Anti-racism and everyday life

Re-imagining anti-racism as a core organisational value

“…Through these practices, organisations may enact anti-racism in everyday life. They align with theorising on everyday anti-racism in organisations, which looks, for example, at experiences of implementing initiatives 'on the ground' (Aquino, 2020). In reviewing everyday anti-racism, Aquino (2016Aquino ( , 2020 discusses how it is practised in organisations (including Australian organisations and institutions) and considers current debates in this nascent field.…”

“…They align with theorising on everyday anti-racism in organisations, which looks, for example, at experiences of implementing initiatives 'on the ground' (Aquino, 2020). In reviewing everyday anti-racism, Aquino (2016Aquino ( , 2020 discusses how it is practised in organisations (including Australian organisations and institutions) and considers current debates in this nascent field. For example, doing antiracism raises challenges related to power and disadvantage in organisations, as particularly pertinent to the status of whiteness or perspectives on whiteness, which can influence power dynamics and culture in an organisation (Flintoff et al, 2015;Grimes, 2002).…”

“…A range of anti-racism theories have emerged, often framed in the context of colonialism (Bonnett, 2000;Crenshaw et al, 1995;van Dijk, 2021). Abolitionism, Pan-Africanism, postcolonial theory and decoloniality are some notable ideological strands that informed earlier anti-racism movements (Aquino, 2020;Bonnett, 2000;Quijano, 2000). All of them share the common tradition of resistance against European colonisation and domination.…”

“…Micro-interventions, which can take many forms (e.g. exposing racism, challenging racist languages and slurs, educating offenders, becoming an ally of ethnic/racial minorities), can strengthen the uptake of anti-racism in everyday life (Aquino, 2016(Aquino, , 2020Sue et al, 2019). They allow for opening up a dialogue about microaggression, provide minorities critical spaces to reflect and process their feelings, provide tools to confront racist acts and behaviours, and educate those who perpetrate racism (Sue et al, 2019).…”

“…Bonnett (2000) identifies six anti-racism practices, four of which highlight some theoretical underpinnings: everyday anti-racism, multicultural anti-racism, psychological anti-racism and radical anti-racism. Everyday anti-racism is conceived as resistance to racial inequality ‘that forms part of everyday popular culture’ (Bonnett, 2000: 88), where anti-racism may refer to individuals’ day-to-day responses to racism, with ordinary people engaging in acts of resistance to racial oppression (Aquino, 2020; Nelson et al, 2011). Multicultural anti-racism, on the contrary, consists of manners of affirming cultural diversity in order to engage with racism (Bonnett, 2000: 88), and may, in line with understandings of multiculturalism, focus largely on securing the political accommodation of minority groups (Modood, 2007).…”