Topic #13: Organizing White People

Showing Up for Racial Justice, Santa Barbara, is a chapter of a national organization with over 150 chapters and affiliate groups committed to drawing white people into racial justice action as part of a multi-racial movement for racial justice.

You might be thinking, "Hmmm. White people organizing sounds a bit freaky." 

I understand your confusion, and you're not alone. The fact that you are concerned about white people organizing is a good thing. As the co-founder of the Santa Barbara SURJ chapter, this is the main concern I hear voiced by folks who I consider perfect candidates for our group. With the hope of calling you in to join the fight, I've tried to address some issues that may cause you to hesitate before diving in. Here they are:

Frequently Asked Questions About Showing Up for Racial Justice

1. Why do you need a group for “white people?” Doesn’t this approach contradict the whole point of racial “equality”?

We are not a "whites only" group by any means, and would never advocate such a group. SURJ has multiracial membership and everyone is welcome as members and at meetings. You may notice that most of our members are white or white-passing, because SURJ is meant to answer a direct call by communities of color for white people to organize their own racial communities to do two specific things:
1. Take responsibility for educating themselves and their own racial group about their own privilege and responsibility for/implication in systemic racism.
2. Work harder to directly support communities of color in their already-existing efforts to combat racism, racial injustice, and white supremacy.

These are our primary goals, but SURJ has an even more specific mission: We plan to move seven million white people in the next seven years to take action for racial justice. “Why seven million? Recent research shows that for a movement to succeed, it needs the active and sustained participation of 3.5% of the population. 3.5% of white people in the US is around 7 million.” (Silverman, 2015).

Research also indicates that reluctant people are far more likely to listen to and be persuaded by members of their own racial in-group. As white people ourselves, “calling white people in” to join the fight for racial justice is our duty and our strength. And it's not just our duty to people of color, it's our duty to the collective wellbeing of all members of our society, including our own race. We will all be better off when we abandon the fear-based scarcity model that has contributed to the oppression of people of color for centuries...but in order to change we must undo some seriously ingrained and often subconscious ways of thinking. SURJ tries to act as a catalyst for this change by organizing actions, hosting workshops, and sharing information directed at motivating white people specifically to better understand their own privilege and start acting for racial justice for a better world.

The call to action for white folks to organize their own people is not new: 

Malcom X (in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, 1964): “Where the really sincere white people have got to do their ‘proving’ of themselves is not among the black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America's racism really is—and that's in their own home communities; America's racism is among their own fellow whites. That's where sincere whites who really mean to accomplish something have got to work.”

Modern day racial justice activists continue to make this call to action:

Charlene Carruthers, national director of Black Youth Project 100 (from washingtonpost.com):
“White liberals and progressives have a responsibility to organize their communities for social justice using an explicitly ‘anti-black racism’ frame. There is no need to hide behind black or people of color organizations. Commit yourself to organizing poor and working class white folks. We are capable of organizing our communities.” 

SURJ members acknowledge that we do not know how to be perfect allies/accomplices/collaborators, and we never will because racism is an adaptable and shape-shifting disease. However, we cannot wait until we know how to do it perfectly. The time is now. SURJ National offers extensive support in the way of training and resources to help us be more effective and accountable allies/accomplices/collaborators for racial justice. We also write our own materials for our members, including White Allyship 101, which we ask potential members to read before participating in a SURJ meeting. We take our accountability to groups and organizations led by people of color very seriously and we always welcome feedback. We commit to making adjustments when we err, and we will always make every effort to do it “right,” which will be defined by the communities to which we are accountable, not by us. Some SURJ chapters choose to have a local Accountability Council and others seek direction from SURJ National. Since our chapter is in a small town where we already have relationships with the leaders of our partner organizations, we take direction and feedback from them directly without asking them to do the additional work of sitting on a council for us (see below for details).

2. It seems like a lot of this work is already being done by other groups both locally and nationally. Are you working with them?
Yes! Our mission, in part, is to work in support of already existing social and racial justice groups led by people of color, and to practice accountability to these partner orgs through frequent dialogue, direct collaboration on actions and events, and listening to feedback. Here is a partial list of organizations we have worked with or are currently working with: CAUSE, Black Lives Matter SB, The Movement for Black Lives, SBCC Black Student Union, ACLU, and Just Communities. We work to expand this list constantly. We also strive to develop relationships with progressive organizing groups that are majority white, in hopes of educating and persuading them about the importance of showing up for racial justice, specifically, in addition to the other causes they support.

3. Your group seems to be focused on (name any issue, cause or group) and I’m more concerned about (name any issue, cause or group). 
We really appreciate the concern that all people and groups suffering from racial injustice be supported by our work. When we focus more on one issue than another it is because a) current events require immediate attention to this issue, 2) we need to support what our partner groups are doing at the moment, or 3) we don’t have enough people in a workgroup dedicated to the specific issue. Rest assured that we hold each work group accountable for keeping us updated on how we can continually support each cause. Another important consideration is that working toward racial justice for any group is working for all groups. The issue that appeals to you most may not be connected to the group that is seeking our support at this moment, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t desperately needed in the fight. Here are the current workgroups you can join (we adapt these as necessary, and welcome new ideas): Showing Up for Muslims & Arab Americans Showing Up for Health Equity Showing Up for Environmental Justice Showing Up for Immigrant Rights Showing Up to Dismantle Racialized Policing Showing Up for Anti-Racism Education in Higher Ed. Showing Up for Racial Equity in K-12 Schools

4. How can I get involved? 

So glad you asked. Here is a list of things you can do RIGHT NOW to get up to speed with our work (if you join our group you will also receive a weekly email with other specific and time sensitive actions for each week):

GET INVOLVED WITH SURJ SB:

• Follow SURJ SB on Facebook, and come to our next monthly meeting posted on our page.
• Start taking responsibility for your own anti-racism education by viewing our Suggested Anti-Racism Resources

GET INVOLVED WITH SURJ NATIONAL

• Join SURJ National email list to receive regular information on justice work.
• Browse the SURJ National Website to get a better understanding of what we do.
• Consider starting a chapter if there isn't one where you live by using this toolkit

 I hope you'll consider joining us as one of the seven million.

Sincerely,

Carrie Hutchinson

SURJ SB Co-Founder