SPLC Hosts Virtual Convening on Exposing Anti-Blackness Among the Far Right Movement
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is hosting a free, three-part virtual convening about the challenges facing Black communities amid a rising and increasingly violent white nationalist movement. The series titled, “The Far Right: Exposing Anti-Blackness” kicks off on Thursday.
“As we continue to see an increase in anti-Black rhetoric and violence from the far right movement, it is more important now than ever that Black leaders, community organizers and allied stakeholders come together to reckon with the challenges facing Black people in America,” said Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for SPLC. “We will not let hate and intimidation from white nationalists infringe on the hard-fought gains made by the Black community.”
The virtual event will provide a space for people to learn, share and organize to dismantle systematic racism. As part of the convenings, attendees will work together to build an Exposing Anti-Blackness Toolbox that will include reflections on successful case studies, gaps in resources, grassroots organizing strategies and collaborative solutions to fight back against white nationalism today and after the election.
“From chattel slavery of our past to mass incarceration today, white supremacy is a historic and present-day system grounded in anti-Blackness,” said Eric K. Ward, SPLC senior fellow and executive director of Western States Center. “To dismantle this system, we must have a fundamental understanding of what white supremacy and anti-Blackness are and how they manifest in today’s movement for social, political and economic equality. In these powerful discussions, we will look at how white nationalism undermines Black progress and how to reduce the impact of racism and organized hate in the fight for a more equitable America.”
The convening dates and topics are:
- Thursday, Oct. 8: Anti-Blackness in a White Supremacist America
- Morning Plenary: Anti-Blackness in a White Supremacist America
- Workshop: How White Nationalism Undermines Black Progress
- Workshop: The Permanence of White Supremacy in Black America
- Closing Plenary: Reducing the Impact of Racism and Organized Hate: From the Inside and Outside
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Defending Black Progress from the Right
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Post Election - Which Way Forward in the Fight?
Each session is scheduled to last four hours and will begin each day at noon ET/ 11 a.m. CT/ 9 a.m. PT.
Brooks and Ward recently wrote an opinion piece addressing the issues being raised during the virtual convening. Read the op-ed here.
To register for the convening and learn more, visit www.stopantiblackness.org.
