MidAtlantic Gathering, March 2005

The event

On March 11 & 12, 35 people representing 14 white anti-racist groups assembled in Plainfield, NJ to meet one another and share experiences in their work and their lives. Billed as the Mid-Atlantic White Anti-Racist Gathering, the conference was convened by the White Anti-racist Community Action Network and hosted by the northern New Jersey-based group, White Organizers for Racial Justice and Equity.

Although the conference organizers and participants were aware that a number of white anti-racist groups exist across the country, to our knowledge this was the first time groups such as ours joined together, as such, in a single event. Among those present, the conference represented a mutual and intentional act of shared interests, support, and collective engagement with the practice of white anti-racism. Each group present agreed beforehand to be identified as a co-sponsor of the gathering.

History of the conference

This conference is a direct outgrowth of the White Anti-racist Leadership Conference held in New Orleans in November 2002. That event was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of White American Culture (Roselle, NJ) and European Dissent (New Orleans, LA). Fifty participants from across the United States attended the Leadership Conference. After a weekend of discussion, conference participants divided themselves into regions in order to continue organizing after the conference ended.

One of the regions was the "Mid-Atlantic." Members of the Mid-Atlantic region established a listserv and remained in touch. Individual members pursued local projects, some of which were multiracial in character, and some of which include white anti-racist organizing.

Jeff Hitchcock and Jorge Zeballos attended the November 2002 conference and initiated the present conference project. They drew up a preliminary plan, set a date and located a facility for the conference. Planning was shared with members of the Mid-Atlantic listserv.

The registration process began in the winter of 2005. Registration was done by group. Each group that registered named representative that would attend on their behalf. Representatives were invited to join the Mid-Atlantic listserv and conference details were distributed by email to this list.

The conference organizing was done under the auspices of the White Anti-racist Community Action Network (WACAN). WACAN is the organizing arm of the Center for the Study of White American Culture. WACAN is itself an outgrowth of the 2002 Leadership Conference in New Orleans. One of the lessons carried away from that event was that white anti-racists and their supporters are not a cohesive group. Community-building and relationship-building events and projects are needed to develop broader networks and nurture a readiness to act on regional and national levels.

White Organizers for Racial Justice and Equity, a group that had been meeting for around 18 months in the central New Jersey area, volunteered to act as the local host the conference. Bonnie Cushing, a member of this group, joined the planning group. As groups registered for the conference, they agreed to be listed as co-sponsors of the event.

What was the call?

The call went out by email on December 28, 2004. It contained details on logistical concerns such as dates, location, lodging and meals. The call also gave the reason for the gathering, which was:

To support and encourage the development of white anti-racist organizing in general, and to address the following needs of white anti-racist groups:

• Connecting
• Networking
• Creating community
• Building skills
• Sharing and comparing experiences
• Becoming visible
• Furthering our work

The conference organizers were concerned with developing a collective white anti-racist consciousness, and so the decision was made to focus on groups rather than individuals. The organizers had heard of previous organizing efforts aimed at bringing together individual white anti-racists that had floundered when differing points of view presented ideological barriers to the organizing process.

In the present case, the organizers established clear criteria for what they considered a "white anti-racist group." The criteria were written in such a way that people could organize a group in time for the conference. As it turned out, people tested the entry criteria and a process of negotiation took place in some instances between the organizers and the various groups who sought to register. Some individuals were discouraged from attending, and some groups were counseled to adjust their focus. Primarily this consisted of establishing white caucuses from groups that had a multiracial mission and purpose, and no prior formation that was specifically and explicitly white anti-racist in nature.

The registration process allowed for people of color to attend if they were associated in some way with a registered (white anti-racist) group. The planners put some thought into developing accountability to people of color. Ultimately, despite the thought given to the process, only two people of color attended the event. One, Jorge Zeballos, was central to the planning and eventual facilitation at the event itself. The other person of color attended with one of the co-sponsoring groups.

