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Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counterracial prejudice,systemic racism, and theoppression of specificracial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate actions which are intended to create equal opportunities for all people on both an individual and a systemic level. As a philosophy, it can be engaged in by the acknowledgment of personal privileges, confronting acts as well as systems of racial discrimination and/or working to change personal racial biases.[1] Major contemporary anti-racism efforts include theBlack Lives Matter movement[2] and workplace anti-racism.[3]
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European racism was spread to theAmericas by the Europeans[needs context], but establishment views were questioned when they were applied toindigenous peoples. After the discovery of theNew World, many of the members of the clergy who were sent to the New World who were educated in the new humane values of theRenaissance, still new in Europe and not ratified by the Vatican, began to criticize Spain's as well as their own Church's treatment and views of indigenous peoples and slaves.
In December 1511,Antonio de Montesinos, a Dominican friar, was the first European to rebuke openly the Spanish authorities and administrators ofHispaniola for their "cruelty and tyranny" in dealing with the American natives and those forced to labor as slaves.[4]King Ferdinand enacted theLaws of Burgos andValladolid in response. Enforcement was lax, and theNew Laws of 1542 have to be made to take a stronger line. Because some people like FrayBartolomé de las Casas questioned not only the Crown but the Papacy at theValladolid Controversy whether the Indigenous were truly men who deserved baptism, Pope Paul III in the papal bullVeritas Ipsa orSublimis Deus (1537) confirmed that the Indigenous and other races are fully rational human beings who have rights to freedom and private property, even if they are heathen.[5][6] Afterward, their Christian conversion effort gained momentum along social rights, while leaving the same status recognition unanswered for Africans of Black Race, and legal social racism prevailed towards the Indians or Asians. By then, the last schism of theReformation had taken place in Europe in those few decades along political lines, and the different views on the value of human lives of different races were not corrected in the lands of Northern Europe, which would join theColonial race at the end of the century and over the next, as the Portuguese and Spanish Empires waned. It would take another century, with the influence of theFrench Empire at its height, and its consequentEnlightenment developed at the highest circles of its Court, to return these previously inconclusive issues to the forefront of the political discourse championed by many intellectual men sinceRousseau. These issues gradually permeated to the lower social levels, where they were a reality lived by men and women of different races from the European racial majority.
In 1688,German immigrants to theProvince of Pennsylvania issued aanti-slavery petition opposing slavery in the colony. After being set aside and forgotten, it was rediscovered byAmerican abolitionists in 1844, misplaced around the 1940s, and once more rediscovered in March 2005. Prior to theAmerican Revolution, a small group ofQuakers, includingJohn Woolman andAnthony Benezet, persuaded many fellow Quakers to emancipate their slaves, divest from theAtlantic slave trade and create unified Quaker policies against slavery. This afforded the religious denomination a measure of moral authority to help begin the American abolitionist movement. Woolman died of smallpox in England in 1775, shortly after crossing the Atlantic to spread his anti-slavery message to the Quakers of theBritish Isles.[citation needed]
During and after the American Revolution, Quaker ministrations and preachings against slavery began to spread beyond their denomination. In 1783, 300 Quakers, chiefly fromLondon, presented theBritish Parliament with a petition against the Britain's involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1785, English abolitionistThomas Clarkson, studying atCambridge, and in the course of writing an essay in Latin (Anne liceat invitos in servitutem dare (Is it lawful to enslave the unconsenting?), read the works of Benezet, and began a lifelong effort to abolish the British slave trade. In 1787, British abolitionists formed theCommittee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, a small nondenominational group that could lobby more successfully by incorporating Anglicans, who, unlike the Quakers, could lawfully sit in Parliament. The twelve founding members included nine Quakers and three pioneering Anglicans:Granville Sharp,Thomas Clarkson, andWilliam Wilberforce – all evangelical Christians.[citation needed]
Later successes in opposing racism were won by theabolitionist movement in England andin the United States. Though many Abolitionists did not regard blacks ormulattos as equal to whites, they did, in general, believe infreedom and often evenequality of treatment for all people. A few, likeJohn Brown, went further. Brown was willing to die on behalf of, as he said, "millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments ..." Many black Abolitionists, such asFrederick Douglass, explicitly argued for the humanity of blacks and mulattoes, and the equality of all people.
