My head has been swimming a little since our meetings in Denver in mid-October. A group of the Fellows gathered to plan a Call to Action, now titled “Race, Ethnicity & Ancestry: Securing Equity and Justice”
In France, racism is often related to religion. Whether or not some are allowed to wear religious veils is a big issue. White people who practice certain religion may experience “racism” albeit to some less extent.
In an American context, social, historical, and religions contexts are all significant. But economic issues is also big. When it comes to a contemporary style of racism, maybe_Bell Curve_ was a major turning point. As more and more people blindly believe in the idea of color blind society which in my mind makes absolutely no sense, the class has been a justifiable reason (for some) to sustain status quo. Class and race are highly correlated and in many cases, there is a causal relationship due to the history.
What is useful about this economy based arguments is that it encompasses all racial groups and goes beyond the black and white binary. But the risk is to ignore the historical roots that created racism.
There is no doubt that the black and white binary needs to be changed in this country and probably one of the first steps is what we begin to construct.
The KFLA will be hosting a summit on Race, Ethnicity & Ancestry: Securing Equity & Justice in November 2010. Â Stay informed on the process and how to join us.