I have received a number of inquiries and even some spirited pushback on the term Chicanostocracy from all sides. Some people think that this term means I am advocating for an aristocracy of Chicanos that oppresses White people. Others think I am trying to elevate socially privileged Chicanos to the level of unilateral decision makers in the community. To the former, I do not care. Continue to live in your imagined world of “reverse racism.” To the latter, please allow me to take you on the journey as this concept has evolved over time.
At its core, my work has always been centered around cultivating anti-oppressive, racial justice-oriented praxis. This begins with the following premises:
- The U.S. was founded upon colonialism and White supremacy
- We continue to live this legacy, and racism still structures society (i.e., it is not simply an individual attribute)
- All forms of oppression are mutually-reinforcing, and racial liberation will not happen in the absence of liberation along the lines of gender, sexual orientation, and ability, to name a few
- Oppression dehumanizes all people, but through anti-oppressive praxis, we move toward being more fully human (thanks Paulo Freire)
The underlying question is, how do we act, think, organize, create, and agitate for racial justice?
In my late teens and early 20s, I was taken by W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of the Talented Tenth, where he believed that 1 in 10 Black men could be cultivated into classically educated, racial justice leaders fostering Black liberation. Looking back, it makes sense that this concept would appeal to a 20-something-year-old, Stanford-educated, Chicano who had been told his entire life he was smart. I should have kept reading to discover that the Talented Tenth did not actually result in the progressive social change it promised.
As my thinking developed, I found myself in L.A. during the massive organizing against HR4437 – the draconian anti-immigrant bill passed by Congress in late 2005. At that time, I was affiliated with a group of high school students organizing against this racist law, and it was a fascinating social dynamic. They led the space, but they also welcomed the support of grad students as long as we stayed in our lane.
On the other side of this dynamic, I was also reminded of a time I was in a town of maquiladora workers built on the outskirts of Tijuana. One person in my group was outraged by the inhumane conditions, and especially the U.S. culpability in creating them via NAFTA. They wanted to do more work with this community, and one of the residents lovingly and forcefully told them to stop being naïve. The people in our group had access to spheres of power people in the community never would, and they challenged us to instead carry their memory into those spaces. They would continue to survive without us, just as they had before.
Returning to the meaning of Chicanostocracy, I used to have as my tagline as, “What have you done for the grassroots lately?” At this time, I stumbled across the incredible work of Paulo Freire where he argued that those who work from a position of false charity work for instead of with the oppressed. It does not preclude people in the ivory tower of academia to be part of anti-racist social movements as long as we take account of our privileged social positioning, leveraging our social connections and resources at the service of disrupting oppression, broadly defined.
At the end of the day, these tensions inform Chicanostocracy as both an acknowledgement of social position and social responsibility. The underlying premise of the Talented Tenth may have been fatally flawed; however, that should not mean minoritized people in modestly elevated social positions have no place in progressive social movements. Instead, they (we) need to know our place within the advancement of collective humanity, and also leverage the times when we do have access to centers of power. This leads to the tagline of www.chicanostocracy.com:
What have you done with the grassroots lately?
With this in mind, I am creating this space to explore issues of racism/anti-racism, Whiteness, culture, and education. I invite you to join me on this journey.
Peace,
NC c/s
Well stated Nolan. You make your ol’ Pop proud. You are Becoming!!
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