www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, April 2002
Racism and the
anti-war movement
Chicago--Recently,
I pulled out of a local coalition here that was organized as a response to the
post-September 11 anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments in the Chicago area. With
my walking out of a coalition that was designed to organize against racism,
there are now no Black people active in it. The reason that I pulled out of it
has to do with the status of integrated grassroots activity. All
my life I've had to struggle with questions from well-meaning liberal and
progressive grassroots activists regarding "why aren't there more Black
people involved." To me this question is much like an updated version of
Rodney King during the L.A. disturbances asking "why can't we all just get
along." Many
white activists do not realize that the risks of taking action are very real to
the Black community. I recall when I gave a weekly commentary on public policy
and social issues on a Black radio show when I was a teenager in Detroit that my
grandmother would be so worried that something would happen to me that I had to
start using an air-name. She was from the South, and like countless others in
the Black community who supported the efforts for civil rights, she always kept
in mind that one takes a risk in effecting change. Every
time a Black person speaks out and stands up for dignity or liberty, we place
our personal safety and the safety of our families at risk. I beg to say that
the severity of this is lost on the white vanguard activists. Last
fall the U.S. government walked out of an international meeting on racism in
South Africa. Prior to it, a report was issued by the U.S. State Department on
the status of racism in the U.S. This report chronicled the actions and public
policy changes accomplished by Black activists. My point is that Black people in
the U.S. are in the midst of a struggle that has always effected changes in
public policy. Today
the work of the Black community includes everything from child welfare workers,
to corporate affirmative action efforts, to street demonstrations against police
brutality-and yes, the peace movement. While there is a citywide peace movement
in places like Chicago with few Blacks in it, there are many voices for peace
within the Black community. We're facing two locomotives speeding on parallel
tracks that never meet, because while they are going in the same direction their
objectives are so different. One is working until change comes; the other is
working everyday to make changes happen. When
I left the peace group in Chicago I don't think that they understood why. Nor do
I think that white, well-meaning, liberal progressive folks understand that
their purpose has to be about making change happen here and now. That is the
only way you can show respect for the people you encounter. Being
relevant doesn't mean you lead a struggle. Being relevant means that you respect
the place you are in and shoulder your portion of the work that has to be done
and push forward the cause, instead of the cause of your particular
organization. Audre
Lorde, the Black lesbian feminist writer, once said: "When I dare to be
powerful to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less
and less important whether I am afraid." Yes, as Black people we speak out
at a risk, but not out of fear. If white, well-meaning organizations look around
and wonder why their ranks do not contain more than one or two Blacks like
myself, they are going to have to clarify their vision, and not just talk about
how they are going to get more people to join them --Marc
Loveless |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
