Adopted by the Board of Directors
December 7, 2019 | Washington, DC
Resolution 2019-002
Political climates that allow white supremacy to assert itself boldly in the public sphere come and go. However, white supremacy and racism have been intricately folded into systems of power. And the violence to which marginalized bodies—Black, Brown, and Indigenous bodies in particular—are exposed requires diligent counter action. Humanism calls on each of us to act for human dignity and agency, which includes taking seriously the threat white supremacy poses.
WHEREAS white supremacy and the racism that sustains it remain particularized and systemic in our society, and
WHEREAS racism continues to limit the opportunities of and discriminate against racialized bodies of color in particular and marginalized bodies more generally, living in the United States by perpetuating inequality in every facet of individual and community life, and
WHEREAS hate crimes and hate groups have become more prevalent in the United States in recent years, especially targeting Black people, people perceived as Muslim, Jews, South Asians, LGBTQ people, and the disability community, and
WHEREAS Black families hold less than fifteen percent of the amount of the wealth of White families, due to the long-lasting effects of successful government-supported segregationist policies, and
WHEREAS poverty rates among Indigenous peoples are nearly double the national average, and
WHEREAS Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people are incarcerated at higher rates and with harsher sentences than White people, and
WHEREAS law enforcement agencies continue to use unconstitutional means of search and seizure disproportionately against Black bodies, and
WHEREAS militarized law enforcement agencies disproportionately fail to protect and serve Black people, leading to severe bodily harm and death, and
WHEREAS colonization and oppression continue to bleed resources and culture from Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, and
WHEREAS dismantling white supremacy requires anti-racist action.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION, in the pursuit of an anti-racist society,
AFFIRMS that all lives will matter when Black lives matter, and
AFFIRMS that racial colorblindness is detrimental to alleviating racial injustices, and
AFFIRMS that economic justice for Black and Indigenous people requires federal policies that take drastic corrective measures to eradicate the racial wealth gap, and
AFFIRMS its support for stronger data collection and investigation of hate crimes by local and federal agencies, and legislation mandating that Department of Justice funds be made available to only those agencies that are demonstrating credible participation in the Hate Crime Statistics Act program, and
AFFIRMS its support for required reporting of police violence to a national and public database, retraining and de-militarization of police forces, new criteria for recruitment that prioritize candidates with mediation and de-escalation skills, as well as civic review boards of local law enforcement agencies, and
AFFIRMS its support for broad legislation that curtails racial imbalances in criminal arrests, prosecutions, sentencing, and parole boards, as well as ends capital punishment, forced solitary confinement, coerced labor of incarcerated people, the money bail system, and for-profit prisons, and
AFFIRMS its support for ending the “war on drugs,” and
AFFIRMS its support for anti-racist education policy that curtails the over-disciplining of Black students, historically-accurate curricula, and support for strengthening Title VI and adequately funding Title I without requiring disbursement to schools which do not require the aid, and
AFFIRMS its support for anti-racist healthcare, including mental health services, that achieves the same health outcomes for Black and White people regardless of income, and
AFFIRMS the need for anti-racist research procedures and diversity in science, and
AFFIRMS its support for reparations to the descendants of people enslaved in the United States, and
AFFIRMS its dedication to stamping out white supremacy and racism from within its organization through hiring practices, resource allocation, staff and board training, and more.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the American Humanist Association calls upon all who are able and should be concerned about white supremacy to do your part to make this a better world for us all now and in the future. Support, with your voice, vote, time, energy, resources, and participation, the legislation, candidates, and action groups that work to end white supremacy and racism.