by Jeff Hitchcock

The inauguration has taken place and we have entered the Obama era. The name “Bush” has faded from the headlines. We have crossed the threshold and entered a new age.

Where are we, and who are we? That seems to be an underlying theme from all sectors of society, and particularly from those engaged in matters of race, culture, power and privilege. The phenomenon of Obama as president acts almost like a giant Rorschach test--you know the ink blot that people look at and then project their interpretations upon it.

Some claim business as usual. Others see a new and unprecedented society. On matters of racial justice, Obama himself remains silent, while all about people discuss race and racism (“It’s ended,” “No, it’s the same old, same old,” etc.).

Where does the white anti-racist community fit in all this? I don’t have the answer. I sense we are emerging, yet when looking among the literally hundreds of stories taking place over the last month, fewer than half a dozen contain an explicitly articulated white anti-racist point of view. What forms will white consciousness take in a nation that is shifting, however slightly, toward a multiracial center? What are your thoughts?

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The fifth White Anti-racist Summit will take place on Saturday, April 4, 2009 in Memphis, TN as part of the White Privilege Conference. You can register for both the summit and the entire White Privilege Conference at a special, low-cost rate of $175 if you take advantage of WACAN’s registration process. For details, go to www.wacan.org/summit.asp.

White anti-racists “develop anti-racist practices and tools for nurturing anti-racist practice among white people and working in transformative alliance with people of color.”

For a person who ran a race conscious campaign by seldom mentioning race, President Obama seems to be creating a lot of racial realignment in Washington, and even his birth state of Hawaii. He’s got everybody talking.

What could be too hot for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to handle? Rev. Lowery talks about the “white” reference in his inaugural benediction. Some believe Obama’s election proves Civil Rights voting safeguards are no longer needed. Connecticut Caucasian firefighters also have a gripe. If race is over, why are public schools resegregating? And why is the black middle class in crisis?

Portland, Oregon, reflects on its whiteness. In Minnesota the black-white difference in poverty rates is the greatest in the nation. Meanwhile, the Mississippi gulf coast decides not to use Katrina disaster relief funds to help poor people. And an Australian family of four, originally from Bangladesh, rushes to the U.S. to see a dying father, only to be held by US Customs, detained, and then kicked out. It’s not the only story like that.

The NAACP and labor discrimination attorney Cyrus Mehri revealed a report documenting “purposeful discrimination” that keeps the advertising industry nearly all-white. The NAACP gives some details. Cyrus Mehri’s law firm wants to talk to you if you are in the advertising industry and have faced discrimination. Industry insiders, meanwhile, know the score.

Farmers of color get short end of USDA subsidies. News coverage of Gaza almost non-existent in US. New York police target people of color for stop-and-frisk. Federal court in Arizona delivers 70 assembly line-style convictions every day. Cops in three cities gun down black men. New York man pleads guilty to racist assaults. Three Massachusetts men accused of burning black church, released on bail. Black New Jersey mayor steps down after targeted by racist threats. Iranian-born Canadian faced discrimination, dismissal from Mounties. Manhattan Greenwich Village bakery sells “drunken Negro face” cookies. Cream of Wheat can’t let go of racist sales imagery. Texas newsman shocked by racist statement. Ohio trooper says boss allowed racist jokes. Navajo man in New Mexico faces suspicions of salesman. Society is getting better, many feel, but it may take a while.

Connecticut enacts racial impact rule. New York legislator seeks to keep racist video games from minors. MALDEF fights to keep public school support of English language learners. Many demonstrations took place across the country to end military action in Gaza earlier this month. This one was in Los Angeles. Pittsburgh holds the 11th Annual Summit Against Racism. Kenosha, Wisconsin, improves after race relations mediation agreement. Charlottesville, Virginia, wants to start a dialogue on race relations. Billings, Montana, mobilizes against white supremacist activity. Auburn, New York, integrates through action of real estate broker. Sometimes the dialogue gets very difficult, as Paris, Texas found out. Nashville, Tennessee defeats an “English-only” measure. In the meantime, the Nashville sheriff unknowingly speaks to white supremacist group and vows to be more careful to vet invitations next time.

