This piece is by longtime educator and social justice practitioner Tilman Smith, published on Dr. Shakti Butler’s World Trust site (a phenomenal resource for racial justice educators). Her articulation of the intersection of whiteness and femaleness deeply resonates with White Noise in this ongoing work to critically examine and courageously shake up the ways in which, as Smith so clearly expresses,
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White Noise has signed this powerful statement currently circulating, which speaks to our deepest commitments and reasons for existence as a collective.
Click Here to sign the statement
Posted from The African American Policy Forum (AAPF):
As we grieve for the nine African Americans who were murdered in their house of worship on June 17 2015, those of us who answer the call of feminism and antiracism must confront anew how the evils of racism and patriarchy continue to endanger all Black bodies, regardless of gender.
In our struggles to take down white supremacy and patriarchy, we must each heal the ways we have internalized these systems of oppression. Otherwise, we end up recreating them — even in our liberation movements. This healing means different things to different people. We write this piece in particular for those of us who identify at what we often call the intersection of race privilege and gender(ed) oppression.… Read more
This insightful article is cross-posted from New Republic:
We cannot talk about the violence that Dylann Roof perpetrated at Emanuel AME last Wednesday night without talking about whiteness, and specifically, about white womanhood and its role in racist violence. We have to talk about those things, because Roof himself did.
Rachel Dolezal Isn’t the Most Important Race Story in Spokane.
But she does seem to be an unraveling puzzle that continues to elicit curiosity, outrage, and comment. From Mia McKenzie’s discussion of Blackness and Blackface, to Kai M Green’s willingness to give Rachel a little more benefit of the doubt in discussing the similarities of race and gender constructs, to Lisa Marie Rollins’ explanation of what transracial actually means, plenty has been said already.… Read more
Thank you for taking the time to read this. This letter was written by white allies in support of certain Native members of our community who have already put a lot of time and energy into trying to explain why it’s a problem when people without Native/First Nations heritage use the term “Two Spirit” to describe themselves.… Read more
For this Mother’s Day, we wanted to share these inspiring images from the Strong Families campaign at Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
“The image of mothers that is widely celebrated excludes mamas based on their sexual orientation, race, class, immigration status, and more. In particular, mamas who are imprisoned, and mamas whose children are incarcerated do not get to see the beauty and power of their relationships represented in most Mother’s Day cards.”… Read more
Cross-posted with permission from Catalyst Project:
“This is not just Baltimore’s problem, like it wasn’t just Ferguson. This is racism in America.”
Dear Friend,
I’m from a majority Black and highly segregated city near Baltimore. Wilmington, Delaware had the longest domestic military occupation since the Civil War when the National Guard occupied the city for 9 months in 1968 after Dr.… Read more
We are excited by the recent post from SONG (Southerners on New Ground):
THERE IS HONOR IN STRUGGLE
THERE IS HONOR IN THE WORK
SONG ON THE ROLE OF WHITE PEOPLE IN THE MOVEMENT AT THIS TIME
It opens with a powerful quote:
“White people are taught that racism is a personal attribute, an attitude, maybe a set of habits.… Read more
The first weekend in December, 2014, the White Noise Collective core gathered for our second annual retreat. The weekend was full of growth, reflection, community-building, struggle, and evolution. We want to extend our gratitude to those you to those of you who offered us direct feedback through our 2014 year end survey, and let you all know what is on the horizon for the White Noise Collective in 2015.… Read more
The #BlackLivesMatter movement is expanding and deepening across the nation, and spreading around the globe. This sign, hashtag and rallying cry are filling streets, newsfeeds, imaginations and institutions. And white-identified folks eager to engage, enraged by injustice, and inspired by the movement are showing up in large numbers and in different ways.… Read more
A galvanizing Black leadership has emerged from Ferguson in the weeks and months since the murder of Mike Brown and non-indictment of Darren Wilson which has stoked the fires of resistance across the nation-state, joining with histories of rebellion on this land and across the globe. This wave of uprising against injustice has shown a powerful strength in its messaging, its demands and its ability to continue to dominate the airwaves with important information about racism, police brutality and white rage against Black progress – an essential movement if we are to have real conversations or effect meaningful change.… Read more
We want to share thoughts and resources regarding the Darren Wilson Indictment released tonight. If you haven’t heard yet, the grand jury concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to indict police officer Darren Wilson of a crime.
Here is a brief FAQ on what that means. If you are interested in plugging into actions, please check out this tumblr page from the Ferguson National Response Network and the Ferguson Action page that share very comprehensive listings of planned actions around the country.… Read more
“The killings became more and more frenzied with days of Thanksgiving feasts being held after each successful massacre. George Washington finally suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre.” (Susan Bates)
This is an updated repost from last year, to continue our commitment to raise awareness about the actual origins and impact of this holiday that many of us celebrate without a second thought and to confront the mythologies that encourage us to ignore the real history of Thanksgiving:
We often think of Thanksgiving as a time of family, football, giving thanks and gorging.… Read more