“White Privilege . . . Is Not an Organizing Strategy”: Shifting Frameworks in White People’s Antiracist Efforts

Abstract

We know relatively little about how to mobilize and sustain White involvement in politically impactful, antiracist collective action. Adding to the literature on the vexations of White people’s approaches to antiracism, this study takes the case of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), a national organization that seeks to bring a critical mass of U.S.-based White people into antiracist campaigns at a scale not previously attempted. It traces the shift from a White privilege analytic that has been dominant in many White-led antiracist spaces, often in ways that can be individualizing and depoliticizing, to a “mutual” or “shared” interest approach, which identifies White people’s own stake in dismantling White supremacy, though not without its own perils. Findings suggest that a mutual interest orientation prioritizes collective action over personal morality, holding important benefits for the recruitment, retention, and principled engagement of White people in racial justice struggles.