The following is the conclusion to an essay by Robert Jensen entitled What White People Fear, which can be found in the Spring 2010 issue of YES! Magazine.
“My interest in [organizing efforts with the workers defense Project…a local group that advocates for work-place justice for immigrant workers, addressing problems such as wage theft within a larger social justice framework] flows from moral and political beliefs–a belief in the dignity of all and the struggle to eliminate hierarchy in all forms. But I would be naive or dishonest if I pretended that was my only, or even my most powerful, motive. In the end, I have committed to this project out of selfishness-I would like to claim my full humanity before I check out of this world. To do that, I have to move beyond the framework of conservative versus liberal and adopt a truly radical politics.
I have a choice: I can be white–that is, I can refuse to challenge white supremacy or centrality–or I can be a human being. I can rest comfortably in the privileges that come with being white, or I can struggle to be fully human. But I can’t do both. Though the work is difficult, the choice for those of us who are white should be easy.
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