There's a quick read worth checking out about a tendency among some to want to qualify certain 'types' of racism. Racism is racism, and it's origins are found in the quest to rationalize the exploitation and subjugation of African people, their land and their cultural resources (when and wherever you found/find us). Within the context of this 'racism' ideology and worldview, all of the so-called 'races' fall along the 'white' / 'Black' continuum. You can check out the piece by Scott Nakagawa here.
What some people want to call 'anti-Black racism" is just racism. Let's not complicate things. We don't need creative and fancy ways to carve out certain types of racism. We need truth. Talk about racism for what it is, and let people fall on the side of justice, or not.
The concluding lines of the article...
American history revolves around the story of the exploitation and exclusion of Black people. We live in denial of this reality at our own great peril. The exploitation of Black bodies and Black labor (and our justifications for Black unemployment), and fear and loathing of Black people is at the very heart of our politics, our economy, and our culture. Perhaps this is why when we resist injustice, we so often draw from the template of Black struggle.
Many of us are victimized by white supremacy. However, white supremacy rests on a color line drawn in black and white. If we want to free ourselves of racism and white privilege, we’ll need to situate ourselves on one or another side of that line.
Nyle Fort recently focused his activism in Ferguson, where officer Darren Wilson killed Mike Brown, an unarmed black teenager, on Aug. 9. Fort was one of thousands of community leaders to descend on the small St. Louis suburb and lend his voice to the protest known as #FergusonOctober. It was an opportunity to deliver a very simple message to the world: “Black Lives Matter.”
Originally Published on You Tube, on Nov 13, 2014, via Fusion
This program is lengthy, but it's worth watching or listening to in the background for all of you who are interested and immersed in this work.
I especially appreciate the perspective offered by the young adults and other family members who have directly experienced the impact of having one or both parents incarcerated, or being incarcerated and unable to maintain a healthy and nurturing relationship with their children.
April 3, 2014:
This panel examines the devastating impact the youth justice system has on black and Latino young people, as well as health care for incarcerated women, and the need for comprehensive reform.
Soffiyah Elijah, Executive Director of the Correctional Association, moderates a discussion among Hernan Carvente, Research Assistant, Vera Institute of Justice; Gabrielle Horowitz-Prisco, Project Director, Juvenile Justice Project, Correctional Association; Mercedes Smith, Policy Specialist, Women on the Rise Telling Her Story (WORTH); and Tamar Kraft-Stolar, Project Director, Women in Prison Project, Correctional Association.
Part of the Sackler Center series, "States of Denial: The Illegal Incarceration of Women, Children, and People of Color."
This event took place at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art on March 29, 2014. Video courtesy Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation.
In recent years, an increasing number of school districts, particularly those serving predominantly African American children and families, have been closing large numbers of schools. Simultaneously, those same school districts announce their plans to open large numbers of charter schools.
You should be clear, however, that children, parents and other community activists have been fighting valiantly to not only keep these neighborhood schools open, but to provide them with the high quality teachers, administrators and other resources the highest performing schools receive.
The video below features activists and organizers from across the country, marching on Washington, DC and their local city government centers to demand more national and local leadership, accountability and resources in support of true public education.
Watch below, and visit Journey 4 Justice to learn more, and to get involved.
KOCO and organizations from 22 other cities travel to DC in January 2013 for a hearing at the Department of Education.
Today we celebrate the 85th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birth... January 15, 1929.
During a time when so much of our society's political discourse and organizing is centered around getting recognition and attention - where 'winning' is essentially measured in public opinion polls and traditional and social media airtime, it seems this prophetic sermon by Dr. King is just as relevant today as it has ever been. Our individual and collective work must be aimed at freedom, dignity and justice for all people, especially the elimination of racism, the pathology associated with the deeply ingrained myth of white supremacy and any other form of supremacy by one people over another. The active living of the principles of truth and justice must always guide us!
Happy Birthday Dr. King. Your message has not been lost. We ask that you continue to guide us, strengthen us, and make us wiser along the journey. The road has been long, yet we shall indeed win the long fight for freedom, dignity and justice.
"The Drum Major Instinct"
MLK's last SERMON to his congregation.
Ebenezer Baptist Church --- Atlanta, Georgia --- February 4, 1968.