As part of the registration process, groups were asked to provide a mission statement. For many groups, this required drafting a statement. The requirement for a mission statement was set in order to do the following:

• help the organizers assess whether the group fit the idea of a white anti-racist group;
• help each group assess its own fit to the idea of being a white anti-racist group;
• provide a means by which each group might learn about the purpose of other groups;
• To emphasize the focus of the conference on collective processes.

However, it was not the intent of the organizers to be overly formal. While we sought for groups to have an understanding of what it meant to be a "white anti-racist group," we did not require a great deal of experience or expertise. Nor did we impose any ideological or political requirements other than those already stated. It was felt that white anti-racist activity might be done in any number of different ways. One purpose of the conference was to simply share what was being done. There was no presumption that participating groups would move toward some consensus or merge into a single philosophy or approach.

Full text of the December 28 call.

Who came

List of groups and representatives.

Missions of the groups.

What happened

The agenda was very simple. Friday night was arranged to allow confierence participants mix and mingle. Saturday was given to reports for the attedndiing groups, followed by a closingpersiond of assessment and future planning.

Friday night

Participants assembled in the large meeting room and the conference organizers took a few moments to discuss the conference purpose, context and logistics. Conference participants introduced themselves and said a few words about where they were from. Then participants were place into pairs and asked to discuss a question with one another.

Pairs were selected through a simple device. Squares of construction paper were handed out. There were a possible six colors, and each participant had one color. Participants were then asked to pair up by color combinations. For instance, those with a red square were asked to partner with a person who had a yellow square. Those with a green square were asked to partner with those with a blue square, etc. Since this was a "get acquainted" exercise, participants were asked to pair with someone they did not know. This paring was easily accomplished. The pairs then discussed the question, "What does it mean to be a white antiracist?"

After several minutes of discussion, the group re-assembled and reported on their discussions. Then a second round of pairing took place. Everyone kept their same square of paper, but this time different color combinations were used, such that no pair contained the same two people as the first round. The same procedure of paired discussion and then large group report out was used. Participants then followed this procedure for a third and final time, again using new color combinations.

The question for the second round was, "What has brought you to this conference?" and for the third round, "How do hierarchies of privilege and oppression bear upon your experience as a person relating to white people?"

The third question was asked in order to bring discussion of other, non-racial, types of privilege (e.g. class, sexual orientation, gender) into the room. The organizers felt that the impact of these differing hierarchies needed to be aired-that in fact they would be aired-and this was best done "up front" rather than at some later time.

The evening finished with a simple closing ritual.

Saturday

Saturday beganwith a series of announcements, followed by a recap of the precious evening. Some representatives had not been able to attend the Friday night session, and so were in the room fr the first time.

Next a formal roll call of groups took place. The name of each group was called in order, and the group was asked to identify their representatives and hand in the copies of their mission statement they had been asked to bring. The organizers wanted to begin the day emphasizing the presence and importance of each group, and so this ritual was designed to serve that purpose.

Group presentations

The balance of the Saturday program consisted of presentations and reports from each group. Afte the roll call, each huddled and discussed what they would present. At the same time, volunteers took the collected mission statement and collated them into packets so that each participant had a packet containing the statement from each group.

The organizers wanted to incorparte some humor into the process, believing that white anti-racists are sometimes ofverly somber and self-absorbed. So groups were asked to think of a joke about white anti-racists as part of their presentation.

The presentations began in the late morning and carried into the late afternoon. Lunch was on the conference--catered Chinese food, buffet style.

Summary of presentations

The following summaries are taken from notes, and do not reflect the entire range and scope of the presentations. Also, the order of presentations was notpre-determined. Groups simply volunteered to go when they were ready. The present report writed did not record the order in which groups presented, and so the summare=ies here are listed alphabetically, and not by order of presentation.

Allies Working for Anti-Racist Education (Philadelphia) was represented by a member, but the group itself has come to an end after a few years operation. The group representative felt the group had served a good purpose, but its time had come and members were drawn in other directions. Attending the conference was providing a sense of closure for her. So, it was not necessarily a bad thing that the group was expiring. The commitment to anti-racism by the group representative continues.

