EDITORIAL: Our Purpose

Guest Column Whites who are sincere should organize themselves and figure out some strategies to break down the prejudice that exists in white communities. This is where they can function more intelligently and more effectively, in the white community itself and this has never been done." --Malcolm X, 1965 Although there has been heated debate in the DP about White Women Against Racism (WWAR), there has been little discussion as to the purpose of the group. As members of WWAR, we wanted to detail the history, philosophy and value of WWAR. Groups like WWAR developed as a result of civil rights movements of the 1960's and 1970's when it became clear that in order to create social change white people needed to confront our own participation in the racist system. Leaders of the civil rights movements spoke of the importance of white people challenging racism within white communities as a necessary and missing piece of civil rights work. Women of color also began to describe the racism within the women's movement which continues to exclude and marginalize their experiences, limits all women, and contributes to institutionalized racism in society. During the eighties many civil rights, women's, and lesbian/ gay/bisexual organizations began to provide workshops, forums, and support groups for white people to confront racism as a standard educational and political action method. "Sexist discrimination has prevented white women from assuming the dominant role in the perpetuation of white racial imperialism, but it has not prevented white women from absorbing, supporting, and advocating racist ideology or acting individually as racist oppressors in various spheres of American life." --bell hooks, 1981 Additionally, white people need to understand how racism affects those of us who are white, and take responsibility for our own racist attitudes and actions in order to prepare us to work in coalition with communities of color and to combat racism. WWAR believes racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism and other forms of oppression are closely intertwined and cannot be separated. "White women don't work on racism to do a favor for someone else, solely to benefit Third World women. You have to comprehend how racism distorts and lessens your own lives as white women -- that racism affects your chances for survival, too, and that it is very definitely your issue." --Barbara Smith, 1979 WWAR at Penn is designed as a support group for white women to confront our individual and collective racism. Over the years, undergraduates, graduates, staff, faculty and community members have participated in the group. This year, white women came to the group with a variety of concerns and a range of past experiences in dealing with racism. For some of us, it was our first opportunity to confront our own racist attitudes. For others, it was part of a continuing and on-going process of anti-racism work within ourselves and our communities. What brought some of us to the group was often paralyzing anxiety and silence around issues of racism, combined with a strong commitment to overcoming obstacles to fight racism. Our goals were to learn from our own and others' experiences and mistakes in acting to challenge racism in our lives. Many of us wanted to understand the ways in which white privilege both benefits and limits white women, and how we can use our privilege to dismantle racism. Though we each came for different reasons, we all had a common motivation in the belief that racism is reprehensible and dangerous both to people of color and white people. Participation in this group has been a profound experience for many of us. "Just as Blacks get together to map race strategy, it's time well-meaning whites did the same. Maybe when whites confront their feelings about race they will be better equipped to alter errant behavior and attitudes of others in their group." --Claude Lewis, 1995 As members of WWAR, we understand that self education is an initial step in the process of doing anti-racism work, but it is not where the process ends. WWAR is just one piece of the PWC's commitment to anti-racism efforts and coalition building. The PWC has in the past and will continue to facilitate programs that provoke dialogue on racism within the larger Penn community.

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