Go beyond allyship.

The uprisings of last summer against police murder and anti-Blackness led to quite a few folks loudly proclaiming themselves allies. You can buy a digital print-at-home poster declaring “I am an ally” over a clenched Black fist (Etsy) or a shirt with a similar fist and the word “ally” in capital letters underneath (Etsy). You can write an article expounding on all of your social positionalities and personal privileges, announce that you take yourself seriously as an ally, and close the piece with the sentence “let’s promise to listen” (HuffPost).

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. Many people feel spurred into action because of the series of violent events from the past two weeks. Today, Andrew shares more about the importance of solidarity, not allyship, as we collectively commit to reimagine the world we live in.

Our Earth Week series, "This is our home," starts Thursday, April 22. Subscribe to learn from youth environmental justice leaders addressing the biggest climate threats of our time. thisisourho.me.

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Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Read “Accomplices Not Allies: Abolishing the Ally Industrial Complex.”
Educate yourself about how the category of whiteness was through the practice of colonialism and slavery.
Learn about the limits of allyship in fighting racism and settler-colonialism.
Support Black-led groups organizing for Black liberation.
Deepen your commitment to learn about and contribute to struggles for liberation.

GET EDUCATED

By Andrew Lee (he/him)

In her piece on white feminism, Nicole wrote of the need for “white women [to] decenter their own narrative and elevate others instead” (Anti-Racism Daily). Some of the language around allyship does the opposite: instead of highlighting the voices and needs of those most impacted by racism, sexism, or queerphobia, it singles out white, male, or straight and cis allies for praise and adulation. Self-centered allyship in the struggle for racial justice can veer dangerously close to white saviorism (MSN). They can divert radical movements into “a self-help book for white people” as more attention is paid to processing white guilt than stopping Black death (Wear Your Voice).

Another problem with centering allyship is that self-declared allies get to decide what allyship entails and whether to engage in it. Support for Black Lives Matter crested before the shooting of Jacob Blake last August as people and brands rushed to announce their status as allies publicly. After that, white support for the movement “grew soft, like a rotting spot on a piece of fruit” (New York Times). For a moment, allyship was in fashion. When the moment passed, many of those allies slunk back to the sidelines.

To center and celebrate allies as exceptionally interesting and virtuous often goes hand-in-hand with the belief that the alternative to allyship is neutrality. We might think that white supporters of Black Lives Matter are especially noble because their other white peers are instead neutral bystanders.

Indigenous Action forcefully critiqued this understanding in their influential zine “Accomplices Not Allies: Abolishing the Ally Industrial Complex” (Indigenous Action). Being an ally to indigenous people, they wrote, has become “currency,” “an identity, disembodied from any real mutual understanding of support,” a term “rendered ineffective and meaningless.”

To move beyond allyship means recognizing that the starting point isn’t neutrality. Citizens actively, materially benefit from anti-immigrant policies. Non-Black people benefit from anti-Blackness. The starting point for settlers is benefitting from settler-colonialism. As the zine puts it, non-indigenous people need to begin “to articulate your relationship to Indigenous Peoples whose lands you are occupying.”

If the starting position is not neutrality but complicity, we’re called to do more than declare ourselves allies, change our Twitter bios, or buy social justice ally wall art. Whereas allies center themselves, “accomplices are realized through mutual consent and build trust. They don’t just have our backs; they are at our side, or in their own spaces confronting and unsettling colonialism.” This isn’t just a semantic difference. It’s a different way to think about and practice solidarity: through centering those most directly affected and joining in the struggle, through direct action and confrontation, to dismantle systems that oppress them even as they benefit us.

An accomplice is, of course, someone who aids another in committing a crime as defined by the criminal justice system. As Code Pink puts it, “liberation requires being accomplices in resisting the legitimized forces of social control” (Code Pink). There are many roles that people can take to support social movements, from being at the front lines in the street to doing jail support or media work or a thousand other things. But self-identified allies should remember that dozens of people have already been arrested in Minneapolis following the police murder of Daunte Wright (ABC). Those people, many of them people of color, put their bodies, their freedom, and their lives on the line. Some may face legal repercussions for years to come because of these arrests. The way to honor that struggle isn’t by taking the easy way but deepening our commitments to listen, o learn, and to fight to uproot a system that kills and oppresses some while enriching and protecting others. In the words of Angela Davis, “When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime” (American Public Media).

It’s time to go beyond allyship.

Key Takeaways

We should shift attention from the struggle against oppression to the virtues or guilt of allies.
Those who choose not to be allies aren’t neutral bystanders but rather beneficiaries of systems of oppression.
Benefitting from oppression calls us to engage deeply with communities in struggle and realize that we are personally implicated in the destruction of unjust systems.
To be an accomplice is to listen, learn, and take personal risks in the fight to dismantle systems of social control and racial injustice.

10/4/2020 | Don't blame the pipeline.

7/9/2020 | Acknowledge the harm of microaggressions.

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Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

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Nicole Cardoza 7/25/20 Nicole Cardoza 7/25/20

Study Hall! How to be a better ally, petitions, and plastics.

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Thank you, thank you for your thoughtful questions this week. We get some nasty mail (who knew Trader Joe's was so controversial) so I truly appreciate every kind inquiry mixed in. Today we're diving deeper into all the key themes we outlined this week.

For the new readers, we know there's a lot of content to catch up. We're working on organizing the first 50 days of content into a book or course for easy review. Interested in helping us out? Send a message!

We're posting daily recaps on Instagram @antiracismdaily and will be holding more Study Hall sessions on our Patreon starting next week! Excited to keep learning with you.

This email is free but you're welcome to make a one-time contribution on our website or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Or, pledge $5/month on Patreon.

Nicole

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TAKE ACTION

1. Reflect on the questions prompted by our community.

2. Ask yourself two questions about one of the topics we discussed this week. Discuss these questions with a friend or colleague.

GET EDUCATED

You referenced the criticism that a white / white-passing person advocating for TJs to change their packaging. How should white allies support movements, then?
From Don't Americanize other cultures on July 22

It's important to center the voices of marginalized people in any movement. Sometimes, intentionally or otherwise, allies will co-opt movements already started by people of color. Often white allies, benefiting from their power and privilege, will gain more attention and progress with this movement, and consequently, the voices of BIPOC people get lost in the mix.

I was surprised that Bedell's petition didn't mention Viviane Eng's article – or the fact that Trader Joe's had already responded to Eng and said that actions to change the names were in progress. I also was surprised to see that there weren't any quotes from people of color on their perspective, or any co-creators of the petition that identified as people of color. As a result, it is Bedell that is centered in the press and interviews.

This example is relatively harmless, but often, it can lead to more dire consequences – like workplaces creating new programs and initiatives without the input of the people impacted, or political movements that don't reflect the needs of the communities experiencing harm. When doing the work, ask who else needs to be in the room. Consider who may already be doing the work, and how you could amplify them instead of creating your own campaign.

The petition for the bridge name isn't what all the local leaders in Alabama want, but you encouraged us to sign it anyway. Why?
From Honor the legacy of Rep. John Lewis on July 21

Petitions are powerful for a few reasons, even if they're not successful. First, they help raise awareness of issues, especially as they grow in popularity. They're also good for swaying public opinion. In this case, more encouragement towards Governor Kay Ivey to change the name isn't a bad thing! Also, signing a petition keeps us all informed of how the issue progresses after it passes from the headlines, and I think this is an important conversation to stay subscribed to. You can learn more about the power of petitions in the NYTimes. One of you lovely readers sent me a WHOLE email about the power of petitions weeks ago, but it's now lost in my inbox. If you're reading this and remember sending, kindly forward to me again!

Also, remember that signing a petition doesn't magically make things change. Alabama local leaders are the ultimate decision-makers in changing the name of the bridge, so have full capacity to make the decision. I am hoping that the creator of this petition is planning on working with the community, and not create a massive battle to have it done his way. I noticed after I wrote this email that there's now a nonprofit organization attached to the cause. It doesn't have any team listed on the website, so I'm not sure about any local representation behind it.

If I had seen a petition that was designed for the local community, I would have added that in its place. Either way, I feel that our efforts overall are more useful in advocating for the Voting Rights Advancement Act, but I know some of you already did that from our voter suppression newsletter! I try to give multiple ways for us to take action so we can get in the practice of doing so.

My family and I decided that moving to X community is best for our budget and lifestyle, but it's a gentrifying neighborhood and we would be part of gentrification. What should we do?
From Protect your community from the harm of gentrification on July 20

It's great that you're recognizing that you're part of the problem. Whether or not we like to admit it, we are all working in a systemic that's inherently inequitable and often complicit. That's why this work is so critical.

I shared this resource at the end of the newsletter, and it's worth revisiting in full:
https://newrepublic.com/article/144260/stop-gentrification

And also recommend this article about gentrification in SF:
https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/gentrification-sf-oakland-san-francisco-vallejo-13293754.php

Put short, be prepared to take on the responsibility of protecting this new community from harm. Get involved in local politics and support community organizers advocating for housing justice. If that sounds like too much work or too much of a burden, consider whether you deserve to join that community at all.

There's no 'get out of jail free' card. You can't do all the right things and absolve yourself so that you're no longer a gentrifier, just like you can't no longer be white. But you can check your biases, acknowledge your privilege, and fight the systems that create gentrification.

Megan Orpwood-Russell, an organizer for housing advocacy group YAH! (Yes to Affordable Housing!) in SFGate

Trump is a racist president! And Biden is racist, too! What president HASN'T done something racist?!
From Know our racist presidential history on July 23

Trump had a whole newsletter dedicated to him back in June, and Biden isn't a president, but yes, as many of the resources we linked to state, is not perfect. (Biden will get much more coverage here as the election nears). And if the exercise made you realize that perhaps all of our presidents have become complicit in practices and policies that uphold systemic racism, including Barack Obama, then the exercise worked. And although some presidents have clearly been much more egregious in the harm they've created, we have to understand how we got here, how we're still here, and how necessary it is to choose differently this time 'round.

Also it's important to note that presidents alone are not responsible for systemic racism. In fact, take this same level of criticism to your local representatives and policy makers, many of whom are perpetuating the same systemic oppression in your local community.

Why should we still recycle if it's not working? Especially if environmental racism is bigger than ourselves?
From Reduce your plastic consumption on July 24

Individual actions are critical to the work we do, even if we're collectively not making progress. The articles mentioned that decreasing our consumption can fundamentally transform the future, so it would be a miss not to hold ourselves accountable.

Changing environmental racism systemically calls for much broader initiatives that, in this case, weren't directly rooted in plastics. But don't you worry – we'll be doing much more to address environmental racism in our work moving forward.

If you're ever reading this and think "goodness, we should also be doing this and this and this" as part of our daily action, that's amazing. Do it! Especially if you see ways to address these issues in your own community. We're working to add more localized actions to our newsletters, but right now we've got readers signed up from all over the globe and very limited targeting options. However, you can sign up for ARD Actions based on your community by texting "ARD LOCAL" to (718) 715-4359.

Also, kudos to Leigh and Cody for noting that our first action could have been worded better – because not consuming plastics altogether is more important than finding eco-friendly alternatives. Don't throw out something old to replace it with something eco-friendly! Cody recommended the following change:

Choose one product that you own that's made of (or packaged in) plastic. Use it until it is broken or exhausted, and then once it breaks either don't buy a new one or replace it with an eco-friendly alternative. Here's a list of Black-owned eco-friendly products.

CLARIFICATIONS

From Know our racist presidential history on July 23
The internment of Japanese-Americans in California indeed happened in World War II, not World War I as our article states, which will be fixed in our archives. Thank you to the reader that pointed out that internment also happened throughout the Southwest, not just in California (Archives).

Miscellaneous
A reader noted that our emails have readability issues in dark mode. I'll update our template to fix that for the week ahead.

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Nicole Cardoza 7/22/20 Nicole Cardoza 7/22/20

Don't Americanize other cultures.

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Hi friends!

I find the nuances of this story interesting. Somehow, it touches on gentrification, race privilege, and cultural appropriation across multiple ethnic and racial identities.

It also represents one of the many subtle ways systemic oppression persists. It's the multitude of these actions and behaviors that shape our society, and understanding each of them helps us dismantle, one small step at a time.

Donations are always welcomed to help keep this going. You can donate on our website, through PayPal, or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Or, become a monthly contributor on Patreon.

Nicole

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TAKE ACTION

Check your kitchen for products that may use similar branding as the products listed below. Consider:

What does this packaging tell me about the brand?
How can the packaging help me learn more about the culture(s) this product is connected to?
What assumptions, if any, does this packaging bring?
How does this packaging compare to others within its category?
Who or what have I tried to repackage to make it more palatable? How?

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

This week Trader Joe’s renewed its pledge to discontinue racist packaging on international food products (Teen Vogue). The interest was sparked after a petition was circulated by high school senior Briones Bedell, which received over 2,500 signatures before a response (change.org). The product lines in question include “Trader Giotto” (Italian products), “Trader Ming” (Chinese products), “Trader Joe San” (Japanese products), “Trader José” (Mexican products), “Arabian Joe” (Middle Eastern products), and even “Pilgrim Joe”, that represents Thanksgiving products.

But conversations on inappropriate names of Trader Joe’s products are not new. In fact, Viviane Eng, a writer and the literary program’s assistant at PEN America, wrote a comprehensive article for Nylon Magazine on the issue back in July 2019, and Trader Joe’s swiftly responded, pledging to discontinue the packaging (Nylon). Critics note that the 2020 petition was created and amplified by a white/white-passing woman, questioning whether it is her place to build a movement around this issue. This sparks a similar conversation from yesterday’s newsletter: Who deserves to lead conversations about racist symbols: the people with the most proximity to power, or the closest to the issue itself? Today’s case also offers a critical point for allies here: work with marginalized communities and elevate their voices when rallying for change.

Reclaiming Culture through Names

Both conversations from 2019 and now show that customers are split on their sentiment about the packaging. Some people cited in both Eng’s article and on the petition itself emphasize that they have no issue with the name and don’t see any issue with it, calling it funny and cute. Others feel it exoticizes the cultures connected to the food, especially by applying Americanized names and branding in place of true cultural representation. Eng notes that by adding names like "Ming" and "José" for certain products reinforces "Joe" and English-speaking whiteness as the default (Nylon).

