WACANupdate A fortnightly e-magazine, circulation 1,375 News and opinion of interest to the white anti-racist community April 29, 2009 Contact: news@wacan.org Publication schedule Letters to the editor Submission guidelines Privacy Advertising About WACAN   It's all so confusing by Jeff Hitchcock Today, April 29, 2009 marks President Obama’s 100th day in office, and I have to confess to some confusion about what that means. Surely you have heard that with Obama being a black man and having risen to the highest position in the United States, racism is now over. Yes, there are some cynics out there who deny it. At the recent White Privilege Conference, for instance, Tim Wise pointed out that Pakistan, Great Britain and Israel all had women heads of state and thus by similar logic, presumably, these countries have eliminated sexism. Not. Last year Americans had a real choice. Elect Obama and eliminate racism, or elect Clinton and eliminate sexism. Come to think of it, we all missed an unheralded opportunity. Regardless of our political views, had we only elected Cynthia McKinney, Green Party candidate for President and an African American woman, we could have gotten rid of both racism and sexism at the same time. The more I think about it, the more confusing it gets. Consider the case of white firefighters in Connecticut who, in a case that went before the U.S. Supreme Court last week, claim to be victims of racism. Racism against white people is something white people have been complaining about for years. And somehow electing more than 40 white Presidents in a row couldn’t get rid of it. For that matter, haven’t some of our Presidents come from poor backgrounds? Surely their elections must have eliminated class oppression. The “racism is gone” notion has spawned an effusion of articles claiming “it’s still here.” After 100 days, maybe it’s time to settle down. Those who now claim to believe racism is gone with Obama’s election most likely believed it was gone anyway well before that. As for the rest of us, our work continues.   Letters to the Editor No letters since the last WACANupdate. Send us a letter   NEWS ITEMS White Connecticut firefighters reach Supreme Court A case involving white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut reached the Supreme Court last week. Right wing pundits are claiming reverse discrimination, but the facts are much more complex. The Supreme court has taken race on as an issue recently. But regardless of how the court decides, the American people still support Affirmative Action. General News Missing black men get even less media than black women. An Orange County, Florida, oversight committee for schools can only take black or white members, to the dismay of Hispanics. By racially profiling black shoppers, retailers will put themselves in the red. Racism harms mental and physical health. People of color increasingly seek cosmetic procedures while white people hold steady. Appropriating KKK imagery for marketing purposes: In February it was PETA, and now this. Law and order The number of black people going to prison on drug offenses is dropping, while increasing for whites. Pennsylvania men face trial over beating death of immigrant. Father sues over son killed by fellow NY officers. Raids on barbershops prompt calls of racism in California city. The Asian Law Caucus of San Francisco reports U.S. Customs profiles U.S. citizens of Asian and Middle Eastern heritage. California court upholds Berkeley school policy that considers neighborhood racial composition. Mississippi quietly gets rid of laws meant to thwart civil rights. Will the new Los Angeles police headquarters building be named after an allegedly racist police chief? In Georgia, mural depicting slavery in a public building raises questions. Immigration Pew Hispanic Center study identifies trends among unauthorized immigrants. Colorlines magazine maps the immigration landscape, including sanctuary cities. Southern Poverty Law Center investigates lives of poor Latinos in the U.S. South. Local police in Utah refuse to cross-deputize as immigration agents. U.S. towns on Mexican border resent fear mongering and U.S. military presence. White supremacists White supremacist murderer due for execution in Georgia last night gets 24 hour reprive. Rise of right-wing extremism linked to recession. White hate groups are maneuvering to enter the mainstream. Pennsylvania white hate groups are on the rise. Former skinhead talks about Pittsburgh cop killer and says white supremacists are targeting police. White supremacist flyers are distributed in Billings, Montana. Magnolia, California white supremacist found guilty of murder. Arrest of wanted white supremacist leads to meth trafficking bust in Idaho. Seven alleged skinhead members arrested in San Bernardino, California. Violent white supremacist to be released from jail in Calgary, Alberta. A college student in Washington State encounters a white supremacist gathering in the woods. Good things Fort Collins. Colorado considers becoming a “hate-free” city. The United Methodist Women of Muncie, Indiana sponsor a program on racial justice. Princeton, New Jersey holds a 4-part series exploring white privilege. Brattleboro, Vermont rallies when high school students partake of a racist organization. Delray Beach, Florida establishes a race relations initiative. The U.N. racism conference Obama decided the U.S. would boycott the U.N. conference on racism. The move was criticized by an Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and black pundits among others. Australia boycotted too, but sent an observer. Nonetheless, U.N. officials declared the conference a success (Article 1, Article 2). In the meantime, Obama found a different platform from which to condemn racism. International White privilege operates in Latin America. South African democracy is shaped by the presence of the colonizer within. The mayor of London is criticized for cancelling anti-racism concert. Racist bullying is found to be a problem in schools in Great Britain. Campus watch Anti-racist students at the University of North Carolina challenge an emerging white supremacist group. Virginia Tech backtracks from diversifying faculty. Local reaction takes the school to task. Asian students at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania are assaulted and called racist names. Sonoma State University invests in whiteness. There is a loophole in rules for diversity representation at Brandeis University. Robert Jensen makes an appearance at Harvard. A Detroit area high school interim superintendent resigns under pressure, blames it on racism.         HUMOR   A North Carolina small business produces a spoof ad with racial theme. So they really do exist. “I don’t care if you are black, white purple or green…”     PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE   Racist names, racist places. Language and the Native American experience. Color an Indian: The struggles of an anti-racist parent. Chicagoan Michael Rabbitt is committed to anti-racism and social justice. Interracial couple pictured kissing on St. Louis weekly magazine cover draws out racist reaction. It caught them by surprise. Interview with Damali Ayo, from Stuff White People Do. Is “Canadian” a new white code word for black people? Preferences in the realm of interracial dating.     ARTS, FASHION & ENTERTAINMENT   Crash remains the top DVD rental. Racism in Hollywood, The inside story. This can happen when white people sing the blues. Dog the Bounty Hunter says he doesn’t want to forget racial slur. White hip hop artist voices racist themes.     HISTORY, HERITAGE & TRANSFORMATION   Africans came with Columbus to new world. Marshall, Texas and the Klan in 1922. New Orleans’ rich history of mixing races. Thomas Jefferson embodied many contradictions.     BOOKS   Christian White Nationalism in the Age of Obama, by Bill Berkowitz.     OPINION & ANALYSIS   "Can a white woman be a womanist?" Womanist Musings, April 7, 2009. "Time to bring 'white privilege' lesson home to its local origins," by David Squires. dailypress.com, April 16, 2009. "Black on black killing: A tool of white supremacy," by Deric Muhammad. FinalCall.com, April 18, 2009. "The privilege of just being a PERSON: Whiteness and race anxieties," by Berneta Haynes. Nickel for a Thought, April 26, 2009. "The will to secede," by Alan Bean. Friends of Justice, April 27, 2009.     EVENTS How to submit an event CLICK April 30 - May 2, 2009 Bridgeport, CT "Undoing Racism" Workshop The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, and AntiRacist Alliance CLICK May 6-8, 2009 New York City "Undoing Racism" Workshop The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, and AntiRacist Alliance CLICK May 11, 2009 Princeton, NJ "Engaging together to explore white privilege" Workshop Princeton Public Library, and Not In Our Town CLICK July 7-12, 2009 Lyons, MN "Doing our own work. A seminar for anti-racist white people" Seminar Allies for Change CLICK July 23-26, 2009 Los Angeles, CA "Unmasking Whiteness Institute" Institute AWARE-LA