I was getting ready to leave for DC. The mass mobilization was gaining
momentum as the IMF/World Bank meetings approached at the end of the month.
I was excited about heading out early to do 'Anti-Racism for Global Justice'
workshops and get involved with the organizing. I woke up like millions
of other people on Sept. 11 to the news of tragic violence. Like
you, I was horrified. And like you, it has weighed heavy on my mind
and spirit every since.
Almost one month later and the bombs are dropping in Afghanistan.
The political landscape has been rocked by these recent events. While
the ground is still shifting rapidly, it is clear that our hope lies with
building an anti-war movement committed to anti-racist politics and the
agenda of global justice. Two movements that have gained significant
momentum in the last five years are those working against the prison industrial
complex and corporate globalization. Organizations and activists
from each of these movements are making important contributions to anti-war
efforts. Like many others, I believe that collaboration between these
two movements has enormous possibilities. This essay documents
some of this work and explores possibilities for social change in this
time period. Through alliance building, political education and developing
our capacity to organize, we work in this time of crisis to end war, challenge
racism and further all of our struggles for justice.
Within hours of the tragedy on 911, work began in the Bay Area to hold
a Solidarity Gathering and vigil the next night, Wed. the 12th. Over
600 people, mostly people of color, came out to collectively mourn the
loss of lives, to stand with Middle Eastern, South Asian and North African
communities against racist attacks and to reaffirm our commitment to work
for peace and justice. The vigil was put together by organizations
of color under the name 911 Solidarity Committee Against War and Racism.
The gathering was organized by and for people of color to demonstrate solidarity
in this time of crisis and to create space for leadership from people of
color in the emerging anti-war movement. The Committee has also organized
political education, a youth of color led march against war and racism
that brought out over 800 people and ongoing work as the bombing of Afghanistan
begins.
These actions have been organized primarily by people who have played an
enormous role in the growing youth of color led movement against the prison
industrial complex. The state-wide racist attack on young people
fueled Proposition 21, a juvenile crime ballot measure, which won in the
March 2000. Prop. 21 ignited a response from youth of color that has
been referred to as the beginnings of the next Civil Rights movement.
And just as the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in the 60's
helped launch the anti-war movement, young people of color today, who have
been at the forefront of racial justice struggles, are leading anti-war
efforts around the country.
In the Bay Area, STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary
Movement) who is part of the 911 Solidarity Committee Against War and Racism
released a statement that reads,
"Suffering under the boot of poverty, people around the world are becoming
more and more desperate. Neither police repression at home nor U.S. bombs
abroad will ease this fundamental despair; instead, they will only continue
this vicious cycle of frustration and violence. Ordinary people in the
United States can best deter future attacks by insisting that the U.S.
government abandon its oppressive role of keeping down workers and dominating
poor nations around the world. Increasingly, safety at home will require
justice abroad. Intensified police crackdowns at home and military savagery
abroad are not the answer; the answer is justice. We must not allow the
United States to respond with bombs for Third World people and continued
support for repressive dictatorships and rapacious corporations. Instead,
we demand that the US respond to this crisis with efforts to meet the legitimate
demands of the majority of the human family."
In LA, Tafarai Bayne of Youth Organizing Communities read an anti-war
statement at a recent press conference that was widely covered in Chinese,
Japanese and Spanish language newspapers and ignored by the LA Times.
YOC played a significant role in the fight against Prop 21 and focuses
on educational justice in the enormous public school system of LA.
Franchezska Zamora, an organizer with YOC, noted "our membership and constituency
is mostly people of color who have experienced discrimination based on
immigration status and racial profiling. We see how racism impacts
our families and communities and so we have a historical responsibility
to take an anti-war stand at this time." The anti-war statement has
been signed by over 40 groups in LA, which represent community, labor, service,
immigrant, and youth based organizations.
Meanwhile, on college campuses across the United States peace and justice
activists are mourning the loss of life, standing in solidarity against
racism and organizing against the war calling out "Our Grief is Not a Cry
for War" and "Stop the Racist Attacks". National student networks
who have spent past years organizing against sweatshops, environmental destruction,
the WTO/IMF/World Bank and corporate globalization came together to join
their calls for global justice with an explicit anti-war and anti-racist
stand. Actions ranged in size from a dozen to thousands.
