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AWSTF MISSION STATEMENT 2005

The Anti-White Supremacy Task Force (AWSTF), established in 1999, continues its original mission to historicize, expose and undo feminist/womanist acquiescence and collusion with pervasive, entrenched, structural, individual, intersectional, patriarchy-driven Whiteness Ideology & Practice which is at its core, a construct of Power.

Today, AWSTF sharpens its purpose of identifying, resisting, combating and dismantling Whiteness Ideology and Practice on three interrelated levels, namely:

1. The National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) as a feminist/ womanist organization in which we are all members

2. Academic structures and communities of Women's Studies scholarship and activism that NWSA represents through individual and institutional memberships, or other interfaces

3.  Whiteness macrostructure of U.S. society at large
AWSTF explicitly states that our own task force members; members of our sister group, Women of Color Caucus; and NWSA as an organization, are NOT exempt from the harmful beliefs and practices associated with entrenched personal, interpersonal and structural racism, as these intersect with multiple oppressions centering on ethnicity, sexuality, age, social class, income, occupation, citizenship, locality and ablebodiedness.

To meet this ongoing, increasingly more serious challenge, AWSTF, through  self-reflective, dynamically interactive group discussion and ongoing capacity building among its own diverse members; collaboration with WoCC;  other NWSA caucuses, task forces, interest groups, aims to develop and provide antiracist, anti-Whiteness expertise for use by NWSA to undo white skin privilege, white supremacy and racism in all their manifestations,  to resist recruitment and induction of feminists/womanists into Whiteness Ideology and Practice in NWSA's intra-organizational and inter-organizational interfaces.

AWSTF recognizes that implementing, not just talking, racial and gender justice at the above-referenced three levels requires personal change, interpersonal transformation,  and *MOST IMPORTANT*, institutional commitment and tenacity, by NWSA, in doing anti- Whiteness work in a fully inclusive power-sharing plurality of feminist/womanist perspectives, voices and strategies.

Anti-White Supremacy Task Force report August 2006
submitted by Laura Gillman
AWSTF had exciting and important interventions in the 2006 annual conference in Oakland.

ROUNDTABLE: The AWSTF sponsored a roundtable on “Interrogating Whiteness, Teaching Resistance in U.S. Women's Studies and NWSA” included  presentations by Marita McComiskey, Tonia St. Germain, Kremena Todorova and Jeff Cullen. Each roundtabler provided case studies of whiteness within particular historicized institutional settings as well as effective methods of resistance to whiteness.  We, the AWSTF co-chairs and co-facilitators of the roundtable, culled from the presentations some salient markers of whiteness that hinder the effectiveness of an anti-racist organization as well as action points for the resistance of whiteness, both of which AWSTF will deliver to NWSA through its various constituent groups, in order for NWSA to more effectively work towards an anti-racist praxis.  The session was not only highly attended, but also evoked extensive discussion at the end of the presentations, in particular with regards to manifestations of whiteness within the organization, even within the actual conference context.

BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES: The AWSTF Business meeting also provided thought-provoking discussion around anti-racist thought and praxis.  Present were Pat Callair, Maura Ryan, Tonia St. German, Lin-hsuan Huang, Julie Kilmer, Joan Griscom, Wendelin Hume and Aditi Mitra.  The first agenda item was discussion of the AWSTF Mission statement (see AWSTF website). We discussed the meanings of various terms and the effectiveness of their deployments, e.g. whiteness versus anti-racism, in order to arrive at some common ground as to what we see our collective work is within the taskforce. Some folks present wanted to know more about the history of racism within the organization. We talked about ongoing ways to implement racial and gender justice within NWSA and WS. We also talked about the history of the taskforce and its various
activities and interventions since its inception. Towards the end of the session, Catherine Orr the New National Conference Cte Chair offered opportunities for AWSTF members to be a part of the conference planning committee. Three AWSTF members (Julie Kilmer, Wendelin Hume, and myself) attended the Conference Committee meeting and are representing AWSTF on the committee so if you have any suggestions about how upcoming conferences can reflect an anti-racist practice, please let us know.

OTHER AWSTF ACTIVITES AND REPRESENTATION: Additionally The Strategic Planning Cte has requested AWSTF representation on their committee- we are going to be sending out a query shortly to ask who would like to do this work. I also attended the DA meeting, as co-chair of the taskforce.

BYLAWS GOVERNING AWSTF: We did not get a chance to discuss the bylaws in the business meeting but we did send out an email to the listserv before the conference asking members to carefully review the bylaws governing the taskforce. What follows is a blurb we will be sending over the listserv shortly: According to the by-laws of the new NWSA constitution, taskforces may form their own structure, governance and communication network, in keeping with the purposes of the association.  Candidates for chairs of taskforces must be a member of the taskforce for at least one year prior to the year in which the election will take place.  There can be other parameters that a given constituency group/task force can create for governance, structure and communication and those parameters would be drawn up in the operating documents. Each constituent group is charged with submitting a set of operating documents to the Vice President by July 1st of every year.  In the present case, since the constitution is so new, we will not have to present the operating documents until February. The co-chairs do want to make you aware, however, that one of the tasks that we will have once the academic year begins, is to draw up the operating documents. We also urge all of you to read the NWSA bylaws, posted on the NWSA website, particularly pp 24-27 concerning caucuses, task forces, and interest groups.