Page 82 - Microsoft Word - resource book.doc

Dismantling Racism Resource Book

The Northwest’s conservative racial politics and white electoral supermajorities have made the
region attractive to right-wing groups seeking to mainstream their racist agendas. A decade of
Christian Right campaigns against “special rights” (i.e. civil rights protections) for
lesbian/gay/bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people helped soften the ground for a more
recent round of racialized attacks. In just the past four years English-only ballot initiatives were
passed in Alaska and Utah; Washington voters repealed state-based affirmative action programs,
perceived by many as “special rights” for black people; and state legislatures across the region
have offered up a barrage of racist bills, from attacks on bilingual education to English-only
laws.

Idaho, Oregon and Washington are among the fastest growing states in the country and most of
that population growth represents migration from other U.S. cities. In the 1990s, high-tech
industries drove a booming economy and high-wage jobs at the likes of Microsoft, Intel and
Hewlett-Packard lured many thousands to what became known as the Silicon Forest. The
“quality of life” here—natural beauty, recreational opportunities, “livable” cities, and, it seems,
whiteness—is also a significant pull factor for businesses and people fleeing big cities (especially
in California) with large and growing communities of color.

It must come as a disturbing surprise to many of these new arrivals that the Great White
Northwest looks increasingly like the places they fled. While it will be a long time before people
of color are a majority in Washington (never mind Wyoming), communities of color overall are
outpacing white growth by about five to one. Across the region, Latin@s are the fastest growing
racial group; in Oregon, the community expanded by 140% in just the last decade. The African-
American and Native communities are generally holding steady and, especially in the Pacific
Northwest, the Asian population (particularly Southeast Asian) is rapidly increasing. By 2025
people of color will make up about 25% of the region’s population, as compared to 16% in 2000.

Race in the Region

After leading the successful campaign to dismantle affirmative action in California, businessman
Ward Connerly supported a second such effort in Washington. Of any state in the Northwest,
Washington would seem the most likely to reject such cynical race baiting. Washington has
among the largest populations of color in the region (above 20%) and a history of electing people
of color to prominent positions. Norm Rice, an African-American, was elected mayor of Seattle,
King County Executive Ron Sims is also black, and Chinese-American Governor Gary Locke is
now in his second term. Still, the 1998 anti-affirmative action campaign passed 60/40 at the
ballot box.

While this was an electoral campaign, it surfaced many of the chronic challenges racial justice
organizers face in the Northwest. These include:

The rest of the country takes a pass Some of us expected substantial support from national
organizations and donors. We got squat. The Northwest simply doesn’t register or rate in the
minds of most racial justice supporters outside the region. Of note here, as well, is that the
chapters of national civil rights organizations are typically small and weak, if they exist at all.

Dismantling Racism Project 80 Western States Center