In addition to anti-war and anti-racism protests, Arab, South Asian, Muslim,
North
African and Middle Eastern communities, all facing racist attacks, have
been organizing. In New York City, DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving)
is a freedom organization of and for low-income South Asians. DRUM
has put together a multi-lingual hotline, and is monitoring and documenting
INS abuses of immigrants in detention centers.
Solidarity against racism vigils have been held across the country.
An organizer in Chicago, who asked to remain anonymous, has been working
to bring mostly white people out to vigils in solidarity at Mosques and
she commented "As people build friendships through the vigils, I hope that
it begins to click for the people who attend that there is a fundamental
contradiction in saying that Muslim Americans should have the right to live
in peace while their grandmothers, aunts and cousins in Afghanistan should
be killed."
In addition to vigils, organizing efforts have been initiated to provide
physical solidarity. Requests have come in to groups doing escort
work to accompany children to and from school, to go with elders who simply
want to go for a walk or buy groceries. This current solidarity effort
brings challenges.
Chantel, an organizer who works in Middle Eastern communities has been
documenting and recording racist abuse and harassment. When asked
about pitfalls and possibilities for doing this kind of anti-racism work,
she responded with a list, which included, "Understand that Islamic/Muslim
communities are not all the same. Realize that people from the Middle
East have been fighting terrorists and their own governments for years.
Understand white privilege right now, I can't do the same type of activism
right now that a white person can because I have much more to lose.
Educate yourself about Middle Eastern culture and don't assume that everyone
is Arab or Muslim. It seems like most activists only know about the
struggle of women in Afghanistan and a few issues in Iraq, but there is so
much that we need to educate ourselves about in Yemen, Iran, Saudi, Bahrain,
Pakistan, etc. Please realize that the terrorists are not freedom fighters,
they are not anti-capitalists or revolutionaries, but rather they are fundamentalists
who use the word Islam and Muslim to further their own greedy political
agendas. Ask people what they would like and how you can be useful
rather than assuming you know what's best for other people. Support
the rights of immigrants who might be facing deportation with the new laws
being passed. Recognize that you have a responsibility to act in solidarity
with communities under racist attack. Also recognize that you are
a voice right now for so many people who can't speak (under threat of violence)
and that means being responsible."
"What possibilities and pitfalls do you see for organizing in the current
political situation", I asked. Stephanie Guilloud, an organizer and
educator in Olympia, Washington who played a major role in the mass mobilization
against the WTO in Seattle, responded, "I believe that the 911 events have
fundamentally changed our organizing work. The stakes have been changed
and we (who are white radicals) can no longer afford to pick and choose
issues as we find it convenient. The challenge of the current political
climate is to develop a movement that is not only focused on preventing
and stopping a war but also committed to a sustained struggle for justice
on all fronts. I think we have to slow down and strategize a long-term campaign
for true justice that incorporates an attack on all the oppressive forces
that led to this crisis."
She continued, "As white radicals who think we already know about racism
and how
it works, I believe we must take anti-oppression work seriously. If we
want to organize and mobilize people beyond our insular radical communities
we need to challenge each other and find language and analysis that is
accessible and movement-building. We need to develop long-term strategy
and sustainable tactics which includes positioning anti-racism work at
the core of our efforts."
The same question was posed to Van Jones, the Executive Director of the
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Both he and the Ella Baker Center
have been heavily involved in work against the prison industrial complex.
He replied "The top priority for grassroots activists is this: unite the
existing economic justice, environmental justice and criminal justice movements
against racism and war. Now is no time for us to run and hide in shame,
or start waving war flags around. Now is the time for the global, grassroots
movement for social justice to move up to the next level. Now - more than
ever - is the time for us to stand up and fight for a vibrant, multi-racial,
bottom-up democracy that can protect and preserve the web of life. Safety
at home requires economic and social justice here and abroad.
"Therefore, we must categorically reject Bin Laden's tactics of terror
via underground cells. And we must also reject Bush's tactics of terror
via overhead bombers. We must be willing to oppose the Bush agenda of global
corporate domination. And we must reject the Bin Laden agenda of global
religious domination. All together, our movements offer a third way out.
If we stay true to our transformative agenda, the hope unleashed in Seattle
and Durban will ultimately prevail over the fear unleashed in Manhattan
and D.C."
