January 29, 2007 at 08:26:44

Last Sunday: What to do with/about white folks?

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Robert Jensen (about the author) Page 1 of 3 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

For OpEdNews: Robert Jensen - Writer

After the initial "Last Sunday" gathering -- http://thirdcoastactivist.org/lastsunday.html -- in November, many people made the observation that it was a mostly white audience, and then asked the question, "How can we attract more people of color to the event?"

The observation about the complexion of the group was important to acknowledge, but I think it was diversionary to move right away to that question. Instead of asking how to diversify the event, it's crucial that we white folks be able to ask: (1) "Why are there so few non-white people here?" and (2) "What is our motivation in wanting more non-white people here?" I think only after we have dealt with those questions can we start to work to transform Last Sunday -- and other predominantly white events, groups, and movements -- in ways that challenge white supremacy rather than reinforce white privilege.

Put more bluntly: The goal shouldn't be just diversity but the end of white supremacy, a much more ambitious goal but one that can be the basis for real hope.

These questions of language are not arcane; it's crucial that we pay attention to the terms we use to deal with the question of race. Do we speak of diversity and multiculturalism, or do we acknowledge that we live in a white-supremacist society and confront unearned white privilege? The difference is important. While most people -- even many conservatives -- accept that we live in a diverse multicultural society, fewer are willing to name the contemporary United States as a white-supremacist society and acknowledge that white people have unearned privilege.

Naming the United States as white supremacist doesn't mean all white people run around in white sheets or join neo-Nazi militias. Instead, it marks the fact that racialized disparities in wealth and well-being endure -- and in some cases have deepened -- even 40 years after the major gains of the civil-rights movement. It marks the fact that many white people -- maybe the majority? a significant majority? -- still believe that what has come out of Europe is inherently superior. Maybe even many white liberals who celebrate diversity still secretly believe that the art, music, politics, and philosophy that come from white parts of the world are more sophisticated, more important, simply better. So, we live in a world where we (1) speak of our commitment to racial justice yet accept a white-supremacist distribution of resources and (2) speak of our commitment to valuing all traditions yet go to schools that reflect a white-supremacist ideology.

And, just to drive home the point: Some white people go to churches that still have pictures of a white Jesus. Remember that Jesus was a Jew from Palestine. He wasn't European, wasn't white. But he's white in pictures that still hang on the walls of some churches, which means those churches and the culture in which they thrive are white-suprem...

So, acknowledging and celebrating that we are a multiracial and multiethnic society is a good thing. Multiculturalism is a value. Working to eliminate all-white spaces is a good thing. Diversity is important. But that's not enough.

So, let's go back to the questions I think we should be asking.

(1) "Why are there so few non-white people here?"

One thing to ponder: Maybe non-white people don't like being around us white folks? Why might that be? Could it be because we haven't done enough to transcend the white-supremacist culture in which we live, and non-white people recognize that, and they have better things to do with their time than hang out with us? I don't know the answer to that, and there's certainly not one answer for all non-white people. But it's something worth considering.

Another related thing to consider: Maybe non-white people don't trust us white people, especially when we gather in large groups. After all, large groups of white people traditionally have not been safe spaces for non-white people. Much violence against non-white people has come when lots of white people have gotten together.

And one more thing worth thinking about: Last Sunday is an event specifically designed to create a sense of community for many of us who lack that in our everyday lives. What if people in non-white communities already have a sense of community, rooted in their common experience of dealing with white supremacy? If that's the case, what's the great attraction of this event to them?

I am not claiming to know the answer to the question #1. But it seems like something we should ponder. But even harder to face is question is #2.

(2) "What is our motivation in wanting more non-white people here?"

One person offering suggestions about how to diversify Last Sunday wrote, "I do not believe that Austin is so segregated that progressive white people do not know progressive people of color." Certainly there are white people in Austin who know non-white people in Austin, either as friends or political allies or both. But does that comment reveal what we don't like to admit: We are not a truly integrated society. What if, in fact, Austin is that segregated? We may not want to believe it, but maybe it is. And if it is, is our quest for an integrated Last Sunday the desire to avoid that reality?

1 | 2 | 3

Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center. His latest book, All My Bones Shake: Seeking a Progressive Path to the Prophetic Voice, was published in 2009 (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Authors' Articles

Book Recommendations for "Race USA United States"

Dictionary of Races or Peoples.
by United States. Immigration commission

$18.99
Lowest New Price $14.58
Number of pages: 164
Publisher: University of Michigan Library

Race and Ethnicity in the United States (5th Edition)
by Richard T. Schaefer

$60.73
Lowest New Price $36.48
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Prentice Hall