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Dismantling Racism Resource Book

Racial Justice Organizing: Organizations

Holding Elected or Community Leaders of Color
Accountable

When organizations target leaders of color through organizing campaigns it is important to take
the time to think and talk through strategies and tactics from an anti-racist perspective.

The dynamics of racism can create intense and often oppressive situations within our
organizations when responding to the problems of holding leaders of color accountable. For
example: white progressives and liberals can respond to problematic leaders of color by either
failing to criticize them or failing to hold them accountable at all (perhaps for fear of being
called racist) or to attacking and criticizing them in an over-the-top or in a needlessly tough
manner. Additionally, people of color may have a perspective of misplaced loyalty or an intense
sense of betrayal in these situations. We must be conscious of our own individual thought
process as well as what is driving our organizational response so we don’t reproduce racism in
the moment.

This handout is a set of questions that can be helpful in making such a conversation happen. We
do not offer answers to these questions because the complexity of individual campaigns and
contexts means each situation will be different. But we do believe that organizations committed
to racial justice organizing, through careful consideration, can and should be able to target
elected or community leaders of color in a principled way.

Questions to consider:

1. Do you have the same expectations of the person of color in power compared to white
people in similar positions that you deal with? How are these expectations the same or
different? Asking this question and examining your response is a good start.

2. How are you talking about the leader of color? Be aware of racialized language or the
use of stereotypes. Are people using the term “sell-out?” Is it appropriate for white
people within your ranks to call a person of color a “sell-out,” or does doing so hold that
person to different standards? That critique is usually more appropriate and authentic
coming from a person of color.

3. Check the facts. It is important that strategies, messages, and opinions regarding a
person you are trying to hold accountable are based on facts, not on feelings,
impressions, or hearsay. What do you know about the person’s voting record or
positions? Do you have tools that you use with all campaign targets in terms of
developing a campaign, doing a power analysis, and campaign research? Is there
consistency in the use of these tools?

Dismantling Racism Project 115 Western States Center