When Movements Are Guilty of What They Are Trying to Challenge
In some multiracial movements, unity means ignoring Black suffering.
In 2014, I was part of an activist organization that worked across various social issues—education equity, economic justice, labor rights, and environmental racism. We were hungry for a deeper structural understanding of relationships of power, and a strategy to transform those relationships. One afternoon, we met to discuss topics for future political education; we were holding webinars to, in part, encourage people to join the organization. Three African Americans, two Latinas, one white man, and one Asian man sat around the table. As we discussed political education, I suggested that we do a session on Black Lives Matter and Black resistance. By then, my
