United Negro College Fund, etc. If white people were to start something like the before mentioned there would be a huge uproar…
The “White Guy” responds:
Your demand that we “Get over the color!” is an expression of white privilege. It’s only possible to “get over” it if you are in the majority culture. Assuming you’re white, YOU can “get over the color!” but it’s simply not possible for people of color to get over who they are, what that means and the damage our society has purposefully done over the centuries by color.
Your Whiteness is Showing
Posted by taino8632 in activism, analysis, antiracism on June 30th, 2008
~www.timwise.org
This is an open letter to those white women who, despite their proclamations of progressivism, and supposedly because of their commitment to feminism, are threatening to withhold support from Barack Obama in November. You know who you are…
Youngstown, Oh churches deal with racism
Posted by taino8632 in activism, antiracism, education, news, racism, the church on June 11th, 2008
People of many faith backgrounds participated in a discussion on race…
~vindy.com
“Racism is alive, but I don’t know how well it is,”
Pastor Pfleger apologizes
Posted by taino8632 in activism, antiracism, famous people, news, politics, racism on June 2nd, 2008
~Chicago Sun-Times
“…I have never presumed to be anything but imperfect, but I pray I can still beat the drum of justice, even if sometimes I am off beat.”
“We have as a country done many great things, but we will never become a great country until justice flows like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream to every human life, no matter race, creed, color or denomination, every human life.”
~Chicago Tribune
Faithful at St. Sabina stand by pastor; Trinity flock react to senator’s departure
“We pray for our member, who is a public servant; we pray for all public servants,” Rev. Otis Moss III wrote in a “Declaration of Interdependence” handed out to members as they filed out of the sanctuary. “We, the community of Trinity, are concerned, hurt, shocked, dismayed, frustrated, fearful and heartbroken. Our hearts break at this moment and my limited vocabulary is inadequate to describe the range of emotions flooding our spirits at this time.”
RACE Are We So Different?
RACE Are We So Different? - A Project of the American Anthropoligical Association
About the Project:
“We expect people to look different. And why not? Like a fingerprint, each person is unique. Every person represents a one-of-a-kind, combination of their parents’, grandparents’ and family’s ancestry. And every person experiences life somewhat differently than others.
Differences… they’re a cause for joy and sorrow. We celebrate differences in personal identity, family background, country and language. At the same time, differences among people have been the basis for discrimination and oppression.
Yet, are we so different? Current science tells us we share a common ancestry and the differences among people we see are natural variations, results of migration, marriage and adaptation to different environments. How does this fit with the idea of race?Looking through the eyes of history, science and lived experience, the RACE Project explains differences among people and reveals the reality – and unreality – of race. The story of race is complex and may challenge how we think about race and human variation, about the differences and similarities among people.”
the myth of racial transcendence
Posted by taino8632 in analysis, antiracism, privilege, racism on May 30th, 2008
Obama and the myth of racial transcendence
~Minnesota Spokesman Recorder
“The idea of racial transcendence is mired in the philosophy that Black folks can and should rise above their station in White folk’s minds. The effect of this would lessen the necessity for White people to do the rich cultural work that is vital to help bridge differences. Racial transcendence is almost never applied to White individuals because Whiteness is a given societal norm.”
This essay is a cogent summation of white privilege/ supremacy. The writer speaks clearly to why it is insulting and even demeaning to insist on a “color-blind” society. While his focus is on racial transcendence as a problem for African-Americans it can easily be applied to Latinos, Asians and every other person of color in this country.
In a color-blind society everything that I am as a person of color is overlooked in favor of a heterogeneous standard — a white standard. It is this very feeling, this elusive search for a color-blind society that “good, white, color-blind” persons seek, that illustrates how powerful, yet covert, white privilege truly is.
When someone says, “Obama transcends race,” they are really saying, “Obama transcends Blackness and truly makes me and everyone else forget that I’m even looking at a Black man.” This is not a good thing, because what it really does at a deeper level is solidify the normality of White supremacy. Therefore, Whiteness is the gold standard, after all other cultures or cultural ideas have been extinguished.
The very essence of being Black [Ed. or any other poc] to some Americans means, “You’re not one of us.”
I choose not to be an invisible man. I will always celebrate my heritage, my “piel de canela” [cinnamon skin, for the linguistically challenged].
After all, racial differences are a cause for celebration not denigration.
Our differences are what make this tapestry called humanity, this coat of many colors that God has created, interesting. It is our differences that make our church and society stronger.
Let’s celebrate our diversity.
Let’s overcome this myth of “racial transcendence” by becoming a church, a society where we are no longer “color-blind” but instead see all of the wonder that is ever-present in our diversity.
Take off the blinders and see all of the wonderful colors that God has bestowed upon us…
“and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.” John 11.52
On Racism: Fighting Racism Globally
Posted by taino8632 in analysis, antiracism, demography, essays, racism on May 27th, 2008
~ZNet
“Racism takes different forms at different places and in different times, but, basically, it is an attitude or ideological stance that is divisive and anti-humanist. It does not take all the human beings to be equal, but divides the entire society into two, namely, human and subhuman beings. The latter are not to be allowed equal rights and equal opportunities with human beings…”
‘Curious’ shirt choice
Posted by taino8632 in -isms, activism, african-american, analysis, antiracism, happenings, immigration, latino, news, politics, racism, stupid people tricks, the church on May 16th, 2008
~The Boston Herald
The Curious George cartoon character is getting dragged into the presidential race again in an ugly way…
Racism: An Unbiased Entity Alive and Well In America
~Digital Journal
As the political race narrows and the fight for the candidacy becomes more like a verbal MMA cage-fight, racism and discrimination are beginning to surface more often. But in America, it isn’t just a white thing. Racism itself is an unbiased entity.
The Deeper Racism in Iowa: Beneath the White Obama Craze
~The Black Agenda Report
“Much of his white support was premised on Obama being a ‘good,’ that is non-threatening, middle-class, academic-friendly, and ‘not-too fiery’ black.”
How to be anti-racist in a nut shell
~Fairfield Echo
An outline to help navigating Courageous Conversations about Race…
Lutherans Responding to People Affected by Iowa Immigration Raid
~ELCA News Service
Members of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Postville, Iowa, are responding to the needs of people who have been affected by a May 12 federal immigration raid at a Postville meat processing plant.
Does illegal immigration lead to more crime?
~St Charles Journal
Some recent studies by pro-immigration groups have indicated that there is no link between crime and undocumented immigrants.
