WACANupdate A fortnightly E-magazine, circulation 1,308 News and opinion of interest to the white anti-racist community February 18, 2009 Send your links and comments to news stories, feature stories, event announcements, media reviews, announcements of publication; feedback; and other items of interest to news@wacan.org Publication schedule Letters to the editor Submission guidelines Privacy Advertising About WACAN

Containing history

by Jeff Hitchcock Among Obama era adjustments, some have recently proposed retiring Black History Month, February. They suggest no replacement. I believe we continue to need Black History Month, and I personally enjoy the events of that month. I also believe we need a white, or European American, history month. I know many will say every month is European American history month, but that fails to capture the sense of having a European American history month. There is now a body of scholarly work on the racialized history of European American people sufficient to feed the curricula of every K-12 grade level for a month, year after year. Serious work has been done for every historical era since the creation of white identity, which some mark at different historical moments. All that is needed is translating this work into lesson plans and resource materials. And maybe some form of entrance into and acceptance by K-12 educational settings. That’s what a European American history month might bring. What else might be offered? Are we afraid white supremacists and their apologists will force a distorted history to be told? The scholars, as always, are the ones we look to. They don’t offer many openings for an alternative, unstudied and racist view. True, such things are socially contested, but I believe society may warm to a sharing of historical truth. An explicitly named European American history month locates whiteness and white American culture as a specific part of a multiracial society. In this way, it disrupts and renders problematic a universal and unspoken condition of omnipresent whiteness that is assumed when every day is a (unnamed) white history day, all year long.

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White Anti-racist Summit

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.

NEWS ITEMS

General news

American Indians outline priorities for Obama administration. In Canada, hundreds of Native women have gone missing, with hardly a stir among authorities. In Des Moines, Iowa, students of color hold steady while the white drop out rate increases. A Texas town remains troubled by a racialized murder (Article 1, Article 2), while Kirkwood, Missouri also tries to overcome a mass, and racialized, murder spree. Black judge in Mississippi reprimanded for dissing white folks. NAACP celebrates 100 years. It was founded as an interracial effort. Diversity officers in advertising firms hear it from all sides. A changing, multicultural market calls for changing approaches. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union in San Francisco has an anti-racist history, which is ongoing. Eddie Moore, Jr., diversity expert, talks about white privilege in Wisconsin. Art Munin speaks about white privilege in New Jersey. Former white supremacist speaks out. A Louisiana newspaper editor uncovers little known, unsolved Civil Rights era murders.

Racism

Arizona Sheriff stages mass immigrant “perp walk” and diverts attention from illegal activities in his department. Locking up immigrants has become big business. Aboriginal leaders accuse Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of allowing website readers to promote racism. Massachusetts governor thinks racism is still around. In Texas, DNA proves several black prisoners wrongly convicted. New GOP party chairman cleans house, simply by being black. NBA former great speaks frankly as insider to racist management. Did Chicago police make racist, anti-Obama calls? CVS accused of racist practice, unlike Walgreens and Rite-Aid. San Francisco residents complain of racial profiling.

White supremacists

Hate groups thrive in Florida. Anti-immigration groups have ties to white supremacists. U.S. Marine and would-be-presidential-assassin not an isolated problem. The military is a training ground for white supremacists. More Kool Aid, please. Ann Coulter says white supremacist group is not even racist. Wife shoots and kills husband, an abusive, dirty-bomb making neo-Nazi. PETA, please. They say if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

Studies show…

Facial recognition training can reduce bias. Racial identity not always fixed, even in America. Prejudice costs black workers thousands of dollars in lost income. Skin color changes rapidly on evolutionary scale. More proof that “white anti-racist” is an oxymoron. But more than a third of the people in this ABC reality show (presumably many of whom were white) objected to bigotry in the moment. Race was not part of the study but the implications are there when 99% of emergency room physicians believe they have seen cases of excessive force used by police.

Campus watch

Colgate’s new Anti-Racism Coalition focuses on issues of white identity and white privilege. Hampshire College first U.S. school of higher education to divest from Israeli occupation. Mount Holyoke class of whiteness unfazed by listing as “Most Dangerous College Course.” Bethel University receives award for advancing racial harmony. New Virginia Tech tragedy invites criticism of diversity. Hamilton College professor describes how white Mississippi authorities in Civil Rights era blamed victims for violence. High Point University professor authors chapter on whiteness in scholarly anthology, Teaching Race in the 21st Century. University of Pennsylvania professor speaks on the hidden injuries of colorblindness. University of Illinois professor discusses “critical whiteness studies” and race in America. Villanova student admits to his own racism. Michigan high school insists on retaining Indian mascot name. Full blooded Navajo student describes life at Lee University in Tennessee.

