Hi everyone, if you’re available on Wednesday October 21st at 10am Pacific Time, please join me and fellow rabble-rouser Aparna Rae for an informal conversation where we bust some of the myths about nonprofit and philanthropy. It’ll be fun, since we’ll probably be trash-talking billionaires (who all suck and should be taxed out of existence!). It’s free. Register here.
I just signed a contract with my publisher, Wiley, to write another book, which shows that I am a glutton for punishment, frustration, and being slumped on the floor in the fetal position while tearfully eating a 1.5-quart container of mint-chocolate chip vegan ice cream (What, do you have a better writing process?).
This time, it will be a deep dive into what MLK called the biggest threat to justice. White moderation. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, he called society’s propensity to focus on “civility” and “a negative peace”—which is a type of peace that comes from lack of conflict and tension and not because justice is achieved—the biggest barrier for achieving a just and equitable world.
The book will dive into the various forms white moderation manifests, provide examples and stories, as well as explore potential solutions for addressing it. I’ll need your help writing it. Please read this article I wrote a while ago, The White Moderation Genome Project, and email me at vhl312@gmail.com any anecdotes, horror stories, and any success you’ve had dealing with white moderation in its many forms. You will remain anonymous unless you prefer otherwise.
I feel strongly about this topic and have written many posts on it throughout the years. Our sector has become one giant white moderate sector of well-intentioned people and organizations who serve as a pacifying arm of capitalism, which allows it to run unchecked. Unfortunately, white moderation learns and evolves, and we are often too busy to track how subtly and insidiously it can manifest.
For instance, for the past few weeks, you may have been following the Macklemore and Ed Sheeran situation. Now, an easy analogy is that many people and institutions in our sector are Ed Sheeran: A white moderate who, through his focus on civility and neutrality, is complicit in perpetuating the genocide of Palestinians. And we all (and our entire sector) need to be more like Macklemore, a person who is willing to speak up against injustice and stand in support of Palestine, even if it causes tension and comes with costs to his reputation, career, and livelihood.
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Read more here…
