Dismantling the Racism Machine: Insights on White Supremacy and Anti-Racism
Dr. Karen Gaffney delves into the systemic nature of racism and enlightens on the interplay between white supremacy and capitalism. Her work emphasizes debunking myths like biological racial differences and offers actionable steps through her manual and toolbox for anti-racism work, aiming to bridge the gap in understanding racial issues. The presentation includes key myths, group activities, and resources for practical anti-racism initiatives.
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Dismantling the Racism Machine: What White People Are Not Taught About White Supremacy Dr. Karen Gaffney English Department Raritan Valley Community College, NJ Author, Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox Blog: dividednolonger.com Email: Karen.Gaffney@raritanval.edu Twitter: @dividednolonger Pronouns: she/her/hers
Where I begin People of color should not have to bear burden of teaching white people about racism As a white anti-racist educator, one contribution I can make is to help bridge the gap between what scholars who study race take for granted and what public knows (especially white people) For WCSA audience, highlight interlocking nature of white supremacy and capitalism
Todays workshop plan I ll highlight 3 key myths that white people are often taught that obscure reality of racism Then group activity where you ll apply myths to your work; plenty of time for discussion and action planning So please hold questions until I get through this overview I m only providing a brief intro to some of the concepts that my book discusses in much greater depth This Powerpoint is available on my blog dividednolonger.com
Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox Metaphor of racism machine to represent racism as systemic, human-made, and complex manual to show a step by step process for beginners to understand history and creation of race and racism toolbox to provide readers with options of resources and actions to best suit them dismantling the racism machine to emphasize tangible and practical nature of this project, including action steps
Step 1: Chip Away at the False Ideology that Race is Biological Ideology = myth or belief we re unknowingly indoctrinated into believing Powerful ideology prevents us from seeing the Racism Machine Instead of being able to confront and examine the Racism Machine, we don t see it and are distracted by a damaging myth
Reality Myth #1: Human races are biologically different There are no inherent or biological differences between groups we call races because race is a social construct (a human invention). Josiah Nott, Types of Mankind, 1854 Human DNA is 99.5% 99.9% identical; tiny difference does not correlate with race Light skin color is very recent adaptation No scientific way to separate humans by race Washington Post, 2016 Researchers at the University of Virginia quizzed white medical students and residents to see how many believed inaccurate and at times "fantastical" differences about the two races -- for example, that blacks have less sensitive nerve endings than whites or that black people's blood coagulates more quickly. They found that fully half thought at least one of the false statements presented was possibly, probably or definitely true.
Step 2: See the Racism Machine If we chip away at the false ideology that race is biological and recognize the reality that race is a human invention, then we start to see the Racism Machine. We ask: Who built it? When? Why? How?
Reality Myth #2: Race has always existed. Whiteness has always existed. Race is an invention, a relatively recent human invention. One location: Colonial Virginia, 1600s The line between servant and slave was ambiguous People didn t identify as black or white (nationality, language, religion) Skin color was not a dividing line Elite wealthy landowners vs. labor Bacon s Rebellion (1676) Race was invented to protect elite and divide and conquer the masses through the creation of a racial hierarchy (white supremacy and capitalism)
Step 2: See the Racism Machine, continued Racial hierarchy of white supremacy: people identified as white were given unearned economic advantages, including freedom from slavery and access to stolen indigenous land Racial hierarchy positioned black people at the bottom and black slaves were identified as chattel (property) with no rights In this hierarchy, indigenous peoples, Asian Americans, and Latinx people occupy various intermediary positions depending on the moment
Step 3: Examine the Racism Machine s Powerful Mechanisms Racial hierarchy of white supremacy was built into the creation of this nation and normalized through every system (law, housing, education, media, etc.) White supremacy and capitalism interlocked to protect the elite and preserve the status quo Mechanisms of laws and government policies carried out white supremacy and capitalism together: citizenship for whites only, Indian Removal, Manifest Destiny, Chinese Exclusion, Jim Crow segregation, convict leasing, Immigration Act of 1924, ban on interracial marriage, redlining, and more
Today Reality: white supremacy and capitalism continue to work hand in hand Myth #3: Racism occurred in the past, but it s over The civil rights movement ended racism. Systemic racism Rise in concentration of wealth at the top Hard work leads to success. Racial wealth gap We elected a black President, so racism must be over. Rise in corporate power You can achieve the American Dream if you just follow the rules. Stagnant wages Money s increased influence in politics
Step 4: Analyze the Racism Machines Recalibration after the Civil Rights Movement Backlash against civil rights movement intersected with increasing power of wealthy and corporations Again: White supremacy and capitalism interlock to protect the elite and preserve the status quo Again: use of divide and conquer strategies that continue to represent white people as fully human citizens who are real Americans
Again: Divide and conquer strategies that pit racial groups against each other to protect capitalism and the elite Model minority stereotype of Asian Americans (1966) established false narratives: If they can do it, racism is a thing of the past ; No need for more civil rights work American Dream is alive and well just work hard If there s a good minority there must be a bad minority African Americans stereotyped as: welfare queens (myth of welfare fraud leads to cuts to social services) dangerous criminals (leads to mass incarceration; I feared for my life ; I m calling the cops ) Latinx people stereotyped as illegal and not American Muslims stereotyped as terrorists Myth of voter fraud leads to voting restrictions All of these divide and conquer strategies are fueled by white fear of becoming the minority (Census)
Step 5: Take Apart the Racism Machine Recognize how people, especially white people, have been manipulated to believe pervasive false racial ideologies that are in the very air we breathe Confront the reality of the Racism Machine, how race was invented to divide and conquer, how our nation and institutions developed around that fundamental racial ideology, how it interlocks with capitalism Become undivided and unconquered Center the voices, experiences, and leadership of those who are marginalized - only when the most marginalized are free are we all free
Discussion: How can you apply one of these myths to your work/activism? Myth #1: Human races are biologically different Myth #2: Race has always existed. Whiteness has always existed. Myth #3: Racism occurred in the past, but it s over Small group discussion and reporting back to the group: Give everyone in your group a moment to introduce themselves Pick one of these myths as a group Group members can discuss how they might apply the myth to their teaching, organizations, activism, etc. Reminder: People of color should not have to bear burden of teaching white people about racism, so participants of color can choose how to engage with this activity
Thank you Thanks to the Working-Class Studies Association Check out my book: Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox On sale at conference bookstore, routledge.com and Amazon My blog dividednolonger.com has this Powerpoint and many resources Feel free to email me with feedback: Karen.Gaffney@raritanval.edu