The Antiracist Alliance (white Caucus) (New York City and Westchester County, NY) is a caucus group organized specifically to attend the conference. The Antiracist Alliance is a multiracial group that focuses on the social work profession and works closely with the People's Institute. Over the past two years the group has sponsored a dozen PI trainings for social workers, and drawn the involvement of social work educators at schools of social work in the New York City and Westchester Co. area. They continue to sponsor 4 PI trainings per year. The group also holds monthly support group meetings. Persons attending must first complete the PI training.

The Baltimore Anti-Racism Network (Baltimore) was founded after the 2000 New Orleans White Anti-racist Leadership Conference. The group is multiracial, but in a slightly different way than usual. The main working part of the group is the white caucus, which meets monthly. People of color form a caucus, but do not meet as often. Their role is to form part of the umbrella group and to hold the white caucus accountable in its actions. One critique provided to the white caucus by people of color is that white people also have to hold each other accountable. It's not always the role of people of color to do so. The group has gone through a period of reflection on values, such as whether they are an anti-racist group and/or do they have a broader anti-oppression focus. They are now clear they are anti-racist and want to retain those values. Consequently they ask new members to read and show understanding of their mission statement. The group is looking to bring in young people and people over 40. The white caucus is also looking at foundation funding in the Baltimore area-who gets what.

The DC Anti-Oppression group (Washington, DC) began their presentation with a dramatization of one of their group's meetings. They are struggling with the question of whether they are a discussion group or an action group. It was noted that anti-sexist men tend to take a step back. Women take on leadership, but they also need help and men stepping back all the time is not necessarily a good thing.

European American Privilege Group (Middlesex County, NJ). This group has started a court watch project whereby they attend court sessions and makes note about how people of color are treated. They carry clipboards and believe they get noticed by court officials and that their presence makes a difference in how these officials act. The project is in its beginning stages and so they have not reached any conclusions as yet.

Man to Man (Rockland and Orange Counties, New York) comes out of a NOMAS (National Organization of Men Against Sexism) framework, and they are also guided by the analysis of the People's Institute. Membership is open. Men often come to the group due to relationship difficulties. There is a lot of turnover in membership, but there is a core of about 6 men who are clear on their values.

Montclair Undoing Racism White Caucus (Montclair, NJ) was formed within the last year following an Undoing Racism training by the People's Institute that was sponsored by the local Universalist Unitarian church. Ron Chisom of the People's Institute recommended that white people get together to support one another in anti-racist analysis and action. They are working on their mission and looking to move to action. Support is very important to the members.

Philadelphia Queer Anti-Racist Group (Philadelphia). This is a fairly new group, having met four times. Thirty people attended the first meeting. Now about 15 people remain active. The group has established subgroups on the topics of accountability, action and bridge-building, education, and a mission statement group. There is a strong sense that the groups wants to do "support work" with groups led by people of color. They are working on the questions of how does a white group develop a relationship with a group of people of color? How do they build trust as an organization?

White Awareness in Action (Philadelphia and southern New Jersey) began in 1999. The founder felt there was too much focus on the "Other" and some focus needed to be placed on the self as white. Group members support each other in their individual and group actions. They are not really tied to their name. Originally they simply called themselves "the white group." One action the group has taken is sponsoring a series of performances by Playback for Change, a theatre group that uses role-playing to discuss social issues. The performances focused on racial concerns, and included a session that specifically looked at white privilege and identity.

The White Caucus of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Ad Hoc Group on Racial Justice and Equality (eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey). That's a mouth full. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is a regional body of Quakers. The ad hoc group is a group assembled within that body to deal with racial concerns. The white caucus was organized under the impetus of attending the present conference. They pointed out that Quakers are a predominantly white group, and it is difficult bringing an anti-racist focus to white liberals. One task the group is undertaking is a re-examination of their history with the goal of identifying and clarifying how racism has operated within and among Quakers.

White Friends Working to End Racism (New York and northern New Jersey) was another Quaker group, in this case organized in the New York region (New York Yearly Meeting). Members encountered the same conditions as the Philadelphia group, i.e. trying to raise consciousness among a predominantly white and liberal group. The group spent several months considering its purpose, mission and goals, and now has made itself public by publishing a statement of its purpose. They anticipate this will raise controversy and provide an opportunity for discussion and change.