Due to resistance in theSouthern United States and a general collapse of idealism in the North, Reconstruction ended, giving way to thenadir of American race relations. The period from about 1890 to 1920 saw the re-establishment ofJim Crow laws. PresidentWoodrow Wilson, who regarded Reconstruction as a disaster, segregated the federal government.[7] TheKu Klux Klan grew to its greatest peak of popularity and strength; the success ofD. W. Griffith'sThe Birth of a Nation played a major part in this member increase.
In 1911 theFirst Universal Races Congress met in London, at which distinguished speakers from many countries for four days discussed race problems and ways to improve interracial relations.[8]
Karl Marx was supportive of theUnion during theAmerican Civil War and advocated more radical abolitionist measures with hisAddress of the International Working Men's Association toAbraham Lincoln in 1864.[9] Lincoln would in return commend theInternational Working Men's Association for their support and declared that the defeat of the South would be a victory for all of humanity.[10][11][12]
TheRussian Revolution was perceived as a rupture with imperialism for various civil rights anddecolonization struggles and providing a space foroppressed groups across the world. This was given further credence with theSoviet Union supporting manyanti-colonialthird world movements with financial funds against Europeancolonial powers.[13]
In his work,The Socialist Revolution and the Rights of Nation to Self-Determinism,Vladimir Lenin wrote that socialism would enforce the complete equality of all nations and "give effect to the right of oppressed nations toself-determination".[14] Lenin would make anti-imperialism a tenet of Marxist ideology and coordinate revolutions through theComintern.[15]
Marxist theoristLeon Trotsky had advocated for national self-determination for the black population inSouth Africa. In response to the programmatic document of the South African Left Opposition, he wrote in 1935:[16]
"We must accept decisively and without any reservation the complete and unconditional right of the blacks to independence. Only on the basis of a mutual struggle against the domination of the white exploiters can the solidarity of black and white toilers be cultivated and strengthened".[16]
Through the 1930s, the first viable black trade unions inTransvaal, South Africa were established byTrotskyists.[17]
Modernleft-wing commentators have argued that capitalism promotes racism alongsideculture wars over issues such asimmigration and representation ofethnic minorities whilst refusing to addresseconomic inequalities.[18][19]
Socialist groups have also been closely aligned with a number of anti-racist organizations such asLove Music Hate Racism, Stand Up to Racism,Anti-Nazi League[20] andUnite Against Fascism.[21]
Friedrich Tiedemann was one of the first people to scientifically contest racism. In 1836, using craniometric and brain measurements (taken by him from Europeans and black people from different parts of the world), he refuted the belief of many contemporary naturalists and anatomists that black people have smaller brains and are thus intellectually inferior to white people, saying it was scientifically unfounded and based merely on the prejudiced opinions of travelers and explorers.[22] The evolutionary biologistCharles Darwin wrote in 1871 that ‘[i]t may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant’ and that ‘[a]lthough the existing races of man differ in many respects, as in colour, hair, shape of skull, proportions of the body, &c., yet if their whole structure be taken into consideration they are found to resemble each other closely in a multitude of points.’[23]
German ethnographerAdolf Bastian promoted the idea known as "psychic unity of mankind", the belief in a universal mental framework present in all humans regardless of race.Rudolf Virchow, an early biological anthropologist criticizedErnst Haeckel's classification of humanity into "higher and lower races". The two authors influenced American anthropologistFranz Boas who promoted the idea that differences in behavior between human populations are purely cultural rather than determined by biological differences.[24] Later anthropologists likeMarcel Mauss,Bronisław Malinowski,Pierre Clastres, andClaude Lévi-Strauss continued to focus on culture and reject racial models of differences in human behavior.
TheJena Declaration, published by theGerman Zoological Society, rejects the idea of human "races" and distances itself from theracial theories ofErnst Haeckel and other 20th century scientists. It claims thatgenetic variation betweenhuman populations is smaller than within them, demonstrating that the biological concept of "races" is invalid. The statement highlights that there are no specificgenes orgenetic markers that match with conventional racialcategorizations. It also indicates that the idea of "races" is based onracism rather than anyscientific factuality.[25][26]
After the end of seclusion in the 1850s, Japan signedunequal treaties, the so-calledAnsei Treaties, but soon came to demand equal status with the Western powers. Correcting that inequality became the most urgent international issue of the Meiji government. In that context, the Japanese delegation to the 1919Paris Peace Conference proposed the clause in theCovenant of the League of Nations. The first draft was presented to the League of Nations Commission byMakino Nobuaki on 13 February as an amendment to Article 21:[27]
The equality of nations being a basic principle of the League of Nations, the High Contracting Parties agree to accord, as soon as possible, to all alien nationals of States Members of the League equal and just treatment in every respect, making no distinction, either in law or in fact, on account of their race or nationality.
