[Peace-discuss] Observations on Anti-War Anti Racism
E. Wayne Johnson
ewj at pigs.ag
Fri May 2 17:17:52 CDT 2008
It should be noted that Chasms, and Rifts, and Valleys, and Mountains,
and Islands are all Natural parts of the landscape.
Bridges, and ferryboats, and tunnels, and lines of communication all
have to be man-made.
Bridges require effort to build and effort to maintain. Communication
has to be 2-way if it is going to be
effective. It all takes effort.
Of course, walls and fences are man-made, too, and people can be making
effort to maintain them too.
Sometimes the walls need knocking down,
and sometimes it really does work better to go in through the gate.
Anyway we all grow and learn and hopefully everyone can work together to
make things better.
I dont think that anybody wants to exclude anyone at this time, but I
dont think that
any of the diverse groups in this community want to give up all of their
"tribal" or "group" identities either.
The different Asian groups will hang out with each other and the other
groups will do something similar
with their own, and we can all come together and work together as well.
Wayne
Marti Wilkinson wrote:
> Thank you Ricky - Like you I believe this discussion is worth having
> and I am willing to be part of the solution as opposed to being part
> of the problem.
>
> Peace, Marti
>
> On Fri, May 2, 2008 at 1:09 PM, Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com
> <mailto: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
> <mailto: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
> <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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
> <mailto: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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