Dismantling the Racism Machine: What White Educators Are Not Taught about White Supremacy

1. Welcome toDismantling the Racism Machine: What White Educators Are Not Taught about White Supremacy PLEASE SILENCE ALL PHONES AND DEVICES. Dr. Karen Gaffney English Department Raritan Valley Community College Branchburg, NJ Website: dividednolonger.com Pronouns: she/her/hers

2. FOSTERING INCLUSION AT NCORE It is the expectation of the Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies that all participants at NCORE enjoy a welcoming and inclusive environment, free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. NCORE is committed to fostering an atmosphere that encourages the free expression and exchange of ideas. In pursuit of that ideal, NCORE is committed to the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment for all NCORE participants in NCORE sponsored events, regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or religious belief, age, marital status, sexual orientation, immigration status, disabilities, veteran status, or body size.

3. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We acknowledge the land on which we sit and occupy today as the traditional and ancestral home of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Watlala bands of the Chinook, the Tualatin Kalapuya, and other Indigenous nations of the Columbia River. Without them, we would not have access to this gathering and to this dialogue. We take this opportunity to thank and honor the original caretakers of this land.

4. Where I begin • There is a massive gap between what scholars who study race and racism take for granted and what public (especially white public) knows • As a white anti-racist educator, one contribution I can make is to help bridge the gap

5. Today’s plan • I’ll highlight 3 key myths that people, especially white people, are often taught that obscure reality of racism • Please hold off on questions/comments until the discussion • Small group discussion activity, report back, and further Q&A • I’m only providing a brief intro to some of the concepts that my book discusses in much greater depth, with resources • This Powerpoint is available on my website dividednolonger.com under the tab My Presentations

6. Racial Myths or Ideologies • Ideology = myth or belief people are unknowingly indoctrinated into believing • Power • Damaging and false ideology blocks the view of the Racism Machine

7. Washington Post, 2016: “Researchers at the University of Virginia quizzed white medical students and residents to see how many believed inaccurate and at times "fantastical" differences about the two races -- for example, that blacks have less sensitive nerve endings than whites or that black people's blood coagulates more quickly. They found that fully half thought at least one of the false statements presented was possibly, probably or definitely true.” Myth #1: Human races are biologically different Josiah Nott, Types of Mankind, 1854

8. Myth #1: Human races are biologically different Reality: There are no inherent or biological or genetic differences between groups we call races because race is a social construct (a human invention). • Human DNA is about 99.9% identical throughout the world • No scientific, biological, or genetic way to separate humans into “races” • Human beings are one of the most genetically similar of all species • We are more genetically similar to each other than penguins are to each other or fruit flies are to each other

9. We might think that 2 random white people are closer biologically to each other than a random white person and black person… But that is simply not true because race is not biological but a human invention

10. But what about skin color?? • Yes, skin color varies, and there are genes that influence skin color • But skin color varies gradually along a spectrum: where would you draw the line between “races”? • Furthermore genes that influence skin color do NOT correlate with the majority of other traits (Goodman et al. 97) • We have been taught to focus on skin color as a sign that there are biologically distinct human racial groups, but that is a myth

11. Why does the persistence of the myth that race is biological matter? • In describing his shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014, white officer Darren Wilson told the grand jury, which did not indict him, “‘And when I grabbed him, the only way I can describe it is I felt like a 5-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan. . . . [Michael Brown] had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that’s how angry he looked’” (qtd. in Calamur).

12. Debunking the myth that race is biological • PBS documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion (episode 1) • “10 Things Everyone Should Know About Race” (handout) • Article “Race ≠ DNA” by Dr. Joseph Graves • Dorothy Roberts’ TED Talk “The Problem with Race-Based Medicine” • Karen’s book Dismantling the Racism Machine and her website dividednolonger.com Areas to consider: Curriculum, faculty development, staff development, student events, first-year seminar, public events

13. If we chip away at the false ideology that race is biological and recognize the reality that race is a human invention, then the Racism Machine is more visible. • We ask: Who built it? When? Why? How?

14. Reality: Race is an invention, a relatively recent human invention. One location: Colonial Virginia, 1600s The line between servant and slave was ambiguous People didn’t identify as “black” or “white” (nationality, language, religion) Skin color was not a dividing line Elite wealthy landowners vs. labor Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) Myth #2: Race has always existed. Whiteness has always existed.