The days immediately following 911, I was scared (still am). I needed
to do something small to push myself, as well as begin to express an alternative
politics. I wore a T-shirt to work that reads "US Sanctions in Iraq
Kill Children". I was nervous at first, nervous that a customer at
the video store I work at might go off on me, or worse." Someone
read the front and then asked to read the back "Stop Genocide, Peace With
Iraq". I couldn't tell at first what she thought of it, then with
sadness in her voice, she said "That's why they hate us". She told
me about the nightmares she was having, planes exploding and buildings
crashing down around her, night after night. I didn't respond with
more information about US foreign policy, I just listened. I've been
trying to listen a lot to people, trying to really understand the multiple
reasons that people are hanging flags and singing 'God Bless America'.
Listening is central to good organizing and it's something that I often
forget.
Popular opposition and movements for justice are not made by rousing speeches
and large marches alone. As organizers we must also commit ourselves
to the day-to-day work of developing a sustained struggle for justice on
all fronts that is committed to anti-oppression work, as Guilloud highlights.
We must practice respect and come to understand the subtleties of solidarity
as we work to "unite the existing economic justice, environmental justice
and criminal justice movements against racism and war" as Jones suggests.
We must remain grounded and take care of each other in the process of confronting
this crisis so that we can "stay true to our transformative agenda" and
build upon the "hope unleashed in Seattle and Durban".
So how do we organize? Three strategies come to mind when thinking
about building an anti-war movement committed to anti-racist politics and
guided
by an agenda and vision of global justice:
Hence, Guilloud's emphasis on anti-oppression work cannot be overlooked,
particularly in times of crisis when emergency coalitions bring groups
together who don't traditionally collaborate. The more white activists
prioritize challenging white privilege and educating themselves about racism
and anti-racism, the more the movement as a whole grows stronger. Remember
that working together doesn't just mean speaking at the same rally.
Ask other people what they think, what possibilities they see for organizing.
Get coffee and learn more about each other and the groups you're involved
with. Organizing isn't just getting lots of people to a rally, it's
about building relationships which in turn build our collective power.
The second requires doing enormous work which has been happening all over
the country: teach-ins, study groups, discussion groups, forums, workshops,
lectures, and more. Mike Prokosch, an organizer and popular economics
educator in Boston who works with United for a Fair Economy, points out
that "the events of 911 have left an entire nation asking 'why?' It
is the responsibility of social justice activists to develop curriculum,
put on events and create opportunities for people to explore that question.
We need to give people the information and context of international politics
and encourage critical thinking. If we can help people develop their
own understanding of the world and give people a sense of their own power
then we will be contributing enormously to long-term social change efforts."
As organizers we work to connect the issues and build movement. As
radical educators we connect the issues and develop analysis and vision.
We should think of our rallies and marches as, at once, mobilizing people
who are already engaged and as political education for new people.
In a time of crisis lots of folks are looking for information and in times
of war lots of folks get active for the first time. We need to nurture
the choir while also engaging the congregation.
The third requires that we get ourselves organized. When new folks
come to meetings we need to be able to find easy ways to plug them in.
Folks are coming out because they are confused, enraged or sad. We
need to be able to channel that energy into handing out leaflets, putting
up posters, making phone calls, going to political education events to
deepen their/our knowledge and going to actions. We also need to
be welcoming and friendly. Surveillance and infiltration by the state
is a reality. Our greatest protection is also our strength, building
popular movements for social change.
As new folks are coming in we need to be giving people skills to participate.
Workshops on media, direct action, anti-racism, strategic campaign design,
grassroots organizing help to build the coalition or group. Trainings
are good for people who have already been around as well. In a time
of crisis, an organizing dynamic can manifest in which the most experienced
activists go into overdrive mode and everyone else tries to keep up.
It is in these times of crisis when it is even more important for people
to conceptualize organizing as encouraging others to act, to help others
build confidence in their abilities to act and to provide training and
education to help others act effectively. Even as we try to bring
out lots of folks to rallies and teach-ins, we should also be committed
to developing other people's leadership and building organizations that
allow people to practice political work. As we challenge injustice,
we also need to challenge ourselves and each other to grow and become more
effective in our work for justice.
We are in difficult times, but if we listen carefully, think strategically,
and persevere, then we can work for a world inwhich the tragic events of
911 will not ever be repeated anywhere.