Supporting African-Heritage People
I am deeply saddened by the recent killings of Black men by police officers in the United States. It seems like it is one shooting a day, at least. The militarization of the U.S. police force should be a grave concern. Our work in RC to end racism is so desperately needed and required.
There are many fronts we all can be vigilant on. The ending of racism, particularly as it is directed at African-heritage people, has to be addressed on a daily basis.
Many movements are intertwined. I am proud of the care-of-the-environment work that Native folks are doing for people worldwide.
Marcie Rendon
International Liberation Reference Person for Native Americans
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
I’ve been struggling to figure out how to support Black friends, students (as a middle and high school teacher), and Co-Counselors during the continuing mass incarceration of, police brutality against, and seemingly endless police killings of Black men in the United States.
At a recent RC young adult conference, I attended a topic group for “People of the Global Majority (PGM) and Indigenous people working on anti-Black racism.” I think groups like this are a vital part of RC’s work on racism. It can be challenging for PGM who are not Black to work on the racism targeting African-heritage people. When counseling with white people in mixed groups, feelings about racism and genocide come up for us. When counseling with African-heritage people, we have to not act out our oppressor distress.
The young adults who met on this topic have maintained our connection by phone. We are scheduling a conference call to discharge about anti-Black racism and the related events in the United States.
I will also be leading a gather-in for PGM and Indigenous Co-Counselors in my Region. I am more hopeful now that I am connected with other people who are prioritizing this work.
Kara Nye
Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
Here in Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA), Simone Rendon (age thirty-seven) leads a discharge group for activists who support Black Lives Matter activists. This gives non-Black allies a place to discharge on how to hang in there [not go away] and continue to be allies. Simone also teaches a PGM class. I think these are key ways to lend support.
I have been asked by a Black elder to teach an RC class to folks he will pull together. He took one of the first classes I ever taught in Minneapolis, and while he hasn’t been active in the Community, as a Black man he recognizes that RC is a pivotal tool for navigating the world in these times.
Marcie Rendon
As a Jew of color and a Native Jew, I have been focusing my efforts on supporting the Platform for Black Lives, an amazing liberation document created by fifty organizations of Black people in the United States.
The platform described two situations as genocide: what is happening in the Congo and in Palestine. Many (white) Jews immediately condemned this as an attack and in some cases withdrew support from the Black Lives Matter movement, including cancelling fundraising events. This has led to the media putting a lot of attention on the Jews’ feelings about the platform instead of on the platform itself. I have been working with a group of other Jews of color and Native Jews to publicly support the platform and call on Jewish institutions to address racism more directly and deeply, including racism toward Jews of color.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion listfor leaders of Native Americans
(Present Time 186, January 2017)