Hey there, whiteness scholar here --first time commenting but have been reading and appreciating your work for several months now. (Traveled in via either Lyz or AHP; can't recall which!) I just want to say that I appreciate a lot of what you are writing about here:
-For about a decade I ran a DEI campus program for white students to build their confidence and competence in contributing positively to inclusion and social justice on campus, and while I left that work about 5 years ago, I'm both exhausted, and not surprised, by the degree to which that knee-jerk reaction against caucus work still hangs around.
-I also initially built my dissertation around the dance that so many of us white folks do around our racial identities (a la NOFX Don't Call Me White), though in the end the work, and my first book, focused more on, because it was situated in, the complex terrain of posturing for diversity but divesting from it in neighborhoods and schools that you also rightly name here.
-A lot of my academic work was pushing for the very kind of ordinary (and therefore not- self-congratulatory) work that I'm relieved to hear you noticed on that call --just figuring out what specific thing is helpful in one specific environment, and ...doing it! I left academia and focus now on industry workspaces in my writing and efforts, but the story everywhere is the same: find a thing that some sound indicator suggests may be helpful, do the thing, figure out if it was helpful.... it's not rocket science, but so often we trip over ourselves along the way. Whew!
To that last point, thank you for being someone who does these things, and seems to do them well, and for nurturing the hard and necessary conversations about whiteness that help us collectively get there. Cheers!
Could not agree more with all this and also... oh my goodness, thanks for all the work you've been doing for so long (both as a scholar and a practitioner). Would you be up for sharing some links to your work? I know I'd like to read it and am sure that I'm not the only one here!
Just bought a copy of Racial Ambivalence in Diverse Communities and subscribed to your Substack! Both look super fascinating (as do your other books, just excited to get started with that one).
Ha! I don't think I did (this was 15 years ago) but I sure wanted to. And, am I kicking myself for not seeing their farewell tour this summer? Why yes, yes I am....
I mean, their politics have gotten increasingly cringey, which makes them excellent fodder for academic dissection. But Don't Call Me White really shaped some White punk identities in some formative years for a lot of people (myself included).
Garrett, I had been hoping you'd weigh in on this, so thanks for that!
I, a cis female, had the call on while I was working, making dinner, etc. At first I was simply curious what on earth it would be about, but it pretty quickly became clear that it was primarily a telethon-style fundraiser. The first speaker was actually a Black man, Maurice Mitchell of the Working Families Party, and the final speaker was a female organizer, Erin Heaney, from Showing Up for Racial Justice, but in between, it was all White guys (beginning with the ur-Dude, Jeff Bridges). There was only one speaker that I thought was a total dud, and a handful that were genuinely great, including (of course!) Gov. Walz, Rep. Swalwell, Joseph Gordon Levitt (who wisely pivoted to strategy, with some talking points to drop if your fellow white dudes start going on about how Trump should be president because he's a successful businessman), Paul Scheer, and Wisconsin's own Ben Wikler.
And good on all the dudes (it *was* mostly dudes, based on the first names) who were donating to the Harris campaign! Toward the end of the stream, I made a donation, and indeed, a few minutes later, "Sue T. $25" came scrolling across the bottom. So when they say the call raised $4 million, I believe them.
One thing that came up was that only around 34% of White men voted for Biden in 2020 (I don't remember the exact figure, but it was something close to that), and if that number could go up by even a couple percentage points, it could greatly increase Harris's chance of winning. THAT'S why White Dudes for Harris is important. These guys are being told that they can make a real difference by voting and by talking to their fellow White dudes, and I hope they take that message to heart. Plus now there's a progressive alternative to the MAGA hat!
I need to be honest.. some of this piece is stolen valor on my part, because I didn't listen to the entire thing (kids aren't gonna feed and put themselves to bed, you know?), so thank you for the full recap! And you're right, one should not underestimate the value of greater parity in the great White Guy Hat Wars.
YOu are the best. And I have to tell you because of reading your post about Zoey Zephyr all of those months ago, I am now running as a democrat against one of the Regiers.
We've definitely got some reader in the Flathead (for folks not familiar, we're talking about the Flathead Valley of Montana and the Regier family, the outwardly Christian Nationalist family who have an outsized level of impact on MT politics.
Thank you for this. Organising is hard often with little or no return. But it’s what we need. What’s that line? Something about the most important part of change is showing up.
Phil Lynott was neither White nor American: he was Irish to his core and that’s all his mates had to know.
See, that’s what self loathing, white, leftist Americans (“whiteness scholar”…ffs) don’t get. It’s not skin color that is properly weighed and measured; it’s behavior.
Lynott didn’t celebrate Kwanzaa. He didn’t march around in a dishiki and kente cloth costume. He didn’t trade his “slave name” for an unpronounceable Guianan pseudonym. He had never been to Africa or Guiana where his absent father was from. He was Irish, celebrated Celtic culture and was completely accepted as such.
Self loathing whites don’t understand that by flagellating themselves, their own people and their culture they are building the wall between black and white people ever higher.
Evidently, not even your 85 IQ cackling candidate running “What can be, unburdened by what has been”
Hey there, whiteness scholar here --first time commenting but have been reading and appreciating your work for several months now. (Traveled in via either Lyz or AHP; can't recall which!) I just want to say that I appreciate a lot of what you are writing about here:
-For about a decade I ran a DEI campus program for white students to build their confidence and competence in contributing positively to inclusion and social justice on campus, and while I left that work about 5 years ago, I'm both exhausted, and not surprised, by the degree to which that knee-jerk reaction against caucus work still hangs around.
-I also initially built my dissertation around the dance that so many of us white folks do around our racial identities (a la NOFX Don't Call Me White), though in the end the work, and my first book, focused more on, because it was situated in, the complex terrain of posturing for diversity but divesting from it in neighborhoods and schools that you also rightly name here.