International

The U.S. will participate in planning the April UN Conference on Racism, but will not say if it will attend. Prince Harry gets remedial education for racist comments. More recently, the BBC dropped the daughter of Margaret Thatcher for using the term “golliwog.” The word “golliwog” is offensive to people of color and here’s why. The term has been around since 1895. London teacher denies making racist comments. Brit puts contract on black man, gets jail. British songwriter says cut your racist friends loose. West Midlands town cancels St. Georges Day parade that was infiltrated by “racist elements.” British police still racist, new report says. Anti-terrorist policies devastate families in Britain says another report. Britain now gaining experience in multiculturalism since the Salman Rushdie affair 20 years ago. Brazilian woman in Switzerland made up story of racist attack. World soccer to address concerns at United Against Racism conference in March in Warsaw. Racist attacks on rise in Russia, President Medvedev says. South Africans protest a “whites-only” toilet at bus depot. U.S. born Caucasian to run for Taiwan parliament. Israel warns Australia off racism forum. White supremacists looking to live together in Australia.

HISTORY, HERITAGE & TRANSFORMATION

Black farmers continue to fight back against decades long discriminatory practices by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Local columnist describes segregation and integration in Indiana. The Plessys and the Fergusons come together to commemorate a sad chapter in U.S. history. Drake turns its back on (Louisville’s) racism in 1969. The story of the last black legislator in the U.S. Congress following the Reconstruction era.

FAITH & RELIGION

BOOK: The Elusive Dream: The power of race in interracial churches. White and black evangelicals live in different worlds. A mixed-race traveler describes her experiences on the Sankofa journey through Civil Rights sites, sponsored by the Evangelical Covenant Church.

PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE

Maybe use of the “n-word” isn’t really your issue. Man asks entire town for forgiveness for racism. The complex life of Anatole Broyard and his family. Some ins and outs of Asian-white interracial dating. Hypersexuality of Asian women, minorities. White American culture is General Tso’s chicken and chop suey.

ARTS, FASHION & ENTERTAINMENT

Variety reviews the play, White People, now in New York. Memphis, a play of 1950s white-black romance, plays in Seattle. London play tries to dissect race, but may die on the table. Swarthmore senior writes and performs play about “the fine lines of race-relations from a specifically white ‘lens.’ “White girl from South Africa” performs work asking “Where do I fit in?” Documentary film gives disturbing view of white McCain supports in recent campaign. White Like Me, by Tim Wise leads to epiphany. Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn get press on their new book about white supremacy. Ayers answers questions about his past, with a hint of whimsy. Some recent white efforts in hip hop go in a new direction. Fashion commits a faux pas. West Virginia town puts on art contest about eliminating racism.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

“Life is different for different folks,” by Steven Taylor-Roth. timesunion.com, February 12, 2009. “Obama, Race and the Future of U.S. Politics,” by Bob Wing. BlackCommentator.com, February 12, 2009. “That’s mighty white of you, Salma Hayek,” by Jasmyne A. Cannick. New America Media, February 12, 2009. “The importance of racial impact statements,” by Jorge Rivas. RaceWire: The Colorlines Blog, February 2, 2009. “White Americans too eager to think of themselves as under siege,” by Ruben Navarrette Jr. Contra Costa Times, January 29, 2009.

Not ready for the multiracial nation…

“Navarette’s comments racist drivel,” by Judson Hughes. Contra Costa Times, February 4, 2009. “Multicultural educators ’celebrate diversity’ in the age of Obama,” by Cooper Sterling. VDARE.com, February 9, 2009.

EVENTS

How to submit an event CLICK February 20-22, 2009 Philadelphia, PA “Whites Confronting Racism" Workshop Training for Change CLICK February 24, 2009 Plainfield, NJ “WACAN-NJ meeting" Monthly meeting of white anti-racist group WACAN CLICK March 2, 2009 Denver, CO “Pedagogy of Privilege: Teaching, Learning, & Praxis" Call for papers, presentations, & workshops University of Colorado CLICK March 13-15, 2009 Kansas City, MO “Building an anti-racism movement among white Unitarian Universalists" Annual conference Unitarian Universalist Allies for Racial Equity CLICK March 31, 2009 San Francisco, CA “The Anne Braden Anti-Racist Training Program For White Social Justice Activists" Applications due Catalyst Project CLICK April 1-4, 2009 Memphis, TN “WPC10" Conference White Privilege Conference CLICK April 4, 2009 Memphis, TN “White Anti-racist Summit" Summit event Summit Coordinating Committee

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