White Organizers for Racial Justice and Equity (northern New Jersey) are a group of organizers who are active each in their own surround. They meet together on a monthly basis for mutual support, discussion and sharing in the development of perspective. The group has not been action oriented, per se, but did serve as the local host for the conference.

The White Privilege Awareness Project (Mt. Holyoke College, Massachusetts) is a student group that originally formed from a group of students who attended a class by Professor Beverly Tatum. It has gone through two name changes and is considering a third name. Membership is now issue-based and not identity-based. A current issue before the group is their stance on action. Turnover between semesters hurts the group and makes it difficult to operate a consistent program. There is a continuing need to educate new members. Students of color on campus do not have a visible presence and this creates problems for white students locating and positioning their own anti-racist activism. Last year the group sponsored a conference, and is planning another conference for 2006.

White Women's Caucus for Racial/Ethnic Equity (greater Metro DC area) has met for a couple of years. They have worked on how to transition new members into the group while retaining value for old members. Two issues that now concern them are accountability to people of color, and whether to establish specific action goals for working together. As women they recognize that white women have often been complicit with white men in fostering white supremacy and thereby need to be active agents for change.

Jokes:

Q. How many white anti-racists does it take to change a light bulb?
A. We don't know yet. We'll let you know.

Being a white anti-racist means you really do have a best friend who is black.

Q. How many white anti-racists does it take to change a light bulb?
A. White anti-racists don't change anything.

Being a white anti-racist means having the gift of ignorance, of always feeling you don't know something.

Being a white Quaker working to end racism is to say everyone's a little crazy except thee and me, and sometimes I wonder about thee.

Being a white anti-racist is always having to say you're sorry.

Outcome and Reflections

The Friday night activity was very well received. Participants liked the opportunity to mix using the semi-structured discussion, and also felt the questions were very helpful. Some participants who showed up on Saturday, having heard about the night before during the Saturday morning review, felt they had missed something worthwhile. The organizers had hoped the Friday night session would be meaningful, but had not anticipated the degree to which participants found it engaging and important to their experience.

Saturday proceeded smoothly. Most of the time was simply spent learning about each group through the presentations. The discussion was engaging, but did not involve much in the way of controversy. As the day moved on, the assembled participants began to be a little more critical of each group. Criticism was offered in a supportive mode, with suggestions being made for how each group might re-examine its mission, and questions asked about why each group had made certain choices and emphasized various aspects of their mission.

In the final moments of the conference, which was scheduled to end at 5:00 PM, discussion turned to reflections on how the event went, and what to do next. It was generally agreed that the conference should be held again. Indeed, the decision somehow seemed to be made even before the questions was asked. Discussion centered not on whether to meet again, but when and how. It was decided we will re-convene in a year and the Baltimore Anti-Racism Network will take the lead as the host group for next year's conference.

The question of the presence of people of color arose, with the concern being that with only two people of color present, their role was not clear and the conference did not have much to offer them. Although the organizers had carefully worked out roles for people of color and white people (see the Call), and made known during the registration period who among the registrants were white people and who were people of color, the issue was still troubling. Discussion carried on in a somewhat awkward way as the conference ran over by 30 minutes and some people had to depart.

Aside from this final and awkward moment, the general consensus was that the conference was a success. Part of that may be that, given the time we had, we were only able to focus on getting to know each other, group-wise and individually. The timeframe did not allow us to discuss points of philosophy, analysis and practice. It's likely there were substantial differences among people and groups on these matters.

At the same time, by paying attention to who could attend, and maintaining a boundary the placed emphasis on white anti-racist groups, there was enough of a common denominator that participants did not feel at odds. It was very enlightening to see the large number of groups actually "out there"-something which the organizers and most participants did not know. And it helped to learn how other groups were struggling to define themselves and the work they are doing. Issues of accountability and action-orientation seemed to be common concerns.