After Makino's speech,Lord Cecil stated that the Japanese proposal was a very controversial one and he suggested that perhaps the matter was so controversial that it should not be discussed at all. Greek Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos also suggested that a clause banning religious discrimination should also be removed since that was also a very controversial matter. That led to objections from aPortuguese diplomat, who stated that his country had never signed a treaty before that did not mention God, which caused Cecil to remark perhaps this time, they would all just have to a take a chance of avoiding the wrath of the Almighty by not mentioning Him.
Australian Prime MinisterBilly Hughes clarified his opposition and announced at a meeting that "ninety-five out of one hundred Australians rejected the very idea of equality. Hughes had entered politics as a trade unionist and, like most others in the working class, was very strongly opposed to Asian immigration to Australia. (The exclusion of Asian immigration was a popular cause with unions in Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand in the early 20th century.)[citation needed]
The Chinese delegation, which was otherwise at daggers drawn with the Japanese over the question of theformer German colony of Qingdao and the rest of the German concessions inShandong Province, also said that it would support the clause. One contemporary Chinese diplomat said the Shandong question was far more important to his government than the clause. British Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd George found himself in an awkward situation since Britain had signed an alliance with Japan in 1902, but he also wanted to hold theBritish Empire's delegation together.
Although the proposal received a majority (11 out of 16) of votes, the proposal was still problematic for thesegregationist US PresidentWoodrow Wilson, who needed the votes of segregationistSouthern Democrats to succeed in getting the votes needed for theUS Senate to ratify the treaty. Strong opposition from the British Empire delegation gave him a pretext to reject the proposal. Hughes[28] andJoseph Cook vigorously opposed it as it undermined theWhite Australia policy.[citation needed]
Opposition to racism revived in the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, anthropologists such asFranz Boas,Ruth Benedict,Margaret Mead, andAshley Montagu argued for the equality of humans across races and cultures.Eleanor Roosevelt was a very visible advocate for minority rights during this period.Anti-capitalist organizations like theIndustrial Workers of the World, which gained popularity during 1905–1926, were explicitly egalitarian.
In the 1940sSpringfield, Massachusetts, invokedThe Springfield Plan to include all persons in the community.
Beginning with theHarlem Renaissance and continuing into the 1960s, manyAfrican-American writers argued forcefully against racism.
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The struggles againstracial segregation in the United States and South Africanapartheid includingSharpeville massacre saw increased articulation of ideas opposed to racism of all kinds.[29]
During theCivil Rights Movement,Jim Crow laws were repealed in the South and blacks finally re-won the right to vote in Southern states. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential force, and his "I Have a Dream" speech is a condensation of his egalitarian ideology.
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Mass mobilization around theBlack Lives Matter movement have sparked a renewed interest in anti-racism in the U.S. Mass movement organizing has also been accompanied by academic efforts to foreground research regarding anti-racism in politics,criminal justice reform, inclusion in higher education, and workplace anti-racism.[30][31][32]
Anti-racism has taken various forms such asconsciousness-raising activities aimed at educating people about the ways they may perpetuate racism, enhancing cross-cultural understanding between racial groups, countering "everyday" racism in institutional settings, and combating extremist right-wingneo-Nazi andneo-Fascist groups.[29]
Proponents of anti-racism claim thatmicroaggressions can lead to many negative consequences in a work environment, learning environment, and to their overall sense of self-worth.[33] Anti-racism work aims to combat microaggressions and help to breaksystemic racism by focusing on actions againstdiscrimination andoppression.[34] Standing up against discrimination can be an overwhelming task for people of color who have been previously targeted. Anti-racists claim that microinterventions can be a tool used to act against racial discrimination.[35]
Microintervention strategies aim to provide the tools needed to confront and educate racial oppressors. Specific tactics include: revealing the hidden biases or agendas behind acts of discrimination, interrupting and challenging oppressive language, educating offenders, and connecting with other allies and community members to act against discrimination.[35] The theory is that these microinterventions allow the oppressor to see the impact of their words, and provide a space for an educational dialogue about how their actions can oppress people marginalized groups.[36]
