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Contemporary White Antiracism

Above photo: James Ian Tyson being arrested alongside Bree Newsome for taking down the Confederate Flag in front of the South Carolina State House on June 27, 2015.

Organizations

The easiest way to find local White antiracist groups is to look at SURJ’s list – which includes SURJ chapters as well as other White antiracist groups – organized by state and city.  SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) is a nationwide network of White antiracist groups, with chapters in roughly 100 cities.  For building White working-class antiracism, see SURJ’s commitment to such organizing, as well as the more explicitly radical, self-defense oriented group, Redneck Revolt.

White antiracist groups, historically and in the present, tend to be predominantly female.  White women and LGBT people are far more likely join antiracist groups than men, and especially straight men.  STAND is one example of an organization working to bring White men into antiracist work.  Organizing White Men for Collective Liberation is another.

Other excellent organizations include the White Noise Collective.  For Jewish antiracist organizing, see Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.  For workshops and trainings in White antiracist work, see the Catalyst Project: Anti-Racism for Collective Liberation; Whites Confronting Racism; The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond; the Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere (AWARE-LA), and its associated White People 4 Black Lives (WP4BL).  See also the White Privilege Conference and the Facing Race Conference. The East Point Peace Academy offers excellent trainings in nonviolent action. The East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland has a wonderful program called White & Awakening, for White antiracists seeking to fuse their spiritual and social justice paths.  Local groups will be plugged into local trainings.

On Social Media

Follow dozens of SURJ chapters, White antiracist organizations, and White antiracist organizers on Twitter here. To plug into local White antiracist discussions happening on Facebook, check out SURJ’s list of chapters to see which local groups have Facebook pages.  Follow The White Noise Collective on Facebook here; the Catalyst Project here; White People for Black Lives here; and SURJ’s main Facebook page here.

Resource Pages

White Accomplices has an excellent resource page, as do many White antiracist organizations: here are those of SURJ; AWARE-LA; the Catalyst Project; and The White Noise Collective.  Prominent White antiracists who have great resource pages include Paul Kivel (who has been training White antiracists for decades,) Chris Crass (cofounder of the Catalyst Project,) and the late Margo Adair’s Tools For Change.   Also see David Campt’s important work at the White Ally Toolkit.

Books

Michael Ali; Eddie Moore Jr.; & Marguerite W. Penick-Parks.  (Editors.)  Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice: 15 Stories.

David Campt.  The White Ally Toolkit Workbook: Using Active Listening, Empathy, and Personal Storytelling to Promote Racial Equity.

David Campt.  Discussion Group Leaders Guide: Supplement to the White Ally Toolkit Workbook.

David Campt Compassionate Warrior Boot Camp for White Allies: A 30 Day Guide for Becoming a More Effective Anti-Racism Ally in 20 Minutes Per Day.

CCDS Socialist Education Project.  Taking Down White Supremacy

Chris Crass.  Towards the “Other America”: Anti-Racist Resources for White People Taking Action for Black Lives Matter.

Chris Crass.  Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy.

Robin DiAngelo. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.

Debby Irving.  Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race.

Frances Kendall.  Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race.

Paul Kivel.  Uprooting Racism – 4th Edition: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice.

Mab Segrest.  Memoir of a Race Traitor: Fighting Racism in the American South.

Becky Thompson.  Promise And A Way Of Life: White Antiracist Activism.

Mark R. Warren.  Fire in the Heart: How White Activists Embrace Racial Justice.

Tim Wise. White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son.

Book Lists

40+ Children’s Books about Human Rights & Social Justice

An Antiracist Reading List: Ibram X. Kendi on books to help America transcend its racist heritage.

Books to Teach White Children and Teens How to Undo Racism and White Supremacy

Understanding and Dismantling Racism: A Booklist for White Readers.

White Antiracism in U.S. History (books on individual antiracists under their section, with a list of general books at the end.)

The ZORA Canon: The 100 greatest books ever written by African American women.

Articles

American Psychologist: Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life.

Courtney Ariel: For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies.

Courtney Ariel: How Not to Appropriate: A Guide for White People.

Better Allies: weekly articles on Medium.

Matt Bonesteel: After the NFL’s white players are called out, Eagles’ Chris Long steps up.

David Campt: articles on Medium and Huffpost.

Robin DiAngelo: links to many articles on her webpage.

Ashley Framer: Echoes of the 1960s: SNCC and White Liberal Participation in Anti-Racist Movements.

Dahlia Ferlito: articles at LA Progressive, KNOCK LA, and Medium.   

