The current climate of society has always directly influenced the cultural tone of the time. With increased racial tension in the United States, between Obama’s re-election, the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, and the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case, these larger society issues also have a profound impact on Pagans and how we interact in community.
Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and other social networking mediums have been flooded with reactions and responses to the most recent media bomb, the Trayvon Martin court case verdict, and everyone seems to be talking. What has become quite apparent in these discussions everywhere is the disconnect between different concepts of oppression, culture, cultural response, and empathetic exchange or cultural sensitivity.
The widening diversity gap within the faces seen in Pagan groups and circles bring about a growing need to understand the complexities of cultural integration into the Pagan community. Building community based in cultural understanding and mutual support continues to be challenging for many communities and the increasing tension around race can add to the complexity of diversity within the overarching European theme of modern Paganism. Online groups, panels on privilege, The Pagans of Color caucus at Pantheacon, books and blogs have begun to thrive as people of color are becoming more visible within the community but how do we continue to open doors of diversity when times are so challenging.
True diversity comes with adding the often unheard voices to the conversations within community. And like with true diversity, the answers and views of all Pagans, in addition to Pagans of color, will differ. The following are a variety of recent quotes and statements from Pagans of color speaking out about personal feelings as a Pagan, an ethnic minority, and in response to the current issues of larger society.
Pagans of color on ethnic diversity:
Black Witch
“I feel that it is extremely important for the Pagan community to acknowledge minority Pagans because whether the community likes it or not we are there and in bulk. Plus many more minorities would have an easier time identifying as Pagan or even be more open to understanding it if the community didn’t constantly parade the faith with a White and very middle class or more face. I don’t feel inclusiveness is really being done. There’s a lot of lip service of how the (mainly White) Pagan community wants to be diverse but the reality is, they want a lot of different looking faces – not too many, however – but not their experiences.” – Black Witch, African American Pagan blogger.
Porsha Williams
“I don’t feel the larger Pagan community is resistant to integration; I’ll be honest in saying I have experienced some strong online sentiment of resistance towards pagans-of-color. Those most vocal are usually of the Heathen or Germanic/Norse-based sects of paganism. Most of the reasons are all based on the same concept, regardless of /the path of paganism the complaint follows- -that ‘POC’ should not be allowed to join because of their ancestry not matching those that first worshiped the particular path.” – Porsha, Pagan Blogger.
“We all inherit a legacy. As a woman of color, I was raised by parents who constantly challenged me to think critically about the stories that we are told about ourselves via media and even what was shared (and what was left out) of classroom history books. Now that I am a mother, preparing to do the same for my son, I wonder when, or even if, white parents ever teach their children to critically examine what they are told of the inherited legacy of a white identity. The lies and misinformation damage us all. But while my examinations beyond what I have been told, reveal a hidden wealth of beauty, strength, connection, wisdom and a mind blowing capacity for survival, white Americans’ examinations will inevitably reveal the great burden that others in the human community have had to shoulder on their behalf during these centuries of blindness and perceived superiority.” – Beloved Nadirah Adeye
When asked if she felt welcomed as a Black woman in the Pagan community, Priestess Luna Pantera replied by saying, “In some circle yes, in some not so much. Sometimes I feel tolerated.” She further discussed her thoughts on the needs of Pagans of color being of interest to the community, “Not to the extend they should be for any other members in the community. Pagans of Color used to be talked as if we were “mythical creatures.” We’ve been around for a while, but “invisible” to most.”
Pagans on the Trayvon Martin/Zimmerman case and riots:
Luna Pantera
“I am at peace because I have seen so many of my friends stand up for not only Trayvon, but for me and those who look like me and share a story. I saw an amazing peaceful march down Grand Avenue that turned into a “free for all” after the peaceful folk went home. I am tired of Oakland being used to further the selfish agenda of others. I am tired of struggling businesses being attacked for no other reason except that they have invested in Downtown Oakland which had been an economy on the break of collapse that is slowly coming back. I am angry that a young man was attacked for simply being at the right place at the wrong time. I am tired of being angry and tired. But I have hope! I see us finally coming together, seeing that “my enemy is your enemy!” – Luna Pantera, Priestess
Xochiquetzal Odinsdottir
“This is the end result of that. A world where a ‘white’ man’s fear of what ‘black man’ means outweighed a man’s humanity and the loss of life is brushed away as ‘justice’ and ‘safety’ and ‘right’. This isn’t those things. To think so, is to fall into the trap laid out for all of us. The trap that says we must remain invisible to each other, the trap that says we are INCAPABLE of learning about each other, of crossing some sort of invisible divide to seek the counsel of neighbor and potential friend because our self-sufficiency could suffer if we CAN’T do for ourselves. If we can’t be human to each other. We are each of us, complicit in the society that allows Zimmerman to walk this earth, a free man. Whether we shoulder that burden or not, we are each of us an end result of this society; but this is NOT all we can be, and not all we can do. We can do more, we can overcome what we think of as our ‘great differences’ we can learn: individual to individual. We can be TAUGHT some other narrative, hell, we can CREATE some other narrative. But we have to want to.” – Xochiquetzal Odinsdottir, Priest/ess and Activist.
In understanding growing diversity within any community, there must be an opportunity to create space for the often under-represented voices, and the impact current culture has on varying individuals.
