This project references language and terms that we’ve learned from organizations and leaders who have inspired us.

Anti-racist organizing:

The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) describes organizing as ‘bringing people together for a specific purpose or intent.’ Anti-racist organizing is about organizing with humanity and practicing the anti-racist organizing principles.

White culture:

When we think about white culture, we like to start by looking at culture generally. PISAB describes culture as “the life support system of a community.” When we consider this for white people and communities in the US, we might think about wealth accumulation, white picket fences, chicken pot pie, and reliance on the police. Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun help us see how the characteristics of this culture manifest interpersonally and organizationally through the White Supremacy Culture website. It’s important to note that white culture is distinct from the cultural heritages white people brought from Europe; often, white culture is the set of conditions and privileges for which white people gave up our ethnic cultural traditions.

White anti-racist culture:

Through the Somatic Abolitionism process, its founder Dr. Resmaa Menakem urges us to consider what embodied anti-racist culture might look and feel like in the US, particularly as white people. We understand white anti-racist culture as a vision not yet formulated, but actively being shaped by white people who have decided to consciously confront our relationships to white culture and shape new cultures that actively disrupt the violence and terror of white supremacy. This project exists to highlight these efforts and make it more possible for white people to co-create white anti-racist culture that supports the safety and power of Black people, indigenous people, Palestinian people, trans people, disabled people, and all people.

Internalized Racial Superiority:

Throughout the Magazine, several contributors name Internalized Racial Superiority (or IRS for short) to refer to behaviors and patterns exhibited by white people. PISAB notes IRS as one of two forms of Internalized Racial Oppression, the other being Internalized Racial Inferiority, which is experienced by people of color. They define IRS as: “The acceptance of and acting out of a superior definition is rooted in the historical designation of one’s race. Over many generations, this process of empowerment and access expresses itself as unearned privileges, access to institutional power, and invisible advantages based upon race.” Many of the characteristics of IRS, which are detailed in the Undoing Racism® workshop, mirror the characteristics of White Supremacy Culture referenced above.

Note: Magazine submissions are not judged based on what language is used; we are looking for stories that illuminate the complexity of our lived experiences and practice, no matter how you talk about them.