*Feel free to repost*

As people who attended the anti-oppression workshop on January 30th and who were among the number of white anarchists called out for the active gentrification of neighborhoods of color, we feel compelled to respond to a number of allegations regarding the actions of Marck at the event. While the versions of the events of this workshop are skewed and wildly inaccurate, it is not merely such inaccuracies that warrant response. Rather, we would like to draw attention to the ways in which this incredibly problematic reaction is characteristic of the the ways in which privileged people often respond to being called out, especially when asked to take concrete steps towards challenging the ways in which they actively perpetuate oppression in their daily lives and interactions.

We have repeatedly seen the allegations that people of color are "too angry" and "violent" every time they challenge the privilege of white people and the ways in which white supremacy is recreated in radical communities, in particular the invocation of "reverse racism" against people of color who confront the bullshit of white radicals in their community. The claim that people of color are "racist" when combatting systemic and culturally sanctioned forms of oppression displays an egregious misunderstanding of how privilege, power, and said oppression function in our society and lives. People of color building resistance to white supremacy is in response to the structural racialized violence that is enacted on the bodies and communities of people of color rather than synonymous with or comparable to it.

We, as white radicals, also understand that we are actively involved in the white supremacy of the anarchist community, and thus feel that we must challenge other white people in their perpetuation of racism. We recognize that being called out is not a comfortable process, because our identities and lives are so thoroughly entrenched in white privilege. Claims that such confrontation "divides the community" is nothing but continued investment in maintaining a white supremacist culture. Such an investment is further evidenced by appropriating the language of "accountability processes" and the idea that Marck and others that challenge white supremacy "should be treated like snitches," while in the same breath putting a persyn of color's safety in question by publicizing their full name and home on the internet and actively inciting people to call the police on them. We must be vigilant in defending members of our communities that come under attack by white supremacists, and we will not be intimidated to silence by anonymous racists. We urge all Chicago anarchists to support Marck and all those who come under attack for challenging oppression, both in our communities and in society at large.

(Bring it, fuckers!)

Robin B.
Kelsey M.
Devan B.
Whitney
Tom Grandpa