The conversation on race in our country is changing. Once a subject left to be discussed by civil rights leaders, organizers and a few non-profits, race is now a topic for many. Names like Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and so many more have led to widespread conversations on race. The numerous anniversaries marking milestones of the Civil Rights Movement and, yes, that the President IS Black also factor in to discussions about the rolerace and racism play in our society.
Yesterday we saw a relatively new entrant into the discussion: Starbucks, in a partnership with USA Today. Starbucks has committed to socially conscious practices in the past including hiring vets, banning open weapons in their stores, and supporting gay marriage. A public dialog on race is new for Starbucks. While we applaud Starbucks for their effort to engage a topic that many seek to avoid, and while their efforts seem well intentioned, we, as a national racial justice organization, with a name similar to the hashtag used in the campaign feel compelled to say: As a nation, we need more.
Race Forward is unique in the racial justice world. While many organizations focus on the needs of a particular group, we are a multiracial organization that considers how race intersects with many different factors, including economic status, sexual orientation, and gender; we address race in many issue areas including employment, education and police brutality, to name a few. We also publish Colorlines, a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis. We produce cutting edge, original research on pressing racial justice issues. We present trainings that offer to help individuals and organizations identify solutions to systemic racism. Finally, we produce Facing Race, a biennial conference that is the largest multiracial, multi-issue gathering of racial justice advocates in the country.
Effective conversations on race are grounded in the understanding that racial discrimination isn’t just, or even mostly, about what happens among individuals. It is about what happens as a result of systems. For example, if we consider that Ferguson was about an altercation between an unarmed teen and a police officer, we miss the opportunity to consider the entire picture. If, instead, we understand the shooting of Michael Brown as a result of a pattern of racially biased practices by law enforcement and the municipality of Ferguson, then we can identify policies and practices that truly change relations between residents and police. As we uncover in our report, “Moving the Race Conversation Forward“, too often our national discourse forces us to focus on individual issues. The result? We remain stuck in a circular discussion that generally consists of accusation and defense, with few solutions to be found.
We agree with Starbucks and USA Today that conversations about race can be constructive and rewarding, and that they are necessary. But just any old conversation won’t do. A conversation that leads to something other than frustration requires preparation, a systems analysis, and potential solutions that reach beyond changing individual mindsets or behavior. We have to address the rules that govern our institutions and shape our lives – many of which appear to be race-neutral in their intention, but are far from neutral in their impact. Luckily, Race Forward has plenty of resources for digging into exactly these issues.
I have heard some say, “Any conversation should be welcomed; even if it’s not great, it’s OK.” To that, my response is, “Communities of color have had to accept “OK” for far too long. Just as Starbucks and USA Today strive for excellence in the way they approach coffee and journalism, those of us who are committed to racial justice are similarly committed to excellence. Communities who are the targets of racism deserve more than “OK” and our collective democratic ideals of fairness and inclusion demand more from all of us. Let us not settle for what is simply “OK” when we have full information on what can create lasting change.
If what I believe is true, that the leaders of Starbucks and USA Today really want the nation to race together, we offer the opportunity to partner with RaceForward. There are so many things that we can do – together indeed – to move our country toward racial justice and unity. We’d be happy to discuss it over coffee, and the morning paper.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy