Advocate for gun control laws.

According to the Pew Research Center, white men are the largest demographic to own guns at 48 percent, while 24 percent of white women are gun owners (Pew Research Center). Twenty-four percent of non-white men and 16 percent of non-white women own guns. Although many people use guns for safety, white supremacists have increasingly used guns as their new weapon of choice against people of color (The Trace). And these white supremacists are able to get guns easily and legally.

Happy Thursday and welcome back. Over the past ten days, there's been at least seven mass shootings in the U.S. Tracey started this piece before the most recent shooting in Boulder, which only emphasizes the point: we have to take gun control more seriously. Although background checks and extending the waiting period won't solve every mass shooting, they can certainly reduce violence and harm.

This newsletter is a free resource made possible by our supporters. We'd love you to consider making a monthly recurring donation on our website or Patreon. You can also give one-time on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Thank you for all your support!

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Support the families of the victims of the Atlanta mass shooting by donating money for funeral expenses. This link includes a list of GoFundMe pages for each victim.
Tell your Congresspeople to support the Background Checks Act, which the House passed in February.
Join the upcoming community call with the Community Justice Action Fund, a nonprofit organization building power for and with communities of color to end gun violence: Tuesday, March 30th at 3PM EST / 2PM CST.
Learn more about community-based violence intervention to reduce gun violence.

GET EDUCATED

By Tracey Onyenacho (she/they)

Many violent acts done by white supremacists are carried out with guns that are easily accessible to them. After many shootings by white supremacists, legislators often draft up bills that they determine will reduce these deadly attacks, ranging from giving more money to police to closing loopholes on background checks. Yet, mass shootings by white supremacists still happen.

Current gun control laws vary from state to state. However, many gun control laws have federal requirements to prevent everyone from purchasing a gun. One of the most important federal gun control laws is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Congress.gov). This act prohibits certain folks from purchasing guns, such as those with felony convictions, those who are considered to have a mental health condition, those under 18 years old (with exceptions for a job), and more.

This Brady Act also requires a background check to be run by the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) if a gun buyer’s basic background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System has been flagged. A basic background check through the system can take a few minutes to approve instantly. But for the FBI, a background check may not be conducted in enough time. The legislation allows that if there has been no objection within three days of the FBI background check request, the person can purchase a gun. This does not mean that the background check was completed, only that there was no contest reported by the FBI in that time period.

More people bought guns last year than ever before, with over 23 million guns sold (CNN). This led to the FBI conducting more background checks than in previous years. This January alone, the FBI conducted over 4.3 million background check requests after many people bought guns in response to the January 6 Capitol riot. Yet, shootings by white supremacists still happen.

For example, last week, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long shot up three massage parlors and killed eight people, including six Asian American women in Atlanta, after he was able to purchase a gun on the same day (VICE). This was possible due to Georgia’s lack of a waiting period between purchasing a gun and receiving the gun. Waiting periods are meant to prevent a potential gun owner from purchasing a gun to commit shootings out of rash and violent intentions. Waiting periods also give the FBI more time to complete a background check if the federal deadline of three days is not enough.

Now, politicians are trying to pass new legislation through the Senate that will close some loopholes that grant easier access to firearms. Earlier this month, the House passed two bills that will tighten the gun buying process by implementing stricter background checks (New York Times). If passed through the Senate, one law will allow the FBI to have up to 10 days to conduct a proper background check. Another legislation will require private gun sellers to conduct background checks. Private gun sellers are currently not federally required to conduct background checks unless their state requires it. Data from Everytown for Gun Safety found that 1 in 9 potential buyers on Armslist, the largest online gun listing site for private sellers (similar to Craigslist), wouldn’t pass a background check (Everytown for Gun Safety). But loopholes allow them to purchase guns from private sellers without one. These new federal legislations could bring greater restrictions but face significant opposition in the Senate from politicians seeking to strike them out.

Politicians are also trying to move forward state legislation to prevent impulsive gun purchases by enacting their own waiting periods. Currently, only ten states and the District of Columbia have legally mandated waiting periods before purchasing a gun (Giffords Law Center). Legislators in Georgia are now planning to bring forth legislation that will require a waiting period of five days. Other states are following suit in issuing legislation that will create or extend waiting periods (Associated Press). Although gun control laws may not fully stop mass shootings by white supremacists, politicians hope to bring more restrictions for impulse purchases of guns if passed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

White men are the largest demographic of gun owners.
Federal law requires licensed gun owners to conduct background checks but not private sellers.
Only ten states and the District of Columbia have laws that require a waiting period before receiving a gun after its purchase.

8/23/2020 | Support those incarcerated and impacted by COVID-19.

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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.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

Nicole Cardoza 3/19/21 Nicole Cardoza 3/19/21

Divest from whiteness.

Anti-racism education is increasing, especially over the past few years after many protests for Black Lives and an increased visible, physical presence of white supremacists. However, many have questioned the importance and implementation of anti-racism education when it comes to analyzing whiteness or explaining its effect on people of color. In February, a New York City elementary school principal distributed an anti-racism curriculum called “8 White Identities” written by Barnor Hesse, an associate professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University in Illinois. According to a statement from the Department of Education given to the New York Post, the pamphlet was first given by some of the parents to school staff and then distributed by the principal to all the parents as part of the anti-racism education (NYPost).

Happy Friday, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! I had this initially scheduled for Monday, but the points in Tracey Onyenacho's article – and the work of Barnor Hesse – are a good compliment to yesterday's newsletter and the latest act of racial violence this week. Yesterday we called for collective accountability. Today is a way to inquire about our place in the ethnography of whiteness defined by Barnor Hesse. It's also an opportunity to learn the difference between identifying as white and whiteness, the system of privileges and power afforded to white people. If this is new terminology for you, I recommend reading more about the related issues linked at the bottom of the email.

Saturday is our weekly Study Hall email. I do my best to respond to questions from the community related to our work to deepen our collective understanding of key topics and current events. Respond to this email to ask a question.

This newsletter is a free resource made possible by our paying subscribers. We'd love you to consider making a one-time or monthly recurring donation on our website. You can also give one-time on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Thank you for all your support!

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Sign the open letter encouraging Northwestern to support Barnor Hesse during the hate he’s experiencing online due to conservative backlash because of the use of his curriculum in a NYC public school.
Reflect on the ways you may have upheld white supremacy or whiteness in your communities and towards other people.
Explore the National Museum of African American History & Culture online. Dive deep into the portal “Talking About Race” where it discusses whiteness in greater detail.
Examine how these characteristics of white supremacy culture show up in your workplace and in your work behavior.

GET EDUCATED

By Tracey Onyenacho (she/they)

In an image popularized by Slow Factory, a 501c3 public service organization working at the intersection of climate and culture, the 8 White Identities is a scale composed of different white roles ranging from “white abolitionist” to “white supremacist,” that categorizes the different ways whiteness is used among people who identify with it. The curriculum includes a graphic that places the 8 white identities on a meter where “White Supremacist” is placed in red and “White Abolitionist” is placed in green. The meter shows where those who play these roles stand in terms of goodness and badness.

Hesse notes in the curriculum that these identities are not exclusive to white people. For example, the identity “White Benefit” is defined as being “sympathetic to a set of issues but only privately; won’t speak/act in solidarity publicly because benefiting through whiteness in public (some POC [people of color] are in this category as well).” Hesse acknowledges that whiteness can perpetrate all people, even people of color, in a way that advances whiteness and keeps it in power and in legitimacy.

Many people, including parents of this New York City elementary school, have taken offense to this analysis. It serves as a simplified starting point for white folks who are looking to challenge the ways their whiteness has sustained itself in our current society and reckons with the lack of efforts to make whiteness obsolete. Whiteness, as with race in general, is socially constructed to place boundaries and restrictions on who is in power and who is not (Jeffrey B. Perry). The ever-changing definition of whiteness, including who is allowed to be considered white over time, proves its faultness as a social construct, its impact of social power in determining the effects its boundaries have on groups of people, and their lack of access to benefits solely bestowed on those who are considered white.

The 8 White Identities examines whiteness not just in relation to other races—which a lot of anti-racism education has done—but it also looks at how whiteness relates to itself. “The White Supremacist” identity is placed as the most dangerous with its actions centered around maintaining white superiority. Most recently, the Capitol riot that happened on January 6 by white supremacists is a clear example of the role of white supremacists in action. They went through great lengths of violence to keep Donald Trump, a notable white supremacist, in power for their own benefit. To learn more, read our article “Confront White Supremacy”.

The curriculum also suggests that white roles that aren’t necessarily white supremacist, such as White Voyeurism, White Privilege, White Benefit, and White Confessional, are still complicit in keeping whiteness in power. These specific roles hold onto their whiteness while condemning it. They deceptively seek validation from people of other races to absolve them from their guilt while welding their whiteness to reap its benefits. This, in and of itself, is an act of violence as the performance of thinking about abolishing whiteness allows these specific identities to not face backlash from white supremacists and people of other races.

For example, many workplaces that have clear white supremacist cultures have donned the performance of hiring a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer to hire more people of color among their mostly white staff while keeping the same racist conditions within their work environments allowing white folks and others to continue to perpetuate racism onto employees of color (BBC). According to Hesse, these white hiring employers are considered to identify as “White Privilege.”

The protests for Black Lives last summer showed examples of white people playing the role of the “White Confessional” as many marched in the streets and posted black squares on social media to show their accountability to denouncing whiteness publicly (NBC News). Some white folks and people of color played the role of “White Benefit” by privately “checking in” on their friends of color to show false sympathy. Hesse’s scale shows that these gestures from these specific white identities don’t do much if whiteness is not challenged significantly (Vox).

In order to get rid of whiteness and race in general, Hesse suggests that white people must be critical of whiteness (“White Critical”) and become traitors to their own race (“White Traitor”) as starting points to its destruction. According to the graphic, the ultimate goal is to be a “White Abolitionist”, a white person who is invested in “changing institutions, dismantling whiteness, and not allowing whiteness to reassert itself.” Abolition of whiteness and all of its intricate systems are the only way forward to freedom for all people.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Studies and anti-racism education on whiteness is not racist.
In order for whiteness and white supremacy to be eradicated, white folks must be invested in abolition of whiteness in all of its forms.
White complicity and performance aids in the maintenance of white supremacy and refuses to challenge the nature of whiteness in order to reap its benefits.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Nicole Cardoza 3/18/21 Nicole Cardoza 3/18/21

Stop the “lone wolf” narrative.

But, most urgently, it pushes the "lone wolf" narrative: that this individual acted alone for personal reasons and wasn't motivated by a larger narrative. This attempts to detach this specific instance from the larger role that white supremacy plays in acts of violence and terrorism in the U.S. As a result, it doesn't call for accountability for the system that nurtured and developed that hate in a white supremacist society. Although the individual should be held responsible for their actions, so should the government that fostered discrimination and bias against the Asian community since its start, from the Chinese Exclusion Act, to Imperialism in the Asia-Pacific, and platforming a president that persistently called coronavirus “Kung flu” and the “Asian virus” (Anti-Racism Daily).

Happy Thursday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! Tuesday evening's attack on the Asian community was another clear and blatant act of white supremacy. And still, law enforcement and the media attempted to mitigate the harm by diminishing a violent act of terror to "a good boy" who "had a bad day". Today we analyze how white supremacy persists through the coddling and protection of violent acts of terror.

This newsletter is a free resource made possible by our paying subscribers. We'd love you to consider making a monthly recurring donation on our website. You can also give one-time on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Thank you for all your support!

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Center your education about reporting on the victims and communities harmed, not the perpetrators. Avoid media platforms that share more about the perpetrator than the wellbeing of the community harmed.
Sign the petition and in solidarity with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, which is dedicated to the civil rights of the Asian American community.
Donate directly to support the victims and their families and to support crisis interventions, created by Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta.
Continue to report Asian hate crimes to Stop AAPI Hate to more effectively address anti-Asian violence.

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

Watch recordings of interviews on Instagram with Michelle Kim and Dr. Jenny Wang to understand more about the rise of anti-Asian violence and racism.

On Tuesday evening, March 15, a gunman shot and killed eight people and wounded another at massage parlors in the Atlanta area (NYTimes). At least six of the victims are Asian women. Four of those were identified as Korean. The names of the victims available as of writing (12:30 am EST) are Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, and Paul Andre Michels (NYTimes). Each of them still deserves to be here, and we grieve for their loss.

This was the latest of a surge of violence against the Asian community over the past few months. Read our recap in an earlier newsletter. According to the latest report from Stop AAPI Hate, which has been measuring the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes since March 2020, women are 2.3 times more likely to report hate incidents, and 35% of all violence happens at businesses (Stop AAPI Hate). This attack is all the more heartbreaking because it was taken out against members of the immigrant community and sexually motivated, which makes this not just a racially-charged attack, but one rooted in misogyny and racial fetishization. Read more in a previous newsletter.

As the world woke up to the news Wednesday morning, a series of new articles explained more about the perpetrator, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, who was arrested and charged with murder. Friends described him as “nerdy,” “from a good Christian family,” and “very innocent-seeming and wouldn't even cuss” (Newsweek). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that he has a “sexual addiction,” leading others to report that his mental health might have influenced his decision-making (AJC). Police officers stated that “yesterday was a really bad day for [Long], and this is what he did,” and that he “he gave no indicators that this was racially motivated.”

This rhetoric is problematic for several reasons. By centering his religious faith, nerdy background, and lack of cussing, the press and law enforcement imply that he's aligned with whiteness’s key characteristics and consequently impervious to harm. This narrative has been used frequently to excuse violent acts carried out by white men, often against women and people of color. It aims to solidify that things like Christian faith, proper language, and academic performance grant power and privilege, and those that don’t align with these markers are “less than” in society. Related: White Supremacist Ideas Have Historical Roots In U.S. Christianity (NPR).

Not only that, it attempts to center the "innocence" of the perpetrator over the innocence of the victims. This further minimizes the pain that marginalized groups experience, and takes up space that could be used to tell their stories. Author and advocate Michelle Kim names other reasons why, in this case, families of victims might not feel comfortable speaking up, further exacerbating the issue (Twitter).

It also contributes to the mental health stigma in our society. It insinuates that people with mental health conditions are dangers to our society. Remember, racism and misogyny is not a mental health condition. This stigma doesn't just affects us on an individual level by discouraging people from seeking help and sharing their experiences with their friends and family. It creates a systemic narrative that mental health is so dangerous it needs to be policed, enforcing our criminal justice system’s role in health and well-being instead of social services that offer more preventative, healing support. Read more in the Washington Post.

This isn’t new – this is the same narrative we've heard after white terrorism events throughout our history. In an article from last summer, we outlined how quickly the rhetoric changes to protect white domestic terrorists. Dylann Roof, a far-right extremist who shot nine Black people in a church in South Carolina, idolized the Confederacy, was portrayed in the media as “mentally ill” and "misunderstood" (Al Jazeera). Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenager who killed two people during protests in Kenosha last year, was called a "hero" and "innocent," and a "bullied teenager" who became a huge fan of the police (Huffington Post). Each of these issues, too, were discarded as single acts of individual errors than a result of systemic decisions – like our unwillingness to admonish the Confederacy, our lack of gun control, the tensions between communities and law enforcement stoked by our President – that fostered them. It should come as no surprise that, in 2020, reports indicated that white supremacists posed the greatest domestic terror threat to the U.S. (The Guardian).

And the first days of 2021 brought that to life, when hundreds of these "lone wolves" rallied together to attempt a violent insurrection at the nation's Capitol. A new report indicates that local and federal law enforcement often fail to address violence caused by white supremacists. Video evidence shows several members of the insurrection causing violence in their communities years before the event, and they weren’t charged (NYTimes). Elizabeth Neumann, an assistant secretary for threat prevention in the Department of Homeland Security who left last year, stated that “the Proud Boys are just the guys-that-drink-too much-after-the-football-game-and-tend-to-get-into-bar-fights type of people — people that never looked organized enough to cause serious national security threats.” The lone wolf narrative protected these violent extremists and enabled them to cause harm on a national scale.

It’s important to note that this convenient narrative is reserved for members of the white community. A study found that overall, terror attacks by Muslims receive 357% more press attention (The Guardian). But the narratives differ, too. Researchers analyzed news coverage of mass shootings in Las Vegas in 2017 and Orlando in 2016. The Orlando shooting, carried out by someone that identifies as Muslim, was allotted more coverage despite the fact that it produced nine fewer fatalities than the Las Vegas shooting. In addition, newspapers were more likely to frame the Orlando mass shooting as “terrorism” and link it to the global war on terrorism. In contrast, most articles for the Las Vegas shooting attempted to humanize Stephen Paddock, the white perpetrator (Taylor & Francis Online). Similarly, the concept of “Black on white crime” is a grossly fictionalized narrative used throughout history to validate the enslavement and incarceration of Black communities, which influences both policy and media to this day (Southern Poverty Law Center). The Huffington Post has side-by-side comparisons on how white suspects are often treated better than Black victims in headlines.

In the latest attack Tuesday night, one man might have pulled the trigger, but white supremacy doesn't act alone. He was encouraged and supported by a white supremacist culture that normalizes violence against communities of color and enables white men to carry it out. We need to hold not just individuals but our society accountable for this violence – including ourselves, and the role we play in perpetuating white supremacy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tuesday evening, eight people were killed in shootings at massage parlors in Atlanta, GA, contributing to the rise of violence against Asian communities over the past year.
Reporting of white male suspects tends to emphasize qualities that support their innocence and distance them from collective accountability.
This type of reporting allows for violence and terrorism by white supremacists to go unchecked, as evident in the recent attack on the Capitol.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Nicole Cardoza 1/7/21 Nicole Cardoza 1/7/21

Confront white supremacy.

Happy Thursday, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. Yesterday was a lot, and I'm still processing. But I tried to unpack some of the misconceptions of the events, and cited newsletters where we've touched on these issues in the past. I hope it helps to illuminate the real issue here. This isn't just about Trump or inadequate law enforcement, but a persistent defense of white supremacy. It makes me tired but hopeful. A new future is emerging, regardless of who likes it or not. And we can't stop fighting for it.

Thank you all for your support. Our work is made possible by our paid subscribers. You can financially contribute to sustain our work by making a one-time gift on our website or PayPal or subscribe for $7/month on Patreon.

We also recently created a virtual digital community where you can engage in movement work with members near you. It may offer some space for processing what's unfolding.

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

If you identify as white, call a white friend today and discuss your complicity in a system of white supremacy. How do you benefit? What more can you do to dismantle it?
If you identify as BIPOC, carve out some time to rest this week.
Donate to DC organizers on the ground, including The Palm Collective, Medics4Justice, and FrontLine Women DC.
Review the resources for creating an election safety plan with your community.
Use the correct terminology when referring to these events. These were armed terrorists [not protestors] staging an attempted coup [not demonstration].

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

Yesterday a group of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, disrupting the certification of the Electoral College vote. Earlier in the day, President Trump spoke at the rally, citing that "we will never concede" after losing the election to President-elect Biden (NYTimes). From there, protestors overtook the Capitol, breaking windows and scaling walls before taking artifacts and rioting inside (more via The Atlantic). Although few media outlets go so far as to use the words, this can be considered an attempted coup, an unconstitutional seize of political power (The Atlantic).

Instead of condemning the act, President Trump turned to social media to double-down on baseless allegations that the election was rigged and emphasized that these terrorists are "patriots" and are "very special." This response is unsurprising considering his consistent coddling of white supremacists throughout his presidency. This video was removed from social media, and Twitter temporarily blocked him from the account (NPR). After a curfew was set and police cleared the building and secured its perimeter, Senate returned to resume their work.

Many were quick to express the juxtaposition of treatment of these terrorists compared to protestors of color. In videos and testimonies from the day's events, it's evident that law enforcement acted insufficiently to defend the Capitol, with one video even implying that they let some in (Politico has details). In contrast, demonstrations by people of color, even the peaceful ones, are met with violence by law enforcement (ProPublica). For example, in the evening of peaceful protests for George Floyd in DC last June, the Army National Guard sent two helicopters to fly dangerously low over protestors, creating winds equivalent to a tropical storm (The Washington Post). Hours before, federal police in riot gear fired gas canisters and used grenades containing rubber pellets to disperse peaceful protestors so that Trump could host a photo-op (The Washington Post).

The disproportionate response of law enforcement against white and non-white communities has been steadily documented. More recently, the FBI has repeatedly warned of the potential consequences of white supremacist groups infiltrating local and state law enforcement, indicating it was a significant threat to national security (PBS). But how can we be surprised when the roots of our nation's law enforcement – and in DC – stem from slavery (W hite House History)?

Furthermore, this behavior is supported by how our country historically has labeled terrorism in the U.S. Because these were not protestors. They were terrorists: individuals using unlawful force to intimidate or coerce a government. As we've discussed previously, white terrorists are rarely named as such. Terrorism is colloquially used to insinuate an act of foreign terrorism inflicted by non-white communities, threatening both the safety of the U.S. and the whiteness it centers. It's why stereotypes of terrorists tend to be of the SWANA (Southwest Asian/North Africa) community, as Ida highlighted in a previous newsletter. In contrast, white male terrorism happens most frequently in the U.S. and is rarely considered with the same gravitas (Teen Vogue).

