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Dismantling Racism Resource Book

Moving Racial Justice: Naming and Framing

Racism

We believe that in order to truly advance racial justice in a long-term and
sustainable way, organizations must name and frame racism explicitly in their
organizing.

What does it mean “to name & frame racism?”

To name & frame racism is to explicitly and publicly use language and analysis that
describes an issue as a matter of racial justice. In other words, you are addressing
an issue for which racism is one of the root causes, and you clearly explain how
people of color are disproportionately impacted by the issue. This framing has to
be done intentionally and consistently with your members and the public, even if
that is not the only frame put on the issue.

Unless we clearly talk about and educate people about the existence of racism as a

current and critical social justice issue, we will lose the culture war. In other
words, we will allow racist institutions to perpetuate the myth throughout society
that racism is no longer relevant, undermining our ability to dismantle it.

Naming and framing race and racism is about proactively creating opportunities
within your organizing to do political education about racism.

In order to create a successful racial justice frame, we suggest the following:

• Develop a clear description of the racial inequity you want to address through

your organizing and integrate it prominently in your messages to members, the
media, and the public.
• Research the details of the disproportionate impact (inequity) on people of
color in order to back your messaging up with strong facts.
• Look for opportunities in your framing to challenge the traditional racial
divisions of labor and roles in our society.
• Try to provide a clear suggestions of how institutional racist practices can
change.

Dismantling Racism Project 107 Western States Center