Citation

Ferguson A. Sociol. Compass 2023; 17(1): e13057.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/soc4.13057

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

People have fought against racism for as long as it has existed and yet it persists in diverse and materially impactful ways. The primary challenge to eradicating racism is likely the power of white privilege. This paper argues that another important obstacle to progress has been the lack of a clear definition of antiracism that movement activists and scholars can collaboratively use to ensure that antiracist scholarship and efforts meet the full measure of the term's intention. While academia has struggled to converge on a definition, "lay race theorists" and movement activists--Black women in particular, have been participating in discourse online and through other venues where consensus appears to be developing around a definition. This article attempts to summarize activist discourse in defining antiracism as "the commitment to eradicate racism in all its forms" and individual antiracism as "the commitment to eradicate racism in all its forms, by (1) building an understanding of racism and (2) taking action to eliminate racism "within oneself, in other people, in institutions, and through actions outside of institutions," noting that "antiracism is an ongoing practice and commitment that must be accountable to antiracist Black people, Indigenous people, and other People of Color and consider intersectional systems of oppression." While research on the public conversation benefits from its easy access and limited additional burdens on movement activists, future research should test these definitions with movement activists to ensure that definitions and metrics are as relevant to the antiracist movement as possible.

Language: en

Keywords

ally; antiracism; critical; critical race theory; definition; racism; theory