Local Anti-Racism Movements
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About Anti-Racism Movements
Racism is a pervasive institutionalized issue that deeply affects every level of society today. It manifests itself at the micro, meso, and macro levels of society and according to Beverly Tatum, it "is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals" (7, emphasis in original).
In order to fully understand the significance and prevalence of racism, it is crucial to have a fundamental understanding of the ways in which racism is believed to have originated. Authors James Boggs, Peter Loewenberg, and Gordon W. Allport all explore the sources and dynamics of racism and provide decidedly different yet equally valid theories.
Boggs argues that racism is a complex and on-going system, stating that it is “the product of systematic historical and cultural forces” (Boggs, 137). Rather than seeing racism as a problem of individual people oppressing other individual people, Boggs characterizes racism as entire races pitted against one another, calling this “the systemized oppression by one race of another” (Boggs 138). Boggs believes so strongly in the pervasiveness of systemized racism and its perpetuation in society that he finds individual people to be “barely conscious” (Boggs, 138) of the system’s existence.
Conversely, Loewenberg believes that racism is most aptly examined in terms of individuals. Loewenberg explores the causes and dynamics of racism among individual people, grounding his work in a psychological basis, rather than examining racism on a historical and institutional level as Boggs does. Loewenberg looks at individuals’ internal emotions and insecurities, and examines how these feelings can perpetuate or contribute to racism. More specifically, Loewenberg explores the human coping mechanisms of projection and displacement, attributing these as chief causes for racism. While Boggs would think that this discussion of acts of human weakness is entirely irrelevant to the overarching system of racism, Loewenberg believes it is the fundamental source of racism.
Gordon W. Allport is similar to Loewenberg in the sense that both authors perceive racism as being caused and influenced by individuals, rather than Boggs’s theory of a historical and cultural system. However, Allport and Loewenberg diverge slightly; Loewenberg looks at individuals’ psychological influences on racism, where as Allport examines individuals’ roles in and relationships with in-groups, which are defined by Allport as “any cluster of people who can use the term ‘we’ with the same significance” (Allport, 94).
The paradigms presented by Boggs, Loewenberg, and Allport all offer complimentary theoretical explanations for the causes and origins of racism in society. These authors demonstrate that racism is a real and significant issue that needs to be acknowledged. The most obvious way to address racism is to begin a dialogue, which is a point Beverly Tatum advocates in the introduction to Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Tatum writes, "Talking about racism is an essential part of facing racism and changing it. But it is not the only part. I am painfully aware that people of color have been talking about racism for a long time. Many people of color are tired of talking, frustrated that talk has not lead to enough constructive action or meaningful social change" (xix).
The Carlisle and Greater Carlisle area have been successful not only in opening the lines of communication and beginning a dialogue about racism, but in forming pro-active groups in an effort to make tangible progress, as well. These anti-racism efforts, meaning the counteraction of both the racial prejudices and the system of advantages that make up what we now recognize as racism, are multi-faceted and operate in a number of ways.
The groups are primarily community-based volunteer organizations composed of both individuals and organizations that work to create a climate that promotes opposition to hate, as well as respect for diversity among all people. Groups are usually formed in response to hate activities or the threat of such activity in their community, and remain active to address the underlying issues of racism and bigotry. (PADNET)
Currently, there is a great deal of anti-racism activity in the Carlisle and Greater Carlisle area. Organizations such as the YWCA Carlisle and AMANI have responded to racist activity in the community, such as visits by the KKK and the Westboro Baptist Church and other nationally recognized organizations, such as the NAACP, have formed branches in the Greater Carlisle and Greater Harrisburg area.
In the introduction to Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Beverly Tatum wrote, "Talking about racism is an essential part of facing racism and changing it. But it is not the only part. I am painfully aware that people of color have been talking about racism for a long time. Many people of color are tired of talking, frustrated that talk has not lead to enough constructive action or meaningful social change" (xix).
Racism, according to Tatum, "is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals" (7, emphasis in original).
What, then, is "anti-racism"? According to Webster's New World College Dictionary, the prefix "anti-" signifies something "that counteracts, that operates against" another force or movement. Anti-racism, then, must mean the couteraction or opposition of both the racial prejudices and the system of advantages that make up what we now experience or recognize as racism.
Community organizing is a process by which people are brought together to act in common self-interest. (Wikipedia) This is the first step towards the elimination of racism in the Carlisle community, and on a greater scale in the world community.
Unity groups are community-based volunteer organizations composed of both individuals and organizations that work to create a climate that promotes opposition to hate and respect for diversity among all people. Unity groups are usually formed in response to hate activities or the threat of such activity in their community, and remain active to address the underlying issues of racism and bigotry. Each local unity group is different... (PADNET)
There is a lot going on in the Carlisle and Greater Carlisle area in terms of anti-racism. Organizations such as the YWCA Carlisle and AMANI have responded to racist activity in the community, such as visits by the KKK and the Westboro Baptist Church. Other nationally recognized organizations, such as the NAACP, have formed branches in the Greater Carlisle and Greater Harrisburg area.
[1] Carlisle-based Organizations
Other Organizations
Find Out More
Group Members
- Zoë Artz (artzz@dickinson.edu)
- Anna Cumbie (cumbiea@dickinson.edu)
- Nina Scupp (scuppr@dickinson.edu)