Some people have called this an example of white privilege. But I'd go further to state that this was a demonstration of white power, the act of intentionally wielding white privilege and whiteness to maintain dominance above all else. The Democratic wins in both the presidential election and the Georgia run-off are largely attributed to communities of color (PBS). So this was an intentional and violent response, an action that tried to demonstrate what will happen when white power is challenged. And it wouldn't have been possible without the support of the President, and other political leaders and law enforcement cheering it on from the sidelines.

And, more broadly, it wouldn't be possible if we didn't live in a world of white supremacy. There is no other group of people in the U.S. that would have the opportunity to carry out such a blatant form of disrespect against its own government in full support of its President and in full view of its people. Terrorists were posting on social media from inside the U.S. Capitol. They were interviewed by media outside. And afterward, many returned to their hotels to chat about the day's event. Having white privilege means inheriting advantages in a system. But having white power means that you can use and abuse these systems without consequences because they were designed to protect you and your conservative values and beliefs. That's not just reinforced by the same values being shared by politicians and lawmakers, media and culture. It's also reinforced by how non-white people and more liberal views are oppressed in the same spaces. The violence by law enforcement at a Black Lives Matter rally, for example, insinuates that "if you rally for a cause that aligns with white supremacy, there'd be no issue".

Update: You'll also watch white power be celebrated, like in this NYTimes article featuring the person that occupied Speaker Pelosi's office and stole some of her mail.

So although President-elect Biden and other leaders are adamant that "this is not who America is," I disagree. This is exactly who America is. America was built on white supremacy. It consistently protects white terrorism, enables a racist criminal justice system, and elects Presidents who speak to these ideals. What's more accurate is "this is not the America we're fighting for". Because that one is emerging. And the more we create new systems and practices center these values and ideals, the more the "America we have" will fight to return to its roots – even if it kills itself in the process. Because the same people that sieged the Capitol yesterday admonish Black Lives Matter protestors for violence, rioting, and destroying our democracy. But the only person they have to worry about is themselves.

The most important thing to remember is that this didn't happen four years ago. And it won't end in two weeks. We're going to keep facing the violence of white supremacy until it's gone. And we've got a lot more work to do. We're unlikely to see it end in our lifetime. So as you move forward, remember that we have to keep doing the work. Admonish the terrorists – and also address the racist sentiment in your workplace. Continue to unpack your own biases and privileges. It's clear our future depends on it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Yesterday's event was an intentional demonstration of white power in response to the changing political and socioeconomic landscape
There's a wide disparity in how law enforcement responds to unrest
Our nation will continue to experience tension as a new, more radical future emerges

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Nicole Cardoza 10/1/20 Nicole Cardoza 10/1/20

Vote Trump out of office.

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was a tough day. I sat down to write an email about the debate and the news that's unfolded since, but realized that I've already written it. In fact, the current news is four years (and decades more) in the making. Trump did not condemn white supremacy Tuesday night. And he hasn't condemned it throughout his presidency. In fact, he's encouraged it.

Today's email is an adaptation of what I sent back in June when Trump shared a white power message on his Twitter. It outlines just a little of the terror white supremacy has inflicted in this country. As you read, consider how you can counter the hateful rhetoric you may hear beyond the debates. Racism doesn't end when Trump is out of office. Ending it starts with tough conversations with your friends and family.

Thank you for all your support! As always, you can support the newsletter by giving one-time on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or subscribe monthly on Patreon.

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Vote for Biden/Harris this upcoming election. Remember: not voting is a vote for Trump.
Join #DefeatbyTweet, an initiative where you can donate $0.02 every time Trump tweets (about $18/mo) to Justice Fund, a group of Black-led grassroots political organizations working in swing states to get people to vote.
Have a conversation with a Trump supporter you know about this newsletter.

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

At the first presidential debate Tuesday night, Trump chose not to condemn white supremacy (Blavity). But if you've been listening, you may not have been surprised: Trump has actively supported white supremacy throughout his presidency.

Take for example, on Sunday, June 28, President Trump retweeted (and deleted) a video of a Trump supporter yelling "white power," thanking the "great people" in the footage (via NPR). After the tweet was deleted, White House spokesman Judd Deere released a statement that “President Trump is a big fan of The Villages [the community where the video was filmed]. He did not hear the one statement made on the video. What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters" (via AP News).

