In order to understand the disconnection, alienation, and immiseration wrought upon us by capitalism, it’s imperative to understand this social and economic system’s reliance on separation — separation from nature, from each other, from ourselves, and, crucially, from our histories and lineages.

 

White supremacy, for example, is not only an essential component in the creation of a class society within capitalism, but it also serves as a tool to separate us from what our guest in this episode refers to as our more animist, traditional lineages.

 

Eleanor Hancock is the executive director of White Awake, an online platform and nonprofit that combats white supremacy by focusing on educational resources designed to support the engagement of people who’ve been socially categorized as white in the creation of a more just and sustainable society.

 

In this conversation, we talk about Eleanor the history and function of white supremacy within capitalism, what it means to be truly anti-racist, how to engage in the work of reconciling and healing ancestral lineages, and how we can all contribute to the development of a democratically-managed economy free of white supremacy and instead based on liberation for all.

 

Further Resources:

 

• White Awake
• Birth of a White Nation The Invention of White People and Its Relevance Today by Jacqueline Battalora
• Socialism Made Easy by James Connolly
• Upstream Documentary: Worker Cooperatives Pt.1 & 2

Thank you to The Evens for the intermission music and to Carolyn Raider for the cover art. Upstream theme music was composed by Robert Raymond.

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