“We’re All The Man Sometimes”: How Whites and People of Color
Negotiate Race within Antiracist Activism
Kathleen Bulger
Department of Sociology
University of Pittsburgh
White antiracist activists attempt to change the racial order that
privileges them. Researchers have suggested that this contradiction
makes whites insecure about their place within antiracism. Considering
whiteness the source of conflict for white antiracists, they imply that
antiracists of color easily find their place within antiracism. This study
tests this assumption by analyzing interviews with African American,
Asian American, white, and Latino American antiracists in Boston.
Unlike activists in movements that rely on direct action, these antiracists
primarily use tactics of personal transformation and group interaction. I
find that, regardless of race, antiracists struggle to transform themselves
into antiracists. Experiences with group interaction, however, differ by
race of activist. While antiracists of color are comfortable doing mixed-
race and same-race group work, whites are very uncomfortable working
with other whites. This refines previous understandings of white
antiracism by showing that whites most doubt their place in the movement
when working with other whites. This study contributes to our
understanding of the ways race effects antiracist identity formation and of
repertoires of contention within new social movements.
KEYWORDS: race, racism, antiracism, whiteness, repertoires of contention, social
movements, activism
Anyone interested in fighting racism must deal with whiteness. For white
antiracist activists this means, in part, dealing with themselves. Unlike most white
Americans, these antiracists must acknowledge racial inequality and explicitly address
white privilege. For many, this means claiming their own whiteness while working to
undermine it. Does this paradox make whites insecure about their place within the
antiracist movement?
My study explores the affect of race on activists’ senses of membership within the
antiracist social movement. I compare the experiences of white antiracists with those of
antiracists of color using interviews from a mixed-race sample. I find that secure
membership in the contemporary antiracist movement depends more on personal
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