Karen Fleshman: collection of articles on Medium.

Chanelle Gallant: Why Would White Women Vote For A Man So Widely Accused Of Sexual Abuse?

Justin Gomer & Christopher Petrella: White Fragility, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, and the Weight of History.

Justin Gomer & Christopher Petrella: White Supremacy Is Not an Illness.

Marcus Harrison Green: What White Marchers Mean for Black Lives Matter: As black activists burn out and move out, the number of white allies grows.

Ann Doss Helms: Bree Newsome, James Tyson talk about SC Confederate flag grab

Debby Irving: Author Q&A: Author Debby Irving says it’s time for white people to join the race conversation.

Peggy McIntosh: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack See also Beyond the Knapsack and her original, long-form article on which “Invisible Knapsack” was based: White Privilege and Male Privilege Finally, see Gina Crosley-Corcoran’s working-class take on Knapsack, “Explaining White Privilege To A Broke White Person.”

Peggy McIntosh:  Interview, The Origins of “Privilege”.

Deray Mckesson: How you can be an ally in the fight for racial justice.    

Ali Michael: Antiracism Resources for Teachers.

Carla Murphy: The White Conversation on Race.

Mab Segrest: Interview with Sinister Wisdom: A Multicultural Lesbian Literary and Arts Journal.  Article: Lesbian-feminist Mab Segrest on Ferguson, race, civil rights.

Corinne Shutack: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice.

Dara Silverman: 7 Ways White Jews Can Do Better By the Movement for Black Lives.

SNCC: Black Power: A Reprint of a Position Paper for the SNCC Vine City Project.  (SNCC statement on White allies.)

Emily Stewart: How to be a good white ally, according to activists: Three experts on what it does and doesn’t mean to be an ally, now and always.

SURJ: Calling People In Around “Violence.”           

Becky Thompson: Lots of articles on her personal website.

Teaching Tolerance: Affirming Black Lives Without Inducing Trauma.    

Mark R. Warren: Links to books and articles at his website.

Steven Wineman: Racism Diminishes Us All, Even White Men Like Me.

Janee Woods: 12 Ways to Be a White Ally to Black People.

Videos And Podcasts

Sue Borrego: TEDx Talk: Understanding My Privilege.

David Campt: lots of helpful video clips of White antiracist trainings at his YouTube page. 

Chris Crass: Awkward White People White People in Solidarity Against Racism (with Dara Silverman,)  Faith and Racial Justice (with Jude-Laure Denis,)  Courage for Racial Justice, Courage for Collective Liberation.

Robin DiAngelo:  Debunking The Most Common Myths White People Tell About Race;   Deconstructing White Privilege; lecture on her book White Fragility.

Dahlia Ferlito: What is White People for Black Lives?;  White People Talking to White People About Race.

Erin Heaney, Pam McMichael, & Carla F. Wallace: White Women Showing Up For Racial Justice.

Erin Heaney, speaking about SURJ in this online discussion.  (She begins 10 minutes in.)

Debby Irving: Finding Myself in the Story of Race (TEDx Talk); How White People Can Advocate For Racial Justice (interview); Our Whitewashed History (talk); interview on Restorative Justice on the Rise. 

Frances Kendall: interview about how to create institutional change.

Paul Kivel: 2019 interview about his book, Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice.

Carol Kraemer and Carla F Wallace: “Where are the white people organizing other white people for racial justice?”

Simma Lieberman’s podcast: Every Day Conversations on Race for Every Day People.

Peggy McIntosh TED Talk: How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion.

Ali Michael, interview about White racial identity development.  Lecture: Race in the Academy.  TEDx Talk: How Can I Have a Positive Racial Identity? I’m White!

On Being podcast: Let’s Talk About Whiteness.      

Mab Segrest: 2014 video interview on the Laura Flanders Show; Audio interview: ‘Race Traitor’ Mab Segrest Looks Back At 25 Years Of Hate.

Carla F. Wallace (on panel.)  Detention and Deportation Defense

Mark R. Warren: Youth and Racial Justice (short clip); How You Can Be an Advocate (short clip); The Practice and Pedagogy of Organizing in the 21st Century (audio lecture); Educational Justice with Bill Ayers, Mark Warren and Brandon Johnson (roundtable); Fire in the Heart – White Activists for Racial Justice (book discussion.)

Tim Wise: Checking White Privilege (lecture); Race and Whiteness in the Era of Trumpism (lecture); On Race, Crime, and the Politics of Fear in America (lecture.)

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