Thought on Diversity by Abeer

I have to admit I was hesitant to submit this article when first invited to do so. My involvement with the grassroots in Ireland has no doubt been an empowering experience. I've been particularly inspired by the libertarian initiatives that were the 'Goodbus', MayDay'04, and AmBush. 

It has also, however, been a source of great disempowerment. The reason for my hesitation above being in part because I'm acutely aware that this contribution is tokenistic. And as such, the potential for these words to somehow be taken to capture the diversity or represent the words of hundreds, thousands {hundreds of thousands} people of colour whose words should be read or heard. As one of the few people of colour in the Irish grassroots, I, like many other minorities within dominantly 'white, male' activist/progressive movements, have had to cope with feelings of marginalization, loss of identity, being misunderstood & tokenised, and alienation. With the exception of a few individuals, its been difficult to discuss this openly. The Belfast GG aims to explore/ acknowledge the subtle (and not so subtle) forms of sexism and racism within the grassroots and to tackle them head on. At the risk of having some of my thoughts dismissed (or of stating the obvious), I've decided to take the brutally honest approach and convey some of my thoughts & concerns (& those of other activists of colour) with the sole intent of getting a discussion going.

At the ISF anti-racism plenary, held earlier this month in Dublin, the poor representation of people of colour was fairly evident. And the question 'why?' was asked again and again. Following the anti-capitalist demo in Seattle (should acknowledge here that the struggle against economic globalization did not start with Seattle but was already being waged with a vengeance in the Global South), Chicana activist Elizabeth 'Betita' Martinez penned Where was the Color In Seattle? Looking for reasons why the Great Battle was so white. Martinez identified numerous factors for the overwhelming whiteness of Seattle and I feel many apply to the Irish context today. An inexhaustive list- with each issue briefly touched upon follows:

*Access to info- To what extent do we rely on the internet (indymedia?)/ e-mail for purposes of organization & discussion? How many people of colour in Ireland, particularly refugees and asylum seekers own computers or can afford regular access to the internet?

*Immediate issues- People of colour in Ireland are often in particularly vulnerable positions, especially with regards to employment, living conditions, deportations... Dealing with these immediate issues without any support, often means little or no time that can be directed towards other concerns. 

*Assumptions that a meeting/demo will be overwhelmingly white- People of colour have reasons to expect that many protests will be white-dominated since virtually all of the organizers are white, speakers/ spokespersons are white, interviews on the tele are of white people, radio news stations interviews are mostly of white people.

*Culture shock- Grassroots and/or libertarian organizing can be quite disorienting and intimidating for a person who hasn't come across the likes of it before. Take MayDay '04 or AmBush for example. The familiarity with concepts such as 'affinity groups', sit-downs', or 'peace camping' can I think be taken for granted by many white activists. Even the routine of your typical grassroots meeting- sitting in a circle, intros, agenda setting, facilitation (involving WSF-like guidelines with speakers list reflecting gender/colour balance), wiggling your fingers when in agreement- can all appear weird and off-putting if not explained in advance. 

*Money- The option of travelling to partake in networking forums such as the ESF or GG or in demos simply does not exist for many people of colour in Ireland. 

*Police/ Gardai repression- Is a far greater reality for people of colour who are more likely to be targeted, assaulted & abused, incarcerated than white activists. If the grassroots and libertarian movements are serious in their attempts to be more inclusive, then perhaps they need to reflect increased sensitivity regarding the consequences of planned DA, again as in MayDay or AmBush for people of colour. This is, of course, not to imply that people of colour will not partake in DA or are less 'radical'. 

*Distrust- Based on prior legacies, the distrust of people of colour of being used by middle-class white activists, of not having their issues taken seriously, of being tokenised & assimilated, of being abruptly abandoned. I think its key for white activists to recognize why people of colour could view the process of developing working relations with whites as oppressive. I personally feel that rather than asking 'how can we get more people of colour to join us?', true solidarity is expressed in long-term networking (dialogue & communication), in supporting initiatives by people of colour, in supporting and respecting the development of people of colour groups and organizations.

Helen Luu, an activist with the US based Colors of Resistance is really worth quoting here (Discovering a Different Space of Resistance: Personal Reflections on Anti-Racist Organizing), "Genuine anti-racist work involves building alliances and working in solidarity with people of color; it means understanding the ways that unequal power relations manifest itself in all settings (including activist ones) and how it works to oppress some while privileging others; it means looking to people of color as leaders, and not as mere tokens to prove how 'anti-racist' your groups is ("We're not racist! Look, we have two Asians in our group!"). It means a whole lot more too, but above all, it means being dedicated to proactively and consciously working to bring down the structure of white supremacy and privilege." 

Some final thoughts... I started off this article mentioning how my involvement in the Irish grassroots has been simultaneously empowering and disempowering. Someone once mentioned in a discussion on 'identity' that we're all not only 'being' but in a constant state of 'becoming'. At the ISF anti-racism plenary 'Islamophobia' was raised in the context of the headscarf ban in France. I'm raising it here again simply to use as an example that highlights what I feel is one of the underlying challenges associated with culture- what appears to be a balancing act. On the one hand a respect for diversity and expressions of solidarity with autonomous cultures (against state repression, for example). And on the other, opposing oppression that could occur under the cover of respecting someone's definition of culture. 

The solution? I'm not sure. I do think, however, that there's sometimes a tendency to be reactionary; without ever really doing each other justice when it comes to genuine dialogue. The frustrations often felt by people of other ethnicities/cultural backgrounds (including myself) are described by one South Asian youth following the racist violence carried out by the BNP against the South Asian communities in Britain a couple of years ago (www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/06/70498.html). In understanding cultural diversity, again I think its important to appreciate that any given person in the words of Canadian anti-racism activist Justin Podur (Revolutionizing Culture Part One),  "... holds multiple identities, multiple allegiances and affinities. We speak different cultural 'languages', and we change... cultures overlap, they change, they evolve over time. They cross-fertilize, and all societies are in a permanent state of flux, with all kinds of often very creative exchanges and interactions happening." I'd be of the opinion that we need to create more opportunities for communication, exchange, debate, that are made to be open for people to explain and learn about differences. In Ireland, this space is severely lacking. Until its created and until people feel secure in their ability to express their views in proactive dialogue, without having them summarily dismissed, can we really expect the progressive movements in Ireland to reflect diversity?  

The libertarians in Ireland are confronted with being virtually entirely male and white. This last thought belongs to Chris Crass, a white anarchist also involved with the US based Colors of Resistance (Looking to the Light of Freedom: Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement and Thoughts on Anarchist Organizing),

"The understanding of both power and leadership held by most anarchists has maintained inequalities both within anarchist circles and in our relationships with others. In our rejection of power and leadership, we frequently work in or create organizations that are breeding grounds for informal hierarchies often defined by race, class and gender. We have frequently also argued for a complete rejection of organization altogether, advocating for spontaneous revolt, which again breeds informal hierarchies with no means of challenging this behavior. Given this situation, anarchism is one of the most white, often male dominated political movements in the United States today. Admitting the realities of white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism, I am not trying to isolate the anarchist movement, but rather to argue that we need to examine where we are at if we are to seriously think about where we want to go. As a movement we also need to look to the writings and organizing of anarchists of color, women and queer anarchists for thoughts and leadership about what direction we are already going in and should be going in."