We feel these two articles make
points that are important for all of us interested in organizing around
immigrant rights. The articles don’t focus on immigration specifically, but
there’s no way to address the immigration system without addressing the racism
inherent in it.—TPOI editor
 |
| Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images |
Challenging the “White Ally”
Model: To Defeat Racism, We All Need to Dismantle Racial Capitalism
By Rafael Diaz, In These
Times
August 25, 2017
This month’s white supremacist
rally and deadly attack in Charlottesville again reminded millions of white
Americans that racism did not, in fact, end with the 2008 election of Barack
Obama. In the wake of the recent events in Virginia, there has been lively
debate over white people’s proper role in joining in the fight against white
supremacy. This is understandable. After all, people of color have reason to
question whether those who took so long to acknowledge the existence of racism
can be trusted to fight against it.
But white supremacy is a system
that does more than just oppress people of color. It serves to divide us and
keep poor and working people from building the power necessary to create a more
equitable world. We should be wary of calls for white folks to step to the side
because they’re not victims of racial prejudice. This approach isn’t just
wrong-headed—it lets white people off the hook. They need to fight on the front
lines for racial justice alongside the rest of us.[…]
Read the full article:
A Working-Class Strategy for
Defeating White Supremacy
Some of the most significant
work confronting homophobia, sexism and racism has been done by working-class
people of all ethnicities through collective struggle in the labor movement.
By Gabriel Kristal, Working
In These Times
August 10, 2017
Ever since the earth-shaking
election of Donald Trump, there have been innumerable articles arguing that
Democrats brought this upon themselves by losing white, working-class voters in
the Midwest. These articles have been met with a torrent of essays urging
Democrats to focus on becoming the party of diversity. And, coming back from
the dead like a bloated zombie corpse is Mark Penn and Andrew Stein’s New York
Times piece calling for a return to Clintonian centrism.
All of these discussions imply
that progressives can either fight for voters from the working class or
communities of color—but not both at once. This line of thinking demonstrates a
profound lack of faith in democracy and the electorate’s ability to smell
bullshit.[…]
Read the full article:
No comments:
Post a Comment