New Book: Accountability and White Anti-racist Organizing : Stories from Our Work

Posted by on November 21, 2010

[posted from Comm-Org list]

From: Larry Yates <llyates@shentel.net>

Accountability and White Anti-racist Organizing : Stories from Our Work

Edited by Bonnie Berman Cushing, with Lila Cabbil, Margery Freeman, Jeff Hitchcock, and Kimberley Richards

Publisher: Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, Inc.
Pages: 256
Price: $17.95
ISBN: 978-1-934390-32-0

Pub. Date: November 1, 2010 (Now available from the publisher, on Amazon, or ask your local bookstore to carry it.)

Description: A growing number of white people are working for racial justice, but experienced organizers caution that, to be effective, white activists need to develop accountable relationships with people of color. Though easy to understand in concept, this advice is sometimes more difficult to apply in practice.

Now a select group of white-identified anti-racist organizers from around the country tell personal stories and offer lessons from their everyday experiences that reveal how the notion of accountability informs their work. Eleven chapters offer a panorama of personal styles, perspectives, organizing traditions and approaches. Locations range from post-Katrina New Orleans to the New York City school system, from a Washington, DC-based advocacy group to a faith community in Seattle.

The stories describe cutting edge work, available to a larger audience for the first time. Through the eyes of seasoned activists, readers learn practical approaches and best practices, identify mistakes and pitfalls to avoid, and understand how they might participate in the growing multiracial movement for racial justice.

For the reader not yet inclined to join the work, the book documents a rising social phenomenon. Some white people are moving beyond limited and simplistic models of colorblindness, diversity and multiculturalism to developing accountable relationships with people of color.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Ronald Chisom
Editors’ Preface

Introduction
Bonnie Berman Cushing and Jeff Hitchcock

Pulling Back the Veil: Lessons from Post-Levee-Break New Orleans
Jacqui “Adhi” Hermer

Rhyme and Reason: The Making of a White Antiracist Rap Group
Jeb Aram Middlebrook

From Within: Practicing White Antiracism in Public Schools
Christine Schmidt

A Case Study: Professional Advocates Can Be Accountable to People of Color
Larry Yates

Burning Deep Inside: Anti-racist Accountability in a Faith Community
Gillian Burlingham

White Antiracist Organizing in a Social Service Agency: Lessons Learned and Unlearned
Benjamin G. Kohl, Jr. and Lisa V. Blitz

Resistance in Brooklyn: Accountability for Anti-Imperialist Action
Matt Meyer

‘Passing It On’: Reflections of a White Anti-Racist Solidarity Organizer
Sharon Martinas with Mickey Ellinger

Liberated Narratives: Being Accountable for Self, Friendship, and Community
The Alliance for Racial and Social Justice

Powerful Partnerships: Transformative Alliance Building
Shelly Tochluk and Cameron Levin, AWARE-LA/RJA

The European Dissent Accountability Statement
Members of European Dissent

Afterword
Bonnie Berman Cushing
==============

Contact: Jeff Hitchcock
245 West Fourth Avenue
Roselle, NJ 07203-1135
Publisher@CDDbooks.com
Phone: (908) 241-5439
Fax: (908) 245-4972
http://www.cddbooks.com/