“Anti-racism is determining and eliminating bigotry by changing systems, organizational structures, policies and practices and mindsets, so that power is rearranged and shared equitably.” Women and Global Solidarity and anti-racism takes a look at the power imbalances between racialized people and non-racialized/white people. These imbalances play out in the type of unearned privileges that white individuals gain from and racialized individuals do not.
Anti-racism workshop is an active method of training people into seeing and remaining in the world, in order to change it. Because bigotry takes place at all levels and spheres of society (and can function to produce and keep exclusionary “levels” and “spheres”), anti-racism education/activism is necessary in all aspects of society. In other words, it does not happen solely in the workplace, in the class, or in picked elements of our lives.
Peggy McIntosh and, later on, Paul Kivel created “White Advantage” lists that support white people in discovering how whitenessoften without them acknowledging itshapes their place in society, and its effects. Some individuals shy away from the term racial bias in describing themselves or their work.
For example, they might view the prefix “anti” as concentrating on the negative, or likely to produce opposition or conflict. For some, the prefix might conjure up images of public protests and violent clashes. While anti-racism does require and consist of public protest and singing opposition, it makes up far more than this too, consisting of learning, listening, developing community collaboratively in a broad series of methods and places: role-modelling, rejection to participate/perpetuate, and so on.
Some individuals might say they prefer the term “variety.” Nevertheless, as we have actually talked about somewhere else in this resource, popular/mainstream understandings of diversity often operate to strengthen false concepts that there is an equal opportunity in our society and there are simply “distinctions” amongst those on the field that need to be appreciated.
The main failure of the concept of justice is that it is premised on the false (and for the mainstream, comfortable) concept that equality currently exists, as does equivalent access to the methods of communication, participation in the economy, and so on. Some individuals may say that the term anti-racism leaves out factor to consider of other forms of injustice at work in society, like discrimination based upon gender, sexuality, capability, and class, for example.
Our main focus for social modification workshop, nevertheless, is racism, which is complicated (and often reinforced) by other types of oppression. Because we live in a society that is so resistant to, and uneasy with, conversations of racism, we feel it is imperative to maintain this main focus.
When the subject of bigotry turns up, I typically consider a billboard in the village of Harrison, Arkansas. It was a indication promoting a white supremacist radio station called White Pride Radio. The indication’s message, emblazoned next to the photo of a cute-looking white girl with a cute-looking pet dog, check out “It’s not racist to [heart] your people.” My takeaway: Even white supremacists do not want to be called racist.
To effectively defeat systemic bigotry ingrained as regular practice in organizations like education and law enforcement you’ve got to be continuously working towards equality for all races, aiming to undo bigotry in your mind, your personal environment and the larger world. To put it simply, you have actually got to be anti-racist.