[Peace-discuss] Observations on Anti-War Anti Racism - correction

Ricky Baldwin baldwinricky at yahoo.com
Fri May 2 13:39:39 CDT 2008 

I'm sorry.  What I meant to say was, I would have preferred that AWARE as a group RAISE
money on Patrick's behalf.

Ricky
--- Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I have to say first that I haven't read the earlier comments on this thread, only
> what
> Marti includes below.
> 
> I also want to say that I have been very impressed by the work that CUCPJ has done,
> have participated when I could, and in particular I think one very valuable aspect of
> the group is its multi-ethnic makeup - which in my experience is rare in almost any
> community, and something to be proud of.  We can speculate about the reasons for it -
> incl. local issues, the leadership, the openness, or other things - but in any event
> it
> is a great thing.  I also think it is great that CU Citz has "peace" as a goal and
> part
> of its name.  AWARE also has "anti-racism" as a goal and part of its name.  The
> organizations have different focuses, which I do not see as a problem in itself,
> although I assume it has some impact on membership/participation.
> 
> Next, I have to point out that AWARE's lack of ethnic diversity has been discussed in
> meetings, working groups and around town almost from the beginning 6-1/2 years ago
> now,
> and some of us in AWARE have made several attempts to address the issue.  All seem to
> have failed for one reason or another.  I don't pretend to have all the answers.  But
> I
> can point out a few of the turns in that history.
> 
> Others may correct my memory, but as I recall AWARE had a little more ethnic
> diversity
> at one time, when meetings were more of a loose response to international events. 
> AWARE was a bit different then.  We met at the Campus Y for a long time, and meetings
> often included music or puppet shows, all kinds of things.  You might say they more
> of
> a "mass meeting" feel, and in fact they were bigger.  There were not nearly so many
> projects going on at that time.  When we protested, passersby were most often
> hostile,
> swearing or even throwing things, threatening.  Anyway...
> 
> As time went on, fewer people attended meetings, most of them as far as I know not
> necessarily out of disinterest but prefering to focus on other issues or do peace
> work
> in other venues.  I don't say there has been a continual drop.  There hasn't.  But
> the
> usual meetings, pretty stable for a few years now, have been smaller than before,
> that's all.  Maybe that's natural, maybe a result of the lack of going out and
> beating
> the bushes for more attendees at meetings (i.e. "organizing", as opposed to simply
> announcing events far and wide and enjoying the fact of growing agreement in the
> public).  Maybe it's a reflection on structure, or personalities, or other factors,
> but
> it has occurred.  And unfortunately at the same time, I think the group has become
> less
> diverse, in terms of opinion and ethnicity and other demographics, whatever the
> cause.
> 
> I know that many times over the years, African Americans and Arab or Muslim Americans
> have attended AWARE protests or meetings but have seldom 'stayed' longterm, and have
> sometimes complained that they felt unwelcome, or unhappy with the focus of the
> group. 
> Others have moved away, or become more involved in other efforts, sometimes together
> with AWARE members.  There has also been a lot of speculation about the motivations
> of
> people in general who do not attend AWARE meetings, most of it I believe not based on
> much evidence.  I ough to point out here that meetings are not all AWARE does, and
> our
> monthly protests have always been more diverse (ethnically, opinion-wise, etc.) than
> our meetings.
> 
> I know of at least two working groups that have attempted to explicitly address the
> issue of AWARE's lack of ethnic diversity.  Currently there is an "anti-racism"
> working
> group that reports back, I believe, mostly on solidarity work with other groups like
> CUCPJ.  I know that a couple of times AWARE has cleared a big space on its agenda to
> focus on race and the anti-war movement: a long discussion with David R. and Sundiata
> C. from the Center for Democracy in a Multiracial Society, another with Imani. 
> Someone
> can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe I recall most of those dicussions ended
> with a general impression or specific 'advice' that there wasn't much a group like
> AWARE could do to change its ethnic makeup - and maybe even that it shouldn't try:
> maybe solidarity and participating in the work of groups led by people of color (I'm
> paraphrasing) is more important than trying to "recruit" people of color into our
> agenda.  Maybe that's right, maybe it's wrong, but that is my recollection of these
> discussions.
> 
> In addition to these kinds of explicit efforts regarding diversity, though, I also
> know
> that AWARE has discussed what anti-racism means for a group like AWARE many times. 
