Benefits of Being a White Antiracist

At the essence of any conversation about the benefits of being a white antiracist is the understanding of most antiracists that they are fighting to save their own lives, not only to help others.

In a chapter on white antiracist culture, Becky Thompson describes what I would call some of the benefits in the life of a white antiracist:

A living practice of crossing borders – racial, cultural, and spiritual; a merging of people's political action and personal lives; a certain flexibility that comes from making one's home welcome to fellow travelers; a seriousness, a humor, and a liveliness born of a people on the move; an intimacy between white people and people of color – as friends, colleagues, and comrades – that includes taking race seriously but not belaboring the differences; working hard enough across race so that there are times when race is somehow transcended, not covered over or ignored, but also not necessarily considered the most essential or problematic issue among people (2001, p. 329-330).

Many white antiracists speak of choosing sides. In some ways, for those who conceptualize the world in this way, it is a benefit to know you are on the “right” side. Mab Segrest writes,

What it comes down to, I saw, is what a person believes. We are all on the jury, and history spreads out around us vast and intimate, with a crack down the middle that can't be straddled (1994, p. 82).

For many white antiracists, choosing an antiracist path was motivated by the desire to “avoid the guilt, remorse, denial, projection, and moral confusion that … racism inflicted on white supremacists” (Brown, 2002, p. 141). For others, an antiracist path meant leaving a family and/or community life that was fraught with alienation and isolation and finding a community of like minded people. Many white antiracists describe this experience as one of healing and nurturance.

Another benefit of being a white antiracist is hope. Herbert Kohl calls it a “discipline of hope,” referring to the fact that he may not see the fruits of his labor, but his great-great-great-grandchildren might --- and the struggle is worth it (Brown, 2002, p. 137).

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Costs of Being a White Antiracist

When thinking of the costs of being a white antiracist, we must remember our context. Whites in our country are privileged by a system of white supremacy and racism. Therefore, even whites who choose to stand against this system are at an advantage:

Privileged resistance means that whites have a wider range of options to choose from for fighting racism than people of color do. They are more likely to be seen, heard, and believed, and less likely to suffer repercussions for their actions (O'Brien, 2001,p. 146).

Further, most of the white antiracists profiled in the literature did not feel that their sacrifices were significant in comparison to what they gained by doing the work. Anne Braden sums up the thoughts of many white antiracists well:

I gained so much more than I ever gave up. I don't think I lived a life of self-sacrifice. I found a new world, the world I wanted to live in and that I was happy in. Sometimes I wish it had been more relaxed, because we were in a constant strain. But being part of that battle was what I wanted to do in my life. I feel very privileged and don't think I gave up anything (Brown, 2002, p. 108).

Many white antiracists felt that they had no choice but to do the work, no matter the sacrifice. Herbert Kohl states,

As a matter of deep conviction, I believe that as long as there is injustice in the world you have to keep other people's suffering in your mind, and you have to redeem their suffering through your actions. Redemption is through action, and there is some absolute necessity not to rest in comfort (Brown, 2002, p. 113).

That said, let's take a look at what some white antiracists have given up as a result of their work or the stands they took.

 

Anne Braden suffered a miscarriage after staying up many nights in a row defending their house. The Bradens had received threats to their house (Brown, 2002, p.92). Anne Braden “regrets that she was not a better mother” and that “she has not had time to keep in touch with people she really loved” (Brown, 2002, p. 101, 107). Like many white antiracists, money is an issue for Braden. She “is not financially able to retire; she has no reserve of money to live on, even at her modest level” (Brown, 2002, p. 107).

Virginia Durr and her partner lost their jobs and home in Washington , D.C. because of the stands they took. Like Braden, Durr does regret not having more time to spend with her children, and regrets the suffering that her younger children endured in Montgomery (Brown, 2002, p. 49).

J. Waties Waring faced total exclusion from white society, including from family and friends. Waring's wife, Elizabeth, was refused service in shops in town. The Waring's car was damaged repeatedly (Brown, 2002, p. 67).

Mab Segrest writes about the physical toll of doing anti-Klan work. Her health often faltered because of the stress and pace of the work, but also because of the emotional/psychic toll: “I knew I needed to understand the genesis of the violence that was sickening me” (Segrest, 1994, p. 183). Segrest also writes about the physical risk of violence of being a white antiracist: “As I took on racism, I also found its effects could be turned on me. The possibility of overt violence or the reality of subtle ostracism gave me a sense of shared risk…” (1994, p. 80). For example, Segrest recounts monitoring a white supremacist rally and hearing the speaker recognize her as one of the people who put two white supremacists in jail. The crowd gave Segrest a white power salute, after which she requested a police officer on the scene to escort her to her car (1994, p. 139-140).

In A Promise and a Way of Life, Becky Thompson tells of discovering that “some of the most principled and committed antiracists in the country are now in prison because of their activism” (2001, p. 96). Click here for more information on Marilyn Buck or David Gilbert, two white antiracists in prison.

White antiracist activists have been killed for their views and work. During the civil rights movement, whites who stood with blacks challenging segregation and racism in the South were often beaten and sometimes killed.

Dorothy Stoneman has said that the basic consequence of doing antiracism is “living with a broken heart…So you have to live with a broken heart and you have to live with rage. But that is just real. It doesn't seem like a cost” (Thompson, 2001, p. 349).

In conclusion, Becky Thompson found that “activists can lose the four ‘F's': family, friends, funding and fun, at least initially” (2001, p. 354). Today, the costs of being a white antiracist vary greatly “from place to place and circumstance to circumstance” (Brown, 2002, p. 146).

References

Brown, Cynthia Stokes. (2002). Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights. New York: Teachers College Press.

O'Brien, Eileen. (2001). Whites Confront Racism: Antiracists and Their Paths to Action. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Segrest, Mab. (1994). Memoir of a Race Traitor. Boston: South End Press.

Thompson, Becky. (2001). A Promise and a Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.