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Addressing Racism and #OccupyWallStreet

October 26, 2011 at 9:00 am by: seeta Category: Anti-Racism, Civil Rights, White Privilege

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From People of Color Organize:

According to the main websites associated with #OccupyWallStreet, it is “one people, united,” a “leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions,” and an “open, participatory and horizontally organized process.” In other words, it professes to be the universal protest against the greed and corruption rampant in our society, open for anyone to join and shape.

But a quick survey of the movement so far shows that that the good intentions outlined do not reflect the reality of the situation. There is indeed an organizational structure and a core group that makes leadership decisions in #OWS (and we think this is a good thing). They are the media team at the media command center, the committee facilitators and the people who have been actually occupying the park for the past three weeks. One only needs to take a good look around to see that the leadership and the core group—which has managed to attract enormous national and international media attention—is overwhelmingly white (and largely male), and as a result the voices and perspectives of #OccupyWallStreet reflect that reality more generally.

Luckily, some people who have felt excluded or erased from “the 99%” have spoken up, alerting us to the notion that the anti-corporate occupation in Liberty Park may not be as welcoming to all as its image of consensus-bound activists, non-hierarchical structure, and free food has suggested to many (see http://bit.ly/q9q10C; http://bit.ly/oABMbQ; and http://bit.ly/oTBcfs for some examples).

One striking example of the marginalization of non-white voices within the movement was seen at the march on Friday against police brutality. Because this march was organized by activist groups in conjunction with #OWS, it was by far the most diverse rally yet. But towards the end of the march, when organizers were speaking to the group at One Police Plaza, a black woman near the speakers was clearly agitating for her voice to be heard. Despite the line of white people speaking before her, a white #OWS organizer spoke to the crowd and informed them that within a few minutes, the march would be over and everyone should leave peacefully. Of course, that meant that as soon as he was finished speaking everyone got up to leave. As the black woman (the lone black voice speaking in a march against police brutality) got up to speak, her voice was lost because by that point no one was paying attention.

Full piece here.

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Churchlady

It's bothering me a lot that the movement is so overwhelmingly white.  It also bothers me that the faux consensus has in fact created a new "One Percent".  You cannot create consensus among strangers - we don't know enough about one another to honor our differences.  So it has given power to a new elitism, another way to marginalize people of color or anyone at all. 

It also has become solipsistic.  The focus on camping, on the protest itself as political goal, has wiped  out all other messages.  The voices demanding their First Amendment Rights to camp (I don't think that's IN the Constitution) are not the voices trying to decriminalize public sleeping for people with no other alternatives.  The concerns of the homeless are not on the agenda.  Only the concerns of the occupiers.  This has become about them, not the rest of us - again a new 1% that discounts the rest of us.

Occupy Frank Ogawa Plaza?  Why?  Why isn't everyone over at the SF Financial District.  Occupy Cesar Chavez Plaza?  Well - you're pushing out the homeless there, too.  Why are you there instead of where you are needed?

Across the nation, unheralded and unheeded by those focusing on OWS  are labor actions, anti-foreclosure actions, supports for the homeless all of which go on as they have been.  People fight to change laws for the good of those harmed by the Elite 1 %.  And nowhere does OWS or its related movements around the country move as a group to help those who have current struggles or who have been fighting for decades to protect the poor and middle class.

If OWS and its participants stop focusing on broad-based justice concerns and instead become obsessed entirely with itself and its own "rights" - we all
lose.   Again. 

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nancy a heitzeg

 Amen

Great to see you here Churchlady

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Churchlady

Same here, nancy!  This is a GREAT site! Thanks to all who led me here.

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Seeta Persaud

This is an excellent comment Churchlady -- right on point.  The anti-foreclosure actions, in particular, would be a great place for "occupiers" to direct their attention and efforts doing concrete eviction defense community mobilization against banks.

Thank you so much for saying what's been on my mind about OWS so perfectly well.

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Churchlady

In CA I work with ACCE the successor to - GASP! - ACORN and think the world of them and their work.  Across the country the anti-foreclosure movement has held action after action that has drawn NO support from the OWS and clones.  During one labor action in Sacramento, about three OWS people showed up - thank you - but that's it. 

This is hardly leaderless, and unfortunately those leaders seem to have it trending toward navel gazing - focus on the self and not on others.  With so many people especially from communities of color working instead of posing, you'd think some of this will break out to ACTION, but, well, not so much.

I hate what the Oakland police did - it was outrageous and utterly inhumane!  That is definitely worth standing up against!  But in other cities that have been far more sensible, nothing is happening at ALL that I can see.  MSM of course are not reliable, so I may be wrong, but this has to move off the parkland and city square or it's not going to create change.   It's taken on the mantle of too many progressive movements - we talk to one another and never ask the one question needed, especially to communities of color:  what do you need?  How can we help?

We HAVE to move this to direct action to solve problems and also to policy for those who want to do that, and we have to listen to those working three jobs and no time to camp.  Otherwise, it's just that - a camping trip.  No damn help at all.

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