DARCED

Decolonizing Anti-Racist Culture of the European Diaspora (DARCED) GOALS

Decolonizing Anti-Racist Culture of the European Diaspora (DARCED) from Kanyon Konsulting LLC

DARC-ED guidelines

DISMANTLE THE IDEA OF WHITENESS

Examine and expose “whiteness” as a myth that needs to be dismantled, embracing instead the complexity of the many ancestral cultures and different ethnicities from Europe. Together, we create a world where the idea of “white people” doesn’t exist anymore. For example, I am not white, I am a person of English, Celtic and Romansch descent living on the ancestral land of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people. We are encouraged by the fact that “whiteness” was only recently invented and that human identity is ever-fluid and -changing.

DISMANTLE SYSTEMS OF DOMINANCE AND OPPRESSION

Support indigenous sovereignty and reparations and safety for black and indigenous people of color directly, in the ways that are desired within those communities. We are aware of how we benefit from these systems because of our perceived “whiteness” and work to dismantle these inequities despite the protections and benefits they may afford.

REMEMBER We are an unstoppable force against historical and cultural amnesia. We will choose to remember, reclaim, truth-tell and remind our fellow “white” people about our shared history. We will make connections from the forgotten past and bring information that is being suppressed back to the light. The bad and the good of our history need to be remembered so we can build from the good and dismantle the evils that we are currently only building upon.

BUILD RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE OF COLOR

We are allies, enablers and co-creators of the visions that come from within the beating hearts of marginalized communities, breaking the cycle of outsiders dictating, controlling narratives and creating more harm. We hold our appropriate place in the circle without dominance or superiority, knowing when to speak up and when it’s appropriate to listen. We take responsibility for our own education in these social skills and compensate our teachers and guides who do educate us fairly for their labor.

BE AWARE OF PRIVILEGE

This historical remembering and modern rediscovery isn’t work just for “white” people of European descent. “Western,” and “white” are concepts, identities and cultures that most people on Earth are currently being either oppressed by or benefitting from and decolonization work is no different. Ancestral awakening is an inheritance and an exploration for all people who wish to dismantle these systems but access is not equal. Justice movements have always been initiated and tended by black and indigenous queer people of color. We acknowledge our elders in thought and in culture and are aware of our place as latecomers to the work. This work is alive in the world, it is political and as much affected by cycles of dominance and oppression as any other space.

CREATE MORE LIFE

Whatever we do, let our choices and actions be driven by a desire to create more life and thriving in the world in direct opposition to the cruelly destructive culture we are surrounded and enveloped by. We know we are always connected to and a part of the environment around us. We give extra support to creating life in the communities currently currently being overwhelmed by death and destruction such as femme, queer, black, indigenous, immigrant, refugee, disabled and ecological communities.

SHARE SKILLS AND RESOURCES

We strive to disengage from the waste stream of capitalism which is always calling us to buy more and waste more, both of material things and of the living world. There are many skills that people used to know how to do for ourselves only a few generations ago and we see empowering creativity, innovation and skill-sharing as imperative for the survival of every community in a world that is increasingly more affected by wealth inequality, climate change and political turmoil. This puts the power of creation back in the hands of the people instead of relying on companies or governments who are currently upholding this culture of death.

RESPECT ALL SCIENCES

Respect and embrace noncolonial ways of knowing. In her novel, “The Salt Roads,” black afro-futurist writer Nalo Hopkinson uses the words “science” and “magic” interchangeably. Traditional ways of thinking and knowing are abundantly diverse and just as valid as “western scientific thought.” We support thought leaders of color and people practicing their traditional sciences. We listen to and respect all ways of knowing and investigate our own ancestral ways of knowing before our ancestors’ ways of thinking became homogenized.

[Lauren Harwyn @witchwaytotheforest]My elders in thought in creating these action goals include: Adrienne Marie Brown, Autumn Meghan Brown, Kanyon CoyoteWoman Sayers-Roods, Lisa Renee Hall, Natalie Wynn, Lara Rose Duong, Layla F. Saad, Liz Migliorelli, Lora O’Brien, Milla Prince, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnedi Okorafor and the natural world.