White supremacists use the Obama presidency as a recruiting tool. They also feed off of the economic downturn. A Massachusetts white supremacist kills 3 people of color. He was influenced by a white nationalist website. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Billings, Montana, is targeted by white supremacist hate mail. Arkansas white supremacist assaults police, who shoot him. Racist leaflets appear in Jacksonville, Florida and Leesburg, Virginia. Aryan Guard teen assaults Asian woman in Calgary. White supremacist convicted of murder in Pennsylvania.

Racist violence mars Australia Day celebrations. Three teens become walking billboards of bigotry. An Australian blogger takes them to task. Move Australia Day to May says Australian sports legend. Australian police mock and toy with drunk Aboriginal man. Thank goodness the government is backing an anti-racist drive. A New Zealand white supremacist wants like minded people to live in his neighborhood. Malaysia says no to race relations law. Youth agree. Better just to set up an institute, someone suggests.

Europe faces itself in the post-Obama age. Are they ready for their own black leader? British and black head of race relations commission critiques left’s view of racism in Britain, prompting one paper to ask if institutional racism still exists among police. Prince Harry offers a poor example. As do hospital staff in Coventry. Mixed-race relationships in Britain are on the rise. Ireland once was in the forefront of anti-racism, but not now. France must change or face turmoil official says amidst a month that revealed a French Obama double and a black beauty queen crowned Miss France. German minorities still fight to be seen, heard. Homeless Indian immigrant set on fire in Italy.

Whites in Zimbabwe targeted, again. Racist white South African construction supervisor causes mass work stoppage. Shoprite in Tanzania sued for racism, favoring whites. In Barbados, a reader wonders why a review of a public performance discussed the racial makeup of the audience.

Two women, one black and one white, reflect on their day at the inauguration.

Two mothers, one white and one black, wrestle with their identity and its reflection in their children.

Two men, one black and one white, are moved to re-evaluate their lives as the inauguration takes place.

Superman’s planet becomes racially diverse. In Chicago, an interesting experiment in casting takes place. The play, White People, comes to New York City. Native Americans outraged over Hollywood film series, Twilight. Don’t blame Taylor Lautner. Film at Sundance Film festival documents integrated prom, the first ever in Charleston, Mississippi, that took place last year. The pathetic white women of Gray’s Anatomy.

Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and white denial in the age of Obama, by Tim Wise.

Race Course: Against white supremacy, by William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn.

Leave White Folks Alone, by Donnie Hyder.

Near Black, by Baz Dreisinger.

Leadership 101 for White Men, by Chuck Shelton.

Witnessing Whiteness: First steps toward an antiracist practice and culture, by Shelly Tochluk.

Who cares about the [British] white working class? An anthology.

Research perspective on race and employment in the advertising industry. How advertising fails to employ black people.

Reviving the goal of an integrated society: A 21st century challenge. Report on school resegregation.

“Free Indeed,” by Bill Ellmann. Leader-Telegram, February 3, 2009.

“The audacity of whiteness: Framing Barack Obama,” by Jill Nelson. huffingtonpost.com, February 2, 2009.

“The end of white America?” by Hua Hsu. The Atlantic Online, January/February 2009.

“Are white men entitled to be angry?” by Luke Visconti. diversityinc.com, January 28, 2009.

“Dear white people.” Womanist Musings, January 22, 2009.

“’Lynching’ rhetoric misses the mark,” by James Grossman. chicagotribune.com, January 22, 2009.

“Preemptive love isn’t really love,” by Rinku Sen. RaceWire, the Colorlines Blog, January 20, 2009.

“Hope and the central contradiction,” by Ida Hakim. OpEdNews, January 19, 2009.

“The stimulus: How to create jobs without them all going to skilled professionals and white male construction workers,” by Robert Reich. Robert Reich’s Blog, January 8, 2009.

“Israel: Boycott, divest, sanction,” by Naomi Klein. The Nation, January 7, 2009.