Before we start, I need to make one thing clear: President Trump is racist. This is not up for debate in my inbox. Whether he has deep-seated beliefs that white people are the superior race, incites racism solely for his political agenda, or is consistently unintentionally racist makes no difference to me. When it comes to this work, it shouldn't matter to you. These types of arguments center Trump's character instead of the social and political harm he creates. And as we discussed in an earlier newsletter, impact, not intent, needs to be our focus as we dismantle white supremacy. He is also bigoted, sexist, islamophobic, homophobic, and xenophobic (to name a few), and the intersectionality of these often come into play in his rhetoric. No anti-racism work includes voting for Trump in 2020.

The tweet mentioned above follows a series of hateful comments and actions from Trump over the past few weeks – and frankly, the past few years – which feel in strict defiance of the movement reshaping our nation. Remember that feelings on racism are rapidly shifting left in America (NYTimes)! Meanwhile, just over half of America considered him racist back in 2019 (USA Today). Here's a running list of Trump's hateful commentary since the 1970s (Vox).

I don't want to say that one comment is "worse" than another because they're all terrible. But sharing and thanking someone for saying "white power" is egregious. The term "white power" is a popular phrase used by “white supremacists,” people that believe that white is the dominant race and should have power over other races (more via ADL).

Side note: the Anti-Defamation League has a glossary of definitions on terms you'll see reflected here and in the articles I've referenced. Read more >

The slogan was chosen a counter-rally to the term "Black power," a positive phrase used by activists during the Civil Rights Movement. It united not just those uncomfortable with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but also the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Southern Poverty Law Center). But the white power movement grew to become not just a racially-motivated organization, but a politically-motivated one. Kathleen Belew, author of The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, cites that the Vietnam War was a significant motivator to organizing and activating this group against one enemy – the government.

Remember that up to this point, the government was actually the ones purporting racist policies. It relied on like-minded vigilantes that were willing and able "to reinforce official policies like slavery and Jim Crow" (NYTimes). The Civil Rights Movement was received as a threat; it demonstrated that the country was adopting more equitable views, and allowing more power and privileges to non-white communities.

This group took arms against the government in smaller, isolated incidents, but culminated in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing. Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and other anti-government racists parked a truck of explosives under the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building’s daycare, killing 168 people – including 19 children leaving hundreds more injured (History). The Oklahoma City bombing was "the worst terrorist attack to take place on U.S. soil" until 9/11. The youngest survivor of the attack is 26 years old, and his family reflects on the experience in The Buffalo News.

“Ideologies are sometimes not just ideologies. They result in awful actions and we need to be vigilant about that.”

Dennis Purifoy, survivor of the Oklahoma City Bombing, for the NYTimes

And violent acts of white supremacy continue. It inspired Dylann Roof in 2015 in South Carolina, and James Alex Fields Jr. in Virginia in 2018 (read about both of these murders in our newsletter re: Confederate symbols). A Coast Guard lieutenant and "self-defined white nationalist" was charged in 2019 for stockpiling weapons and planning to start a race war (NYTimes). Twenty-two people were killed at a Walmart in El Paso, TX, by a white supremacist against immigration (Axios). In 2019, a U.S. State Department report named that racially and ethnically motivated terrorism from white supremacists is “on the rise and spreading geographically" (Forbes).

When the protests over the murder of George Floyd began in June, many cities started to question whether white supremacists have been intentionally disrupting the demonstrations from the past month, inciting violence and looting (examples from NBC Chicago, NYTimes, and CBS News). The unrest aligns with a critical white supremacist concept called "accelerationism" – inciting and encouraging violence to draw more people into a war (Brookings).

One of these groups is the Proud Boys, a male-only far-right organization that was most prominent at Portland’s protests. They see themselves as a counter to the “terrorist group Antifa” and often arrive at protests carrying firearms and donned in body armor to support the President, law, and order, and police (CNN). Their chairman, Enrique Tarrio, says that the group does not discriminate (Tarrio himself is Cuban American). However, the group consistently centers misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views in their approach to "reinstating a spirit of Western chauvinism” (CNN). Tarrio said he interpreted "stand back and stand by" to mean that they should just keep doing what they're doing. He also made t-shirts with the words “Proud Boys Stand By” in honor of the President’s remarks (Blavity).

There is no justification for the racist rhetoric Trump shares. Inciting violence and terror as a president encourages others to repeat the violence and terror of our past. Our democracy doesn’t deserve another four years of this.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Trump has a long history of hateful and racist rhetoric.
Throughout our history, government officials have encouraged white supremacists to spew violence.
And the rise of violence from far-right groups like the Proud Boys is simiilar.

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