Microaggressions can be conscious acts where the perpetrator is aware of the offense they are causing, or hidden andmetacommunicated without the perpetrator's awareness. Regardless of whether microaggressions are conscious or unconscious behaviors, the first anti-racist intervention is to name the ways it is harmful for a person of color. Calling out an act of discrimination can be empowering because it provides language for people of color to bring awareness to their lived experiences and justifies internal feelings of discrimination.[35]
Anti-racist strategies also include confronting the racial microaggression by outwardly challenging and disagreeing against the microaggression that harms a person of color. Microinterventions such as a verbal expression of "I don't want to hear that talk" and physical movements of disapproval are ways to confront microaggressions. Microinterventions are not used to attack others about their biases, but instead they are used to allow the space for an educational dialogue. Educating a perpetrator on their biases can open up a discussion about how the intention of a comment or action can have a damaging impact. For example, phrases such as "I know you meant that joke to be funny, but that stereotype really hurt me" can educate a person on the difference between what was intended and how it is harmful to a person of color. Anti-racist micro intervention strategies give the tools for people of color, white allies, and bystanders to combat against microaggressions and acts of discrimination.[35]
Another strategy involves fostering an inclusive environment by consistently promoting cultural safety, cultural humility, and narrative humility.[37] Cultural safety encourages individuals to examine their own identities and attitudes, creating spaces that are emotionally, socially, and physically safe for everyone while affirming the unique identities and needs of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. Cultural humility complements this by emphasizing self-reflection, co-learning, and collaboration with community members, underscoring the value of shared growth. Narrative humility further enhances this approach by encouraging individuals to listen attentively to others' stories, reflect on their roles within those narratives, and remain open to perspectives that challenge their own. Together, these approaches work to dismantle systemic inequities and cultivate environments grounded in respect, shared understanding, and active participation.
Egalitarianism has been a catalyst forfeminist,anti-war, andanti-imperialist movements.Henry David Thoreau's opposition to theMexican–American War, for example, was based in part on his fear that the U.S. was using the war as an excuse to expandslavery into new territories. Thoreau's response was chronicled in his famous essay "Civil Disobedience", which in turn helped igniteMahatma Gandhi's successful leadership of theIndian independence movement.[38] Gandhi's example in turn inspired the American civil rights movement. AsJames Loewen writes inLies My Teacher Told Me: "Throughout the world, from Africa toNorthern Ireland, movements of oppressed people continue to use tactics and words borrowed from our abolitionist and civil rights movements."[39]
Some of these uses have been controversial. Critics in theUnited Kingdom, such asPeter Hain, stated that inZimbabwe,Robert Mugabe had used anti-racist rhetoric to promoteland distribution, whereby privately held land was taken from white farmers and distributed to black Africans (see:Land reform in Zimbabwe).Roman Catholic bishops stated that Mugabe framed the land distribution as a way to liberate Zimbabwe from colonialism, but that "the whitesettlers who once exploited what wasRhodesia have been supplanted by a black elite that is just as abusive."[40][41][42]
It is claimed that white racial justice activists can causeactivism burnout for activists of color. According to Gorski and Erakat (2019),[43] of the 22 racial justice activists in the sample, 82% of the participants identified behaviors and attitudes of the white racial justice activists as a major source of the burnout that they feel. The same study also found that 72.2% of the participants said that the cause of their burnout was attributed to the white activists having unevolved or racist views.[43] 44.4% of the activists also said that their burnout was due to white activists invalidating their perspectives as activists of color.[43] 50% of the participants said that their burnout was caused by white activists not willing to "step up" to achieve the goals of the movement.[43] 44.4% of participants said that their burnout was due towhite fragility.[43] 50% of the participants said that their burnout was caused by white activists taking credit for the work of activists of color or exploiting them in other ways.[43]
The phrase "Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white", coined bywhite nationalist Robert Whitaker, is commonly associated with the topic ofwhite genocide, a white nationalistconspiracy theory which states that massimmigration,integration,miscegenation,low fertility rates andabortion are being promoted in predominantly white countries in order to deliberately turn them minority-white and hence causewhite people to becomeextinct throughforced assimilation.[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] The phrase was spotted on billboards nearBirmingham, Alabama in 2014,[45] and it was also spotted on billboards inHarrison, Arkansas in 2013.[53]
white genocide.
The dictionary definition ofAnti-racism at Wiktionary
Media related toAnti-racism at Wikimedia Commons
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