This week, we wrap up the course. Climates of Resistance ends where it began: with a reflection on where we are and want to be in regard to environmental racism, as individuals and a collective. During Unit 5 on (Re)Orientation, we will consider what we have learned, how environmental racism around the world can be transformed into environmental justice, and how we can be part of that.
Our class discussion will focus on theories of solidarity and various takes on ‘allyship’. What does it mean, to do anti-racist work? How can we support marginalised communities? How do the answers to these questions differ, depending on our various positionalities?
Decentre: white voices through this open letter by Project Say Something in response to problematic behaviours and actions by self-proclaimed ‘allies’ at the University of North Alabama.
An Open Letter to the University of North Alabama👇🏿
Dear University of North Alabama,
We are writing this letter to address the ongoing concern of white allies centering themselves in Black scholarship and infiltrating spaces that were formed to advocate for Black lives. Through the years members of your faculty have utilized both their (white) privilege and proximity to Black organizations to undermine the work of grassroots Black activists using methods not limited to; stealing ideas, taking up space in Black scholarship, failing to listen to the grievances of Black allies, seeking to build careers off of the pain and suffering of Black people i.e. centering yourself while downplaying the voices of Black leadership thereby weakening the collective power of grassroots coalitions, engaging in antagonistic behavior that is rooted in racial biases and being defensive when this behavior is criticized by our fellow Black allies. Not only is this behavior a form of violence, it white washes the legacy of our predecessors, undermines the collective power of the Black radical tradition and fails to credit Project Say Something’s contributions to fighting racial injustice while reconciling Alabama’s past with its present.
This problematic behavior is rooted in the same culture of white supremacy that is exhibited by white conservatives, but in many ways more covert and sinister. White Liberals who make up the majority of academia often weaponize their privilege to undermine the goals of the Black radical tradition and engage in a self-righteous form of allyship that conveniently and arrogantly positions white liberals as “white saviors” in opposition to their conservative counterparts without interrogating the ways their own actions (well intended or otherwise) have colonized Black spaces. This is performative allyship: a lack of commitment to amplifying Black voices, a method of easing your own feelings of white guilt, and a desire to chase clout at the expense of Black lives.
The University of North Alabama failed it’s Black students on numerous occasions but continues to exploit the labor of Black people by implementing their/our ideas. This creates a white washed brand of social justice that is rooted in a superficial- performative- culture of allyship that assimilates Black liberation theory into white neo-liberal ideals under the guise of equality; a culture that pushes a hollow narrative of diversity and inclusion without actually providing its Black students with what they need most in predominantly white spaces: Equity, a sense of community and Black mentorship.
As Black history month approaches, we reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr’s critique of white liberals and white moderates:
“Over the last few years many Negroes have felt that their most troublesome adversary was not the obvious bigot of the Ku Klux Klan or the John Birch Society, but the white liberal who is more devoted to “order” than to justice, who prefers tranquility to equality….”
In Letter from The Birmingham Jail Dr. King offers another critique addressed to both Jewish and Christian clergymen by stating:
“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
Moving forward, Project Say Something believes that healing begins with defenseless listening. In the spirit of reconciliation and agape love, our Executive Director Camille Bennett offers the following tips to white people who are committed to doing the work:
1. White fragility is exhausting - When you feel defensive, angry, guilty or victimized by black expression, activism or self advocacy, work it out with other allies or through self reflection don’t project your fragility onto us, it hurts.
2. White saviorism is toxic - always move from a place of empowerment, white saviorism is disempowerment. Self righteous behaviors and God complexes will cause harm. Remember you are playing a supporting role not taking center stage.
3. Black self advocacy doesn’t need white consent - We do not need your permission. You may disagree with our strategy, may not share our sense of urgency, and may struggle with our tone. When this happens, fall back, it’s not about you.
4. You can’t “study” your way into expertise - Books, films and articles that explore the nuances of race and class are valuable tools for transformation but can never surpass the real life experience. Understanding the work is understanding you will never know as much as people of color about the effects of racism.
5. Be humble - you will fall on your face, you will offend, you will feel the clap back, your ego will taunt you, you will give in to your ego and your privilege at times. Above all else, you will grow. Accepting the role of allyship is accepting the way of humility.
In conclusion, our community demands more accountability and less performative white allyship. As Dr. King stated, “The white liberal must escalate his support for racial justice rather than de-escalate it…The need for commitment is greater today than ever.” If you choose to fight for equity and racial justice you must be ten toes down, feet firmly planted in community and solidarity. We challenge our allies to not only be committed to Black liberation, but transformed by the work. There can be no reconciliation without justice.
Thank you,
Challenge: the racism and paternalism of ‘support’ and ‘service’ missions. The speech below by Ivan Illich was given in 1968. What’s changed? What hasn’t? How is the ‘white saviour’ complex connected to ideas and practices of allyship?
optional: You might also learn from this critique of “Solidarity as a Settler Move to Innocence” by Miranda Grundy, Jessica Jiang, and May Niiya, which references Tuck and Yang’s “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor” from earlier in the course.
Ivan Illich was born in Vienna, Austria to a Croatian father and a Sephardic Jewish mother. A philosopher and historian, Illich wrote and spoke widely against the mass institutionalisation of education and medical systems as part of his critique of modernity. He spent years as a Roman Catholic priest before being rebuked by the Vatican for his growing criticism.
Illich spent much of his life in Puerto Rico and Mexico, and founded the progressive Centro Intercultural de Documentación (Intercultural Center for Documentation) in 1961. The Center hosted anti-imperialist language and culture classes for missionaries and others.
Consider: these perspectives on and suggested strategies for allyship.
Explore: these stories and resources about solidarity, mutual aid, and allyship between and within a variety of communities.
optional, but highly recommended:
Read: this chapter about solidarity-informed anti-colonial tactics for Black liberation written by the founder of Canada’s Black Lives Matter chapter.
Currently a JD candidate at UCLA, Sandra Hudson holds an MA in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She helped to found the Black Legal Action Centre, a specialty legal aid clinic providing services for Black people in Ontario, and co-hosts a podcast with another community organiser. She and Nora are bonded by their mutual status as “feminist musicians, gifted program survivors and former choir kids who have thrown away all their talents to become activist political nerds”.
from a book review of Until We Are Free: “In 2014, Sandy Hudson, having witnessed the rapid uptake of the movement south of the border, reached out to her fellow organizers in the city of Toronto to brainstorm options for spaces that centred the experiences of Black people. A planned vigil in Toronto following the killing of Michael Brown far exceeded attendance expectations and resulted in the formation of the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter.”
Appreciate: the connection between struggles, and possibilities for meaningful allyship, through Shirien’s illustrations – which include iconic portraits of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Shirien Damra is an illustrator and designer committed to using art and creativity as a tool to uplift social justice movements and campaigns, to amplify marginalised groups, to visualise that better world we’re striving for, and to heal.
Growing up in a working-class Palestinian refugee family, Shirien had a sense of what injustice and racism looked like early on. As she got older, she began learning and understanding more about how structural oppression functions and the interconnectedness between struggles of many different marginalised communities. She channeled that knowledge into actively challenging systemic oppression through years of organising and now more distinctively through illustration and design.
She is currently based in Chicago, where she was born and raised.
photo courtesy of Carla Carrasco Ocampo
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