-A lot of my academic work was pushing for the very kind of ordinary (and therefore not- self-congratulatory) work that I'm relieved to hear you noticed on that call --just figuring out what specific thing is helpful in one specific environment, and ...doing it! I left academia and focus now on industry workspaces in my writing and efforts, but the story everywhere is the same: find a thing that some sound indicator suggests may be helpful, do the thing, figure out if it was helpful.... it's not rocket science, but so often we trip over ourselves along the way. Whew!
To that last point, thank you for being someone who does these things, and seems to do them well, and for nurturing the hard and necessary conversations about whiteness that help us collectively get there. Cheers!
Could not agree more with all this and also... oh my goodness, thanks for all the work you've been doing for so long (both as a scholar and a practitioner). Would you be up for sharing some links to your work? I know I'd like to read it and am sure that I'm not the only one here!
Sure! Let me know if anything is too difficult to get your hands on and I'm glad to help out a little further.
-books: https://bookshop.org/contributor_profiles/1121
-info about and some linked academic articles here: https://meghanburke.weebly.com/cv--publications.html
-an O Magazine article that featured some of my research during the summer of 2020 uprisings: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/relationships-love/a32824297/color-blind-myth-racism/
-a podcast episode I was on about a year ago, talking about some of these dynamics with a former DEI colleague: https://theotherfiftypercent.com/blog/ep226drmeghanburke
-my own little toddler of a Substack: https://meghanbphd.substack.com/
Just bought a copy of Racial Ambivalence in Diverse Communities and subscribed to your Substack! Both look super fascinating (as do your other books, just excited to get started with that one).
Please tell me you talk about NOFX in your dissertation. Thank you for the work you do!
Ha! I don't think I did (this was 15 years ago) but I sure wanted to. And, am I kicking myself for not seeing their farewell tour this summer? Why yes, yes I am....
I mean, their politics have gotten increasingly cringey, which makes them excellent fodder for academic dissection. But Don't Call Me White really shaped some White punk identities in some formative years for a lot of people (myself included).
Totally agree, and glad you emphasized that. SUCH nostalgia, though….
Garrett, I had been hoping you'd weigh in on this, so thanks for that!
I, a cis female, had the call on while I was working, making dinner, etc. At first I was simply curious what on earth it would be about, but it pretty quickly became clear that it was primarily a telethon-style fundraiser. The first speaker was actually a Black man, Maurice Mitchell of the Working Families Party, and the final speaker was a female organizer, Erin Heaney, from Showing Up for Racial Justice, but in between, it was all White guys (beginning with the ur-Dude, Jeff Bridges). There was only one speaker that I thought was a total dud, and a handful that were genuinely great, including (of course!) Gov. Walz, Rep. Swalwell, Joseph Gordon Levitt (who wisely pivoted to strategy, with some talking points to drop if your fellow white dudes start going on about how Trump should be president because he's a successful businessman), Paul Scheer, and Wisconsin's own Ben Wikler.
And good on all the dudes (it *was* mostly dudes, based on the first names) who were donating to the Harris campaign! Toward the end of the stream, I made a donation, and indeed, a few minutes later, "Sue T. $25" came scrolling across the bottom. So when they say the call raised $4 million, I believe them.
One thing that came up was that only around 34% of White men voted for Biden in 2020 (I don't remember the exact figure, but it was something close to that), and if that number could go up by even a couple percentage points, it could greatly increase Harris's chance of winning. THAT'S why White Dudes for Harris is important. These guys are being told that they can make a real difference by voting and by talking to their fellow White dudes, and I hope they take that message to heart. Plus now there's a progressive alternative to the MAGA hat!
I need to be honest.. some of this piece is stolen valor on my part, because I didn't listen to the entire thing (kids aren't gonna feed and put themselves to bed, you know?), so thank you for the full recap! And you're right, one should not underestimate the value of greater parity in the great White Guy Hat Wars.
YOu are the best. And I have to tell you because of reading your post about Zoey Zephyr all of those months ago, I am now running as a democrat against one of the Regiers.
Holy cow! Congratulations! And thank you! How can folks support your campaign?
Your writing supports my campaign. Your perspective helps me put myself out there like you do.
I am a shitty politician so if you know anyone in the Flathead who wants to go door to door with me let me know!
We've definitely got some reader in the Flathead (for folks not familiar, we're talking about the Flathead Valley of Montana and the Regier family, the outwardly Christian Nationalist family who have an outsized level of impact on MT politics.
Awesome. I don’t have a good chance of winning but I am gonna give it the old menopausal woman effort. You truly did inspire me.
One of the best varieties of effort, lol!
Great piece and thank you for your honesty and transparency- vital and inspiring
Oh thank you!
Thank you for this. Organising is hard often with little or no return. But it’s what we need. What’s that line? Something about the most important part of change is showing up.
Well put!
🤣🤣🤣
Phil Lynott was neither White nor American: he was Irish to his core and that’s all his mates had to know.
See, that’s what self loathing, white, leftist Americans (“whiteness scholar”…ffs) don’t get. It’s not skin color that is properly weighed and measured; it’s behavior.
Lynott didn’t celebrate Kwanzaa. He didn’t march around in a dishiki and kente cloth costume. He didn’t trade his “slave name” for an unpronounceable Guianan pseudonym. He had never been to Africa or Guiana where his absent father was from. He was Irish, celebrated Celtic culture and was completely accepted as such.
Self loathing whites don’t understand that by flagellating themselves, their own people and their culture they are building the wall between black and white people ever higher.
Evidently, not even your 85 IQ cackling candidate running “What can be, unburdened by what has been”
on a loop gets through to you.