> Anti-Arab and particularly anti-Palestinian racism, in the US media or in Israel, has
> been a more frequent topic than prejudice against African Americans or Latinos -
> although "institutional racism" does come up from time to time in the context of the
> economy, as well as immigration issues.  But most of AWARE's work on racism (as a
> group) has been international, in my experience: anti-Arab racism I mentioned in
> relation to US wars or Israeli occupation, anti-black racism in relation to US
> treatment of Haiti and Haitians (we held a panel discussion on US support of bloody
> dictators and undermining democracy, not to mention near-slave labor, in Haiti, and a
> couple other efforts).  
> 
> On the other hand, although I know we talked in AWARE about the media racism in
> relation to the Congo Wars, in Somalia and elsewhere in Africa where the US relies on
> prejudice to conceal or justify its brutality, efforts to set up more public
> discussions on thee issues didn't work out.  In addition, disagreements with other
> activists dealing with the mass murders in the Sudan didn't, I feel, lead to clarity
> or
> to any sort of public impression that AWARE cares about racism - even though it may
> have been an opportunity to do so.  I do not know.
> 
> I do know that several times AWARE has tried to show its support for local groups or
> efforts more explicitly related to racism: participating in the Unity March(es), the
> CUCPJ event on felons a few years back, buying ads in MLK Jr Day programs and
> attending
> those events - even leafleting at a few with Dr King's anti-war words, reaching out
> to
> the NAACP (incl. sending representatives to meetings, buying ads in their annual
> dinner
> program, attending the dinner, getting involved in efforts to help the NAACP get back
> on its feet, NAACP elections and other things), supporting and participating in
> efforts
> to get a civilian police review board in Urbana and Champaign, knocking on doors for
> Champaign's anti-poverty referendum, supporting Linda Abernathy and opposing
> anti-section 8 moves in Champaign, cosponsoring events at the mosque or with CUCPJ. 
> Many of us have given money to Patrick Thompson's defence and participated in events
> around his case or worked on it with CUCPJ.  And I'm sure others can think of more.
> 
> Maybe this was not enough.  Some of us might argue it is never enough until justice
> is
> done.  I personally would have liked to see AWARE be more public about its
> participation in some of these efforts, give money as an organization to Patrick's
> defence, for example.  But some might also argue that AWARE often gets little or no
> credit for what anti-racist efforts it does make.  It is true that AWARE gets more
> attention for demonstrating at Obama's talk, for example.  But perhaps more
> importantly
> there is a diversity of views within AWARE about how significant race is or ought to
> be, politically.  This turns off some people, sometimes because I think they believe
> the people speaking up most loudly are the "leaders" or that their views represent
> the
> group, which isn't necessarily so.  Maybe we could do more to clarify that.
> 
> And if I could just make a couple more quick observations, in general I think there
> are
> many barriers to organizing across 'ethnic lines' as well as other differences.  Some
> are familiar.  A lot of people who have made 'diversity' efforts over the decades
> have
> noticed that religion is sometimes a barrier: many white leftists are not religious,
> many people of color who are active in causes of social justice are motivated by
> religion.  There are other cultural barriers: if you want music at an event, what
> kind?
>  Etc.  I never know how much stock to put in such observations, or in suggestions
> about
> meeting place.  My experience is that it makes little difference.  
> 
> It has been noted many times, and I would go so far as to say no one really knows why
> it is, that truly multi-ethnic efforts tend to be led by people of color and people
> of
> color are usually the majority in these groups.  I know that I have been fortunate
> and
> proud to be a participant in three serious efforts that were truly multi-ethnic - in
> three different states - and all three were black-led and majority black (not
> including
> one of the units of SEIU I used to work for as staff rep and community groups I
> helped
> organize when I worked for ACORN that were also black-led and majority black). 
> Others,
> at least in my experience, tend to be all white or nearly so, with white leadership
> (formal and/or informal).  That is anecdotal, but I have heard longtime organizers I
> respect a great deal notice the same.
> 
> Again, I do not pretend to know the answers.  I do think the discussion is worth
> having, in fact very important.  But I also know that talk is cheap.  I know in my
> heart I haven't done enough, and I stand ready to do more, as much as I can, as my
> conscience and my reason guide me.  Let us see what we can do together.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Ricky
> 328-3037
> 
> 
> --- Marti Wilkinson <martiwilki at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Below is part of a thread where I responded to feedback regarding
> > criticism's I made about AWARE.
> > 
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Marti Wilkinson <martiwilki at gmail.com>
> > Date: Thu, May 1, 2008 at 10:41 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Re: [Peace] Fwd: [ExComm] Fwd: News-Gazette
> > coverage
> > To: "Morton K. Brussel" <brussel at uiuc.edu>
> > 
> > 
> > Actually the reason why I made these observations is through having attended
> > a few AWARE meetings - hence my 'valid' description of the demographics.
