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CREATED:20050225T231500Z
DESCRIPTION:Friday, March 18th – 7 PM - FREE  The Abolition of White Democracy  A 
 night with author and activist Joel Olson, offering a new way of 
 understanding the tortured relationship between race and democracy in the 
 United States.  "The Abolition of White Democracy by Joel Olson should be 
 required reading for anti-racists and anti-imperialists.  Olsen presents a 
 tight historical analysis of white supremacy and capitalism as the 
 foundation for a democratic order that requires gross racial inequality.  
 Olsen isn't just offering critical analysis, but tools to help us abolish 
 this system and win liberation.  At a time when the Left is faltering under 
 the Right, this book gives us perspective and guidance to flip the script." 
 —Chris Crass, author of Collective Liberation on My Mind, member of the 
 Catalyst Project, will introduce Mr. Olson  "The Abolition of White 
 Democracy is essential reading for all those seeking to realize the promise 
 of democracy in America." —Noel Ignatiev, author of How the Irish Became 
 White  Racial discrimination embodies inequality, exclusion, and injustice 
 and as such has no place in a democratic society. And yet racial matters 
 pervade nearly every aspect of American life, influencing where we live, 
 what schools we attend, the friends we make, the votes we cast, the 
 opportunities we enjoy, and even the television shows we watch.  Joel Olson 
 contends that, given the history of slavery and segregation in the United 
 States, American citizenship is a form of racial privilege in which whites 
 are equal to each other but superior to everyone else. In Olson’s 
 analysis we see how the tension in this equation produces a passive form of 
 democracy that discourages extensive participation in politics because it 
 treats citizenship as an identity to possess rather than as a source of 
 empowerment.  Olson traces this tension and its disenfranchising effects 
 from the colonial era to our own, demonstrating how, after the civil rights 
 movement, whiteness has become less a form of standing and more a norm that 
 cements white advantages in the ordinary operations of modern society. To 
 break this pattern, Olson suggests an "abolitionist-democratic" political 
 theory that makes the fight against racial discrimination a prerequisite 
 for expanding democratic participation.  Joel Olson is assistant professor 
 of political science at Northern Arizona University. He has been a member 
 of many political organizations, including Minneapolis Anti-Racist Action, 
 Phoenix Copwatch, The New Abolitionist Society, Love and Rage, and Bring 
 the Ruckus. He has also co-edited radical publications such as Profane 
 Existence, The Blast!, New Abolitionist, and Bring the Ruckus.  The 
 Abolition of White Democracy will be available for purchase.  \n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/02/25/58853.php
SUMMARY:The Abolition of White Democracy with Joel Olson
LOCATION:At the AK Press Warehouse 674-A 23rd. St Oakland, CA  between MLK and San 
 Pablo - near 19th St. BART and West Grand Exit of 80/980  For more info 
 contact AK Press at 510.208.1700, akpress@akpress.org  or visit 
 http://www.akpress.org  All events at AK Press are wheelchair accessible.  
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/02/25/58853.php
DTSTART:20050319T030000Z
DTEND:20050319T060000Z
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