How important is the 99%'s diversity

December 4, 2011 10:23 PM

In an article about the Occupy Wall Street movement, Bridget Todd writes: "As a black woman, I feel any conversation about economic inequality is incomplete if it doesn’t also address racial inequality as well." My gut reaction to statements like that is quite whiney, and goes something like `Must we bring race and racism into everything?' But when she goes on to point out that "Despite under-representation at Occupations around the country, black and brown people make up the majority of those suffering economically," I find myself forced to admit that this is a problem. How important a problem is it? Can I, as a white, cisgendered male even answer that question legitimately? Perhaps not, but I decided to at least read more articles about it.

Elon James White writes that "Police brutality experienced by the movement is nothing new in the black community". His article is very explicit about supporting the movement, but he says "There have been discussions as to why there aren't more blacks involved in the Occupy movement. I can't speak for all of them, but I can speak about what I've read and the folks I've talked to directly about this. The type of outrage that pops up now at what many of us have lived with on a regular basis for years feels insulting."

Writing in a more personal, blog-posting style, Hena Ashraf records things like this:
"At the general assembly a document was introduced called `The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City'."

"I, Thanu, Sonny, Manissa, and Natasha felt that some language needed to be urgently changed. [...] The line was: `As one people, formerly divided by the color of our skin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or lack thereof, political party and cultural background, we acknowledge the reality: that there is only one race, the human race, and our survival requires the cooperation of its members...'

"The first major concern amongst us was that the phrase `formerly divided by' was unrealistic, and erased histories of oppression that marginalized communities have suffered. The second concern was that the `human race' language also felt very out of touch."

This posting, by Manissa McCleave Maharawal, might be from the same Manissa referenced above:
"I first went down to Occupy Wall Street last Sunday, almost a week after it had started. I didn’t go down before because I, like many of my other brown friends, were wary of what we had heard or just intuited that it was mostly a young white male scene."

"there were a lot of young white kids. But there weren’t only young white kids. There were older people, there were mothers with kids, and there were a lot more people of color than I expected, something that made me relieved."

"A lot was said at the anti-patriarchy meeting about in what ways the space of the occupation was a safe space and also not. Women talked about not feeling comfortable in the drum circle because of men dancing up on them and how to change this, about how to feel safe sleeping out in the open with a lot of men that they didn’t know, about not-assuming gender pronouns and asking people which pronouns they would prefer."

There are more articles about OWS, focusing on race/gender/etc..., here.

posted by Net Prophet (4 comments total)

This post pretty much sums up my feelings on it:

See, here's the thing that I love about people of color and white women: we're hopeful every time a new protest or movement comes along that, like Occupy, speaks to us. We get involved. We organize. We take on leadership. We fight. We stick around, even when racism, sexism, and homophobia become explicit. In other words--when white male dominance is challenged and subsequently, (and staunchly) defended--we hang in there.

Because it always happens.
posted by yeloson at 10:29 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

I've been feeling guilty because I am part of the 1%. Not in this country - I'm not rich - but globally. As a moderately well off American, I'm richer than 99% of the world's population. And I wasn't even trying. So I'm very conflicted, because in America I'm part of the 99%, but globally I'm part of the 1%.
posted by twoleftfeet at 10:39 PM on December 4, 2011

Gosh, just think how rich you'd be if you did try!
posted by Threeway Handshake at 10:43 PM on December 4, 2011

I've been feeling guilty because I am part of the 1%. Not in this country - I'm not rich - but globally. As a moderately well off American, I'm richer than 99% of the world's population. And I wasn't even trying. So I'm very conflicted, because in America I'm part of the 99%, but globally I'm part of the 1%.

Yeah, it's true. Even when considering purchasing parity you're almost certainly insanely rich. You'll be pleased to know that an utter dependence on a fossil fuel infrastructure to supply an economy the size of a continent with little rail, inland canal links or domestic production is going to deal with that for you at some point though.
posted by jaduncan at 10:43 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]