> > I've also participated in some of the local protests with AWARE.  The last
> > time I attended an AWARE meeting I actually made the suggestion that maybe
> > the organization might want to consider moving beyond the boundaries of the
> > Farmers Market and Downtown Champaign.  I suggested places like Country Fair
> > and Centennial Park to broaden the base. I'm even willing to suggest that
> > AWARE can schedule meetings at the Douglass Park Center or have a protest at
> > Garden Hills park.
> > 
> > CUCPJ has a pretty even attendance across racial lines and one of the goals
> > of this organization includes the word 'peace'.  Peace is a basic human
> > right, it's a civil right, and the people who are most likely to be sent to
> > war are also the ones who lack political and social capitol. This includes
> > poor whites like my three uncles who ended up being drafted and sent to
> > Vietnam.
> > 
> > Now while the lack of an 'official' leader may have a democratizing effect -
> > it can also have a disorganizing effect. Anytime you get a group of people
> > together someone is going to assume a leadership role - for some it comes
> > naturally and organization is an important and vital part of seeing to it
> > that everyone's voice gets heard. Regardless of the structure of a group -
> > one of the inevitable things that will happen is group dynamics and the need
> > to manage those tensions as they occur.
> > 
> > I see AWARE as a peace group with a lot of potential. I do not, however, see
> > it as an anti-racist group because of the physical lack of diversity. If you
> > want a loaf of bread to rise....then you need to add yeast.
> > 
> > Peace, Marti
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 9:30 PM, Morton K. Brussel <brussel at uiuc.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > >  I believe, Marti, that you are not talking from experience in attending
> > > AWARE activities. Yes, the demographics you ascribe to AWARE "membership"
> > > are valid, but you seem unaware of efforts by AWARE to include minority,
> > > African-American, viewpoints and to engage in common pursuits and interests.
> > > It seems that unless an organization is mostly populated by
> > > African-Americans, there will not be a sustained attendance by the latter.
> > > It may be due to class (economic) differences, cultural differences,
> > > religious differences, educational differences, historical differences,
> > > etc., but it is a general problem to blend smoothly the
> > > interests/participation of blacks and whites.  It seems that among
> > > African-Americans, grosso-modo, that racial problems/conditions/interests
> > > are foremost, above those of foreign affairs or (even) civil rights, and
> > > that concern is not reflected in an organization like AWARE, where race is
> > > very important, but not dominant. As you imply, the matter
> > > of comfortability with ones cohort is essential.
> > > Some thoughts,  --mkb
> > >
> > > On May 1, 2008, at 4:39 PM, Marti Wilkinson wrote:
> > >
> > > AWARE has no "leadership" positions
> > >
> > > I stand corrected - however in any organization there are going to be
> > > people who stand out as natural leaders and this may be where the criticisms
> > > you are addressing is derived from.
> > >
> > > However, it's an observation that most of the individuals I have seen at
> > > AWARE meetings are predominately white and middle class. While there are a
> > > few individuals who attend both AWARE and CU Citizens for Peace and Justice
> > > the general demographics of AWARE doesn't have a strong minority presence.
> > > At least not in what I have observed. In order for an organization like
> > > AWARE to be more effective in addressing issues of racism and defamation the
> > > group needs to have a more diverse representation of people at their
> > > meetings.  Just saying that 'everyone is welcome to come' is not good
> > > enough.  Some of the literature I've read regarding critical race theory and
> > > social justice movements supports that. In particular writers like Thomas
> > > Nakayama, Stuart Hall, Raka Shome, and other individuals have made some very
> > > astute observations on this issue.
> > >
> > > We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
> > >  Martin Luther King, Jr.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 4:04 PM, Karen Medina <kmedina at uiuc.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > >minorities really
> > > > >   have not been invited to be part of the leadership
> > > > >   of the peace movement.
> > > >
> > > > I'm not at all sure what you mean by leadership. AWARE has no
> > > > "leadership" positions.
> > > >
> > > > And no, Carl is not our "leader" as Bob Naiman seemed to indicate in a
> > > > post about a month ago.
> > > >
> > > > -karen medina
> > > > a white, middle class, overly educated, middle-aged female with nothing
> > > > better to do on Sunday evenings.
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Peace-discuss mailing list
> > > > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
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> > > >
> > >
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> > >
> > >
> > >
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> > 
> 
> 
> 
>      
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