Working Group Discusses the History of US Racism

Howard University students protest outside the National Crime Conference in Washington, DC, 1934 (© Bettmann, Getty Images), from the Equal Justice Initiative’s website www.eji.org.

By Courteney Leinonen
Convener, Racial Justice Working Group of the Advancing Human Rights Issues Committee

On May 24, 2018, the Racial Justice Working Group convened in its monthly meeting and discussed a selection of materials on the overall topic of racial terrorism and the construction of systemic racism in the US.

To enact our mission (see below), this month we particularly used materials from the Equal Justice Initiative on the history of lynching in the US and the racist transition from slavery to mass incarceration. We also read the article "The Heartbeat of Racism Is Denial" by Ibram X. Kendi, published in the New York Times on January 13, 2018. These materials demonstrate historicity, which is needed to fully confront our racist history.

The pervasiveness of racism and our inability to escape from it were discussed at length in the call. The discussion further elaborated on how racism is strongly present regardless of class status, education, or any other part of life that tends to be viewed by society as “immune.” The lasting question was whether we as an American society understand the legacy of racism and how it deeply impacts us. For WILPF to be a stronger ally in movements for racial justice, there needs to be an understanding of the dark past of the United States that has presented itself today.

The Racial Justice Working Group’s mission is to:

• Deepen the understanding of race in the US context
• Establish a greater understanding of movements for racial justice
• Develop an understanding on how WILPF can become better allies and members of racial justice movements
• Acknowledge that we have all fallen victim to white supremacy
• Leave the “helping” mentality, instead, working together to achieve a goal

Our working group aims for WILPF members and the wider community to develop a sense of self-reflection in terms of race. To become stronger members of the movement for racial justice in the US, a deeper understanding of race in the US context is needed. To know a movement is to grow a movement!

Join Our Next Call!

We invite you to join the next of our monthly meetings on Thursday, June 28 at 5 pm pacific / 6 pm mountain / 7 pm central / 8 pm eastern! If you are not already registered, please register via Maestro Conferencing.

 For more information, contact:

Courteney Leinonen, Racial Justice Working Group (AHR) Convener, courteneyleinonen@gmail.com; Barbara Nielsen, AHR Co-Chair, bln.sf.ca@gmail.com.