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White allyship in queer spaces
Aug. 25th, 2011 08:17 pmI went to an activist event tonight that was aimed at queer people interested in anti-racist work. I came in late because I had the time wrong but I took a few notes. The panelists were white allies.
--Being a white ally means showing up, listening, and not having your own agenda. Instead of expecting people to come to you, go to them and ask what they need. One panelist went to a group and sat there for a year and listened before being asked to do anything; during this time she built relationships and trust. Being a white ally involves educating ourselves and other white people. We as a queer rights movement are different than the civil rights movement of the 1960s and we need to recognize that: for white people there is not a history of institutional racism, slavery, etc. The issues we deal with are different.
--Go into uncomfortable spaces and be ready to be challenged. Racism will never end if we only surround ourselves with white people; homophobia and transphobia will never end if we only surround ourselves with queer people. Also, if we encounter homophobia from People of Color, we may have the erroneous tendency to attribute this to their race, whereas we wouldn't do this for white people. Remember that as white people we take our own privilege and racism into such spaces.
--White guilt: It belongs to you; you have no right to ask anyone to forgive you for it. Don't engage with people of color out of a sense of wanting to alleviate white guilt. Don't get stuck in this guilt.
--One panelist mentioned Kentucky Fairness as a queer rights group that has a good record of antiracism.
Questions and Comments:
--How to bring this into schools?
Panelists talked about school boards and parental responsibility. They mentioned drug-sniffing dogs and how that criminalizes students: PoC and queer youth are disporportionally targeted for suspension and expulsion.
--One person in the audience who is Puerto Rican asked about the term "people of color" and brought up a good point about how this is used as an umbrella term. A panelist told about a PoC queer group that did not work-- the people involved needed an African American queer group, a Latino/a queer group, a Hmong queer group, etc. But that is for each group to decide, and is not up to the white people.
--One person asked about how to appeal to the private sector, which only listens to money-based arguments. I said something like, "so make a money argument!" In my own field I would use logic to say that by using diversity initiatives we can appeal to more people and therefore enroll more people in our studies, for instance. We might get certain grants. It's about tailoring your argument to your audience (ie marketing). The moderator said that young people today have a certain expectation of workplaces being diverse and progressive.
We brainstormed in small groups and people said:
--Challenge institutional power. I gave a few examples from WisCon about how the institution has struggled to change in the last few years: the PoC safer space, including more antiracist programming, etc.
--Show up to events where you live that are run by/predominantly attended by people of color.
--You can choose to live in a diverse neighborhood. This should be balanced with a recognition of gentrification. Also be prepared to have certain white people (yes even liberals) say disparaging things about where you live. If you are a person of faith, you can choose to attend services with people of color.
--Being a white ally means showing up, listening, and not having your own agenda. Instead of expecting people to come to you, go to them and ask what they need. One panelist went to a group and sat there for a year and listened before being asked to do anything; during this time she built relationships and trust. Being a white ally involves educating ourselves and other white people. We as a queer rights movement are different than the civil rights movement of the 1960s and we need to recognize that: for white people there is not a history of institutional racism, slavery, etc. The issues we deal with are different.
--Go into uncomfortable spaces and be ready to be challenged. Racism will never end if we only surround ourselves with white people; homophobia and transphobia will never end if we only surround ourselves with queer people. Also, if we encounter homophobia from People of Color, we may have the erroneous tendency to attribute this to their race, whereas we wouldn't do this for white people. Remember that as white people we take our own privilege and racism into such spaces.
--White guilt: It belongs to you; you have no right to ask anyone to forgive you for it. Don't engage with people of color out of a sense of wanting to alleviate white guilt. Don't get stuck in this guilt.
--One panelist mentioned Kentucky Fairness as a queer rights group that has a good record of antiracism.
Questions and Comments:
--How to bring this into schools?
Panelists talked about school boards and parental responsibility. They mentioned drug-sniffing dogs and how that criminalizes students: PoC and queer youth are disporportionally targeted for suspension and expulsion.
--One person in the audience who is Puerto Rican asked about the term "people of color" and brought up a good point about how this is used as an umbrella term. A panelist told about a PoC queer group that did not work-- the people involved needed an African American queer group, a Latino/a queer group, a Hmong queer group, etc. But that is for each group to decide, and is not up to the white people.
--One person asked about how to appeal to the private sector, which only listens to money-based arguments. I said something like, "so make a money argument!" In my own field I would use logic to say that by using diversity initiatives we can appeal to more people and therefore enroll more people in our studies, for instance. We might get certain grants. It's about tailoring your argument to your audience (ie marketing). The moderator said that young people today have a certain expectation of workplaces being diverse and progressive.
We brainstormed in small groups and people said:
--Challenge institutional power. I gave a few examples from WisCon about how the institution has struggled to change in the last few years: the PoC safer space, including more antiracist programming, etc.
--Show up to events where you live that are run by/predominantly attended by people of color.
--You can choose to live in a diverse neighborhood. This should be balanced with a recognition of gentrification. Also be prepared to have certain white people (yes even liberals) say disparaging things about where you live. If you are a person of faith, you can choose to attend services with people of color.
