Race and Occupy Wall Street

[xchrom]

http://www.thenation.com/article/164212/race-and-occupy-wall-street

The incident is well-known now. When civil rights hero Representative John Lewis asked to address Occupy Atlanta, the activists’ consensus process produced a decision not to let him speak. For many, the denial was a damning answer to a question that had arisen since the earliest, overwhelmingly white occupiers first took over Zuccotti Park: Is Occupy Wall Street diverse enough?

“Diverse enough for what?” is the query that leaps to mind. Diversity alone will not ensure that OWS advances an economic change agenda that is racially equitable.

The notion of taking over Wall Street clearly resonates with communities of color. Malik Rhassan and Ife Johari Uhuru, black activists from Queens, New York, and Detroit, respectively, started Occupy the Hood to encourage and make space for people of color to join the movement. On October 19, a different group, Occupy Harlem, put out “a call to Blacks, Latinos, and immigrants to occupy their communities against predatory investors, displacement, privatization and state repression.”

Such interventions have been necessary. The original OWS organizers didn’t consciously reach out to communities of color at the beginning; as a result, many people of color felt alienated. But local movements seem able to self-correct—and some newer occupations have been racially conscious from the start.

[Starry Messenger]

1. k&r

[shraby]

2. Two points left out of the article. One, Lewis is a politician

and the OWS is staying apolitical. The second, if someone wants the "mic check" they have to wait in turn. Same thing happened to the Mayor of Oakland..she had to wait her turn to speak, but that's something politicians are not used to.
Here is an example of how that works..making TPTB listen to the people they purport to represent.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbmjMickJMA&feature=player_embedded#t=28s>

[Cal Carpenter]

3. The John Lewis example is NOT good, but an important question is raised here

John Lewis was not given a stage because he was essentially interrupting a GA meeting and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He was offered a chance to speak at other times. He wasn't offended by what happened. It wasn't about race.

However, there is no doubt that race is a serious topic that needs to be discussed at the Occupy movements, one that I spent hours (as a white person) talking about with people of color when I was there.

There is a mentality among many at OWS, particularly younger white folks, that we are somehow in a 'post-racial' society, if we are just willing to believe it. The only people with the luxury of making such a claim are those who are not systemically or culturally discriminated against because of race.

There were other signs too, like when a direct action event in Queens was being discussed, sending hundreds of OWSers there in solidarity for an march/rally involving foreclosures - which clearly had a racial angle as many of these foreclosures are a result of predatory lending against poor black people (as has been shown statistically) - and some people at the park seemed to think that the people from Queens should come to Manhattan to support OWS rather than going there - to an event that was already planned - in solidarity. IMO this showed a disconnect of understanding what and who this movement is about and what the real conditions are.

For the record, the crowd at Zucotti Park was much less white than I expected going in, so in that way, things aren't as bad as some are making it out to be.

But this is something that can't be wished away - the systemic racism by the government and the financial industry has to be confronted, and people's own illusions about where we stand as a society have to be dispelled, discussed openly and honestly, no matter how uncomfortable it may make white people feel. This is a vital aspect of the movement and if it is avoided it will weaken the movement.

[TBF]

4. Quanell X is the leader of the New Black Panther party in Houston -

so I imagine the Panthers are still active in other large cities. I don't know if they've been approached to join this movement, but I hope they feel welcome (and would be welcomed). We can't do this alone - we need everyone.