15. Race is an invention • Race was invented to protect the elite and divide and conquer the masses through the creation of a racial hierarchy • “whiteness defined through European ancestry was a calculated racial solution developed by colonial leaders to the economic and physical threat of laboring-class solidarity” (Goodman et al. 44). • Michelle Alexander refers to whiteness as a “racial bribe,” in which white laborers were given a bribe, whiteness, in order to turn against black slaves (25).

16. Race is an invention • This invention of race included a racial hierarchy of white supremacy: people identified as white were given unearned advantages, including freedom from slavery and access to stolen indigenous land • Racial hierarchy positioned black people at the bottom and black slaves were identified as “chattel” (property) with no rights • In this hierarchy, indigenous peoples, Asian Americans, and Latinx people occupy various intermediary positions depending on the moment

17. Debunking the myth that race has always existed and that whiteness has always existed • The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter • The Invention of the White Race by Theodore W. Allen • Videos and writings by john a. powell and Tim Wise • “Seeing White” (14-part podcast series from Scene on Radio) • Karen’s book Dismantling the Racism Machine and her website dividednolonger.com Areas to consider: Curriculum, faculty development, staff development, student events, first-year seminar, public events

18. Reality: Systemic racism is a serious problem in the US today, with the following problems disproportionately affecting people of color: mass incarceration, police violence, pollution, maternal and infant mortality, inadequate school resources, poverty, over-surveillance, under-representation, and more The backlash against the Civil Rights Movement recalibrated and maintained the Racism Machine fueled by divide and conquer strategies Myth #3: Racism occurred in the past, but that problem has been resolved.

19. Divide and Conquer • “model minority” stereotype of Asian Americans (if there’s a “good minority” there must be a “bad minority”) • African Americans stereotyped as “welfare queens,” “dangerous criminals” • Latinx people stereotyped as “illegal” and “not American” • Muslims stereotyped as “terrorists” • Rise in anti-Semitism • Myth of voter fraud leads to voting restrictions • All of these divide and conquer strategies are fueled by white fear of becoming the minority (Census)

20. Debunking the myth that racism occurred in the past, but that problem has been resolved • TED Talks with Michelle Alexander, Bryan Stevenson, #BlackLivesMatter • NY Times video series, “A Conversation with __ on Race” (Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans) • “Adam Ruins the Suburbs” (video from “Adam Ruins Everything” web series on “The Disturbing History of the Suburbs”) • Karen’s book Dismantling the Racism Machine and her website Areas to consider: Curriculum, faculty development, staff development, student events, first-year seminar, public events; intent vs. impact of policies

21. Challenges, including “white fragility” (DiAngelo) • White people are often not aware of systemic, unearned advantages they have (white privilege) so they respond to idea of white privilege by saying they aren’t privileged and that they worked hard for what they have. • In addition to white people not understanding and often denying white privilege, they’ve also been taught… • It’s not polite to talk about race • Or if you do talk about race, it’s appropriate to say “I don’t see race” or “I’m colorblind” • It’s better if I say nothing about race rather than talk about it for fear of saying the wrong thing • Race is something other people have who aren’t white • White people are individuals not a group

22. Developing an Anti-Racist Perspective • White educators need to resist “white fragility,” a defensiveness when confronted with conversations about racism and reality of racism. • Just because we’re educators doesn’t mean we’re immune from having been indoctrinated into the false racial ideologies. • Develop an anti-racist perspective that depends on creating an active awareness of how these ideologies operate, and ask: How am I complicit in the persistence of systemic racism?

23. Developing an Anti-Racist Perspective • Confront the reality of the Racism Machine, how race was invented to divide and conquer, how our nation and institutions developed around that fundamental racial ideology • Become undivided and unconquered • Center the voices, experiences, and leadership of those who are marginalized - only when the most marginalized are free are we all free

24. Small Group Discussion • Briefly introduce yourselves, and pick 1 of these myths to focus on. Discuss: • How do you think this myth operates at your institution? • What is one action that could be taken to lessen the impact of that myth at your institution? Myth #2: Race has always existed. Whiteness has always existed. Myth #3: Racism occurred in the past, but that problem has been resolved. Myth #1: Human races are biologically different

25. Thank you! • My book Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox is available at: Routledge.com and Amazon • My website dividednolonger.com has this Powerpoint and many resources • Email me: KarenJGaffney@gmail.com • Follow me on Twitter: @dividednolonger

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