White Supremacy In Food Justice
White supremacy can seem like a dramatic term, conjuring images of the KKK or Nazi Germany. But a more accurate and total picture includes forms that may seem subtle — especially to white people. White supremacy sometimes has a friendly face; a face full of optimism. It can boil down to the simple assumption that white people tend to do things well. Including things like food justice.
In a blog post called “A Disturbing Trend,” the writers at Be Black and Green explain how white supremacy persists in the food justice movements of Detroit.
[W]e must be clear that all non-profits and community organizations are not playing on an even field. Groups that are well established, with a track record of managing large amounts of funding are usually viewed more favorably by funders. Additionally, most funders unconsciously feel more comfortable with people who look like them, speak like them, have had similar life experiences and know people that they know. These factors often translate to white led groups having more finances to operate programs than small community organizations that have grown organically from the communities that they serve. The irony is that there is a great deal of funding targeted at programs that serve “urban,” “underserved” (translation – Black or Latino) communities. These predominantly white led non-profits thus need to create a programmatic presence in those communities in order to keep their financial spigots flowing.
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Just as we undertake to recognize dukkha arising in pleasant experiences, not just uncomfortable ones, we must also recognize white supremacy even when it comes wearing its soft, subtle, philanthropic faces.
Be Black and Green closes their piece on a positive tip:
Finally, it is not enough to just complain about this disturbing trend of white do-gooders leading food system work in our communities. What is more important is that we engage in an intensive effort to build Black led organizations, and to identify and train Black people to lead the work of teaching gardening, farming, nutrition, cooking and community food system development in the communities in which we live. But it ain’t just about food! Our efforts to provide greater access to healthy food in our communities must by necessity boldly address the larger problem of the vastly inequitable power relationships in this country and how race and class help to define those relationships. Let’s get busy!
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Give the whole thing a read, and share your thoughts here!
Rasheed Hislop
I appreciate this voice being put out – it does not get heard often and I concur with these sentiments to the letter. As a mixed race male of color who has worked in communities for food sovereignty and now in graduate school I can say that there are so many ways in which being even half white gives one a leg up in the realm of social justice work. Funding is definitely one but the visibility and inter-relationships are the core of the problem – the funding comes after those as checks are written after beers and pretzels are shared. This is nothing new and how we put an end to it is quite a doozie. Academia is the same story in a different language. I am often overwhelmed but inspired by the work of organizations and individuals in Detroit and I look forward to contributing where I can some day in the not too distant future.
aluta continua
Katie Loncke
As a light-skinned mixie myself, I hella hear you on that. Marketing work to different funders, or sharing with different audiences, has highlighted so deeply and clearly for me all sorts of racialized, gender-fraught, and classed power dynamics in terms of ‘likability,’ shared vocabularies, and first impressions. As you say, it’s a doozy.
Glad you are feelin the analysis tho! Are you articulating for yourself, and/or hearing from others, strategies for navigating these complexities in food justice work? Personally I feel sympathetic to what i see as a few different views; for instance:
By Every Means Necessary: lobbying, urban farming, decolonizing our consciousness, nonprofits, volunteer collectives, groups that evolve and change over time — no one has The Answer, so we need diversity and flexibility in our approaches to meeting real, immediate needs.
Self-Reliance: history has demonstrated that policy reforms and state/private philanthropy are fickle and sometimes cause worse problems than they solve. we don’t want to live off crumbs forever. our main goal should not be seeking stability through the state, but deliberately exposing the state’s failures by finding ways of meeting our own communities’ needs ourselves, pointing by example to a better way forward.
Implanting the Radical Virus: policy reform isn’t the answer for the reasons mentioned above, and organizing for it wastes energy by bringing false hope in reformism. but self-reliance isn’t the answer either, because the state can always take away what we build, and something like the recent chevron oil refinery explosion can poison gardens it’s taken us years to cultivate. it’s not enough to build alternatives; we need mass radical organizing to directly challenge the power structures and fight for a better future. if that means we have to subsist on packaged ramen noodles and soda for the meantime, so be it.
Very simplified, obviously, but I’m just always interested in geeking out with other people over strategy. :) Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, Rasheed; I’d love to know more!
love and solidarity,
katie