Alliance of White Abolitionists

The Mission

The Alliance of White Abolitionists (AWA) has been birthed out of our belief that white people have the greatest responsibility to abolish white dominance. We are passionate about coming together with our diverse experiences of what it means to be white. Alliance building calls us to find common ground and labor toward collective goals. There is something to be gleaned from Civil Rights activists who held deeply polarized views of methodology, but did not allow their differences to prevent them from marching in the same streets at the same time. What does it look like to stand shoulder to shoulder as King and Carmichael did, rooted in our multiple pathways as we build alliances of collective liberation?

The History

The system of white dominance was set up by and for the protection of land owning white men. The racial category of “white” didn’t exist until the late 1600’s when aristocrats were seeking a way to divide and conquer everyone else. Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676 revealed that people across race and social class could unite to overthrow oppressive power structures. A series of laws were passed in quick succession which began limiting power and creating division – landing on a classification of “white” which began a racial caste system. The power behind this caste system comes when those with low-melanated skin become convinced that location in the middle is proof that ascension to the top is possible and that Black, Indigenous, and brown people are categorically inferior. Because white people have allowed ourselves to be tools for the oppressive power structure of white dominance, it is ours to refuse and abolish.

The Impact

One of the byproducts of white people being socialized to perpetuate white dominance is disconnection. Disconnection from self, from other white people, and from the communities of Indigenous, Black, and brown people. The result has been the disastrous centuries of violence rooted in how white people view themselves and others. White people who are committed to practices of racial truth-telling must build capacity to connect. It will take every one of us to abolish white dominance. How has our disconnection from each other become a further tool of divide and conquer? What does it mean to multiply ourselves in others rather than center our ego? What does it look and sound and feel like when white people gather with purpose to abolish white dominance? What skills are we lacking that are necessary to build collective liberation? How is isolation keeping us from gaining momentum and power to solve the violence coming out of our community?

Building An Alliance

We recognize that in building an alliance of white people who are laboring to abolish white dominance, we are staring at a blank canvas. That doesn’t scare us. Watch for our next AWA event here. You can also subscribe to our email list for updates. We are glad you are here and we invite you join us as we build the Alliance of White Abolitionists! Connection is the soil by which we can grow vulnerability, innovation, commitment, and collective power to abolish white dominance. If you are looking for more, we encourage you to join us here.

If not us, then who? If not now, then when?