------ Forwarded Message From: Jackie Anderson <[log in to unmask]> Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:16:26 -0700 (PDT) To: Jackie Anderson <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Important info and petition.. "It is part of our task as revolutionary people, people who want deep-rooted, radical change, to be as whole as it is possible for us to be. This can only be done if we face the reality of what oppression really means in our lives, not as abstract systems subject to analysis, but as an avalanche of traumas leaving a wake of devastation in the lives of real people who nevertheless remain human, unquenchable, complex and full of possibility." Aurora Levins Morales, Medicine Stories Hello, I wanted to share with you this "Call to Action", which Ann Russo & I developed. It is also attached as a PDF file. We both hope that you will share it with your networks and friends, and sign onto the letter at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-false-race-gender-divide. If you do forward the email, please share the email address associated with this Call to Action: calltoaction2008@ gmail.com Thanks! Melissa Spatz Stop the False Race/Gender Divide: A Call to Action We are calling on white progressive women activists and feminists to join us in challenging the onslaught of reactionary and racist arguments being put forward in the name of feminism and in defense of Hillary Clinton. We are saddened and frustrated by the abandonment of feminist commitments to the freedom and liberation of all women from all forms of oppression. We stand with all the women who have stepped up in the past several months to say no to this kind of feminism – including Barbara Ransby, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Kimberlé Crenshaw and Eve Ensler, Zillah Eisenstein, Suzanne Pharr, among others. We are adding our voices to this dialogue as white women grounded in the feminist movement and actively engaged in issues impacting women and girls. We strongly disagree with this reactive critique of sexism that has been grounded in a denial of the ongoing legacies of racism and white supremacy. The misogyny and sexism directed against Hillary Clinton are real and must be called out and challenged. However, a critique of sexism must not be at the expense of addressing racism and other forms of oppression. The misogyny is deplorable to say the least, and yet it must not be used as a reason to deny racism, to distance ourselves from struggles against racism, and/or to perpetrate racism in defense of "women." We need to resist and refuse this exclusive, defensive, and racist politics if we are serious about coalitional, broad-based, interconnected women's solidarity movements. For white women, an exclusive and defensive focus on sexism denies accountability for our racial privilege. It erases our own complicity in the multiple systems of oppression that shape our lives, perspectives, and allegiances. We believe these politics significantly undermine the efforts of many women – especially women of color – to create feminisms that are grounded in multiple identities and in struggles against multiple oppressions. They destroy the possibilities for coalition, alliance, and solidarity across our differences and inequalities of race, sexuality, immigration status, gender identity, age, and more. Here in Chicago, we have dialogued with white women and women of color as a way of challenging the racial divides being promoted by some white feminists and the mainstream media. We feel that as white feminists it is imperative that we speak out publicly against the racism and divisiveness that we are seeing. We therefore offer the following statement of our refusals and commitments. We invite you to join us in our efforts. We are calling on white progressive women to take a stand by signing onto this letter and distributing it far and wide. We welcome all progressive activists, including women of color and allies, to sign the letter as well. Add your signature to http://www.thepetit ionsite.com/ 1/stop-the- false-race- gender-divide. We will share this letter and signatures with a variety of feminist, progressive, as well as mainstream media. Signed, Ann Russo & Melissa Spatz calltoaction2008@ gmail.com ------ End of Forwarded Message