"
It's not my favorite," another shopper, Alé, admitted. "I'm of Mexican heritage, and it's just that weird moment of othering. It's, like, my food could just be Trader Joe's as well. It doesn't have to be Trader José. It also doesn't lend to any authenticity because it's just a very Americanized thing to do.

Nylon Magazine

We’ve got a long history of that in America. Ethnic names are often used to mock or degrade racial or ethnic groups and to perpetuate racist stereotypes in film and media (History). In workplaces and colleges, individuals with non-Anglophone names are asked to adopt nicknames, or change their names altogether (here’s a recent example in Time). And there are countless examples of people from various backgrounds changing their names throughout history to improve job prospects and assimilate as a form of safety (The Conversation).

Have you changed your name or adopted a nickname for reasons like these? Share your story to be included in a larger piece on this we’re publishing next week.

And Bedell notes in her petition that the inspiration for the Trader Joe’s name itself is rooted in “romanticizing Western Imperialism and fetishizing non-Western people”. The Trader Joe’s website states that the name was inspired by the book White Shadows in the South Seas (and the Disneyland ride that shares it). But the book “demonstrates the horrific legacy of trading companies as they exploited and enslaved the South Pacific in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of these regions are still at a disadvantage today because of how traders ravaged their peoples, their societies, and their natural resources” (Change.org). The realization that the names are housed within a larger company with this narrative only further emphasizes the point.

The 2020 petition was well-timed; many food brands are disassociating from racist branding, an action sparked from the protests over the past few weeks. It’s wild how frequently I type the latter half of this sentence; so much of our culture and politics have shifted because of public outcry. Remember this as you watch your timelines go back to normal – make each day a revolution.

Quaker is dropping the Aunt Jemima branding after recognizing they promote a racial stereotype (Washington Post). Her image was actually based off of Nancy Green, who received a full obituary in the NYTimes last week. I recommend you read her story. The company that runs Uncle Ben's and Mrs. Butterworth's are following suit (CNN). In April, the Land O’ Lakes butter company announced that it is changing its branding from an illustration of a Native American woman with a feather in her hair to something that reflects its “farmers owned” approach (NYTimes).

And for good reason. There are studies that prove that these types of symbols can have a negative psychological impact. The American Psychological Association published a resolution recommending the “immediate retirement” of Indigenous mascots, symbols, images, citing that they create “unwelcome and often times hostile learning environments” and have “a negative impact on the self-esteem” of Indigenous youth (apa.org). On the flip side, adolescents with authentic connections to the cultural background of others are more likely to display fewer stereotypes and more positive attitudes toward others (Wiley Online Library).

Food is Central to Culture

The packaging of food might feel like an irrelevant place to make a statement, but food is such a critical component of how many of us express our culture – and understand the cultures of others. As a grocery chain known for its breadth of low-cost products, how Trader Joe’s presents those foods makes a lasting impression of the cultures they represent. This is especially critical, considering that Trader Joe’s are usually found in up-and-coming (or gentrifying) communities, to the point that the value of houses near Trader Joe’s locations is almost 3x the national average (Business Insider). How else is Trader Joe's as a company participating in the erasure of culture as an organization?

There’s no clear timing for when the replacement of packaging will be completed (or even what it will look like) (NPR). In 2019, Kenya Friend-Daniel, Trader Joe’s Director of PR, emphasizes that “these designations do not appear on any new products we have introduced in the past two years, and as we make our way through label updates on older products, we will change any preexisting variations to Trader Joe's” (Nylon). It’s likely they’re still working their way through the hundreds of product lines with this branding. Bedell updated the petition on July 19 asking for a firm date (change.org).

Lastly, it’s important to note that only one major news source that covered the petition mentioned the work of Viviane Eng (Teen Vogue, which has completely transformed since I was a teenager). As we continue to do this work, we must aim to center the voices of all leaders and contributors towards change, especially the voices of marginalized communities.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Trader Joe's renewed its commitment to ending all Americanized branding lines of international product
The conversation swelled after a petition was circulated a few weeks ago
A similar story was published last year, and received similar feedback from Trader Joe's
Food represents a significant part of culture
Changing names against a default reinforces the idea of "power of normal"
Allies must remember to work with marginalized communities and elevate their voices

ARCHIVES

Go beyond allyship.

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GET EDUCATED

Key Takeaways

RELATED ISSUES

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Study Hall! How to be a better ally, petitions, and plastics.

TAKE ACTION

GET EDUCATED

CLARIFICATIONS

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Don't Americanize other cultures.

TAKE ACTION

GET EDUCATED

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Related Issues

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