Within the Zulu, and other South African tribes, the greeting said in the village is “Sawubona”,which means “I see you”. The traditional response to this greeting is to say “Ngikhona”, which translates to saying “I am here”.
This greeting pushes beyond the western understanding of community reaches into seeing the authentic self of the person in front of you. The ancestral idea of the importance of connecting with one another is central to the theory of the African American axiology of interpersonal relationships, the primary value being placed in a person to person connection. Studies are making this correlation in axiology with the understanding of how important levels of connection are within ethnic culture.
The ability to see the whole of our community, and to hear the often unheard voices, might support further understanding of how very diverse our community is becoming.
And so I say, “Ngikhona”.
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Sawubona.
Thanks for this piece. I hope the Pagan community becomes more aw
Thank you. I look forward to seeing more of these posts that focus on the thoughts and writings of Pagans of Color.
Beloved Nadirah Adeye raises an critical challenge for white Pagans. By and large we reach past the centuries when European meant Christian and seek inspiration from a time before the centuries of colonization and bondage that have made “eurocentric” an unflattering term. But do we actually, consciously distance ourselves from it? My experience as a Unitarian Universalist suggests that privilege cannot be divested with a shrug. It’s an arduous, and conscious, process that is perfectly consistent with Paganism.
I think this is changing. Many white pagans are interested and drawn to African pagan traditions. We are all, after all, genetically descended from Africans.
This is kind of a difficult subject for me to wrap my head around. I haven’t seen a lot of discrimination towards pagans of color personally but that is mainly because i have spent most of my life in areas with limited diversity and I am pretty solitary in my practice. As a Heathen I am frustrated with some of those who claim the label and their treatment of anyone of a different ethnicity. They hurt us more than anyone. I am happy to accept and welcome anyone of any ethnicity to the same community. It baffles me that anyone could have a problem with Pagans of color as not only are there a lot of cool non-European traditions out there but it is also cool that other people, no matter what they look like, are drawn to the same paths I am. It makes things a little less lonely. The hardest part, for me, is worrying if I might do or say something that might make someone uncomfortable or feel unwelcome or I might come off like a pandering loser. I am so scared of coming off as one kind of racist or another. Or worse, being racist.
A genuine question.
Should ‘Paganism’, as a term, include non-European forms of spirituality/belief/religion?
I do not mean this with any disrespect, I mean that we have been told that various indigenous beliefs do not like to be ‘lumped in’ to the ‘Pagan’ label (notably the traditional spiritual beliefs of the First Nation Peoples of what is now North America.)
I was having a discussion the other day about the appropriation of labels and how formerly pejorative terms were being ‘reclaimed’. The most obvious example is ‘Pagan’, originally used as a slur, the positive definition of ‘Pagan’ has only really risen in the last century.
Is it possible that other terms can be used in the same way for other regional spiritualities? (I made the suggestion that ‘Infidel’ would work quite nicely for someone who practices Middle Eastern Polytheism, should they make the choice to accept it as a positive descriptor.)
A thoughtful post. Yes, most American First Nation people do not identify with the Latin/Italian term ‘Pagan.’ Some, however, do find themselves drawn to the European-based traditions, like myself (although I am mixed race). Pagan is a term whose history IS European, just like Heathen is a term specific to the Norse/Germanic traditions.
However, I do strongly feel that each individual has to make for her/himself the choice of traditions and terms, based upon the callings of their hearts. No human tradition, in my never very humble opinion, can belong to any one group exclusively.
I wasn’t suggesting that the traditions belong to any specific people.
I think that any person can be drawn to any tradition, regardless of their ethnic origin.
I know. I also know that there are those who take issue with people from one culture and/or ethnic group following the traditions of another.
Sad, but true.
There is space for them under the umbrella, too. There are many shades of Paganism/Heathenry, after all.
I won’t weight in at this point about what should be under that umbrella per se… But one of the issues I have with many of the attitudes of who should be able to worship what set of ancestors or Gods is the assumption that Black or other ethnic people do not have a right to worship European deities. Even if based only on ancestry….. African Americans here in the US are rarely 100% African. Some of my European ancestry came thru rape of a slave, that was my great grandmother. I think that belief that sometimes comes up that black or ethnic people should not worship European deities is a form of aversive racism in our community that hides the true cognitive dissonance that we suffer from as a nation.
Whilst I respect the rights of people to be ‘Folkish’, I am not one, myself. The idea that someone’s genetic ancestry has anything to do with their access to gods seems ridiculous to me when I believe in transspecies reincarnation.
It’s what is inside that counts, if you ask me.
Also, in English speaking countries there is a European (well, partially as there are quite a few groups) cultural heritage that I think easily includes anyone who wants to honor European traditions. Though, when you get right down to it anyone should have the right to be a part of any tradition. It isn’t my place or any other human’s to decide who can be a part of what tradition.
I am not convinced a culture survives being removed from context.
The context of any culture is constantly changing. That is a fact of life. Our culture is the child of previous cultures as much as we are children of the people who came before us. Also, the context we now live in is different than that of the the people who lived these traditions before. Paganism is a collection things from old cultures being worked in a new context. If a culture or tradition doesn’t survive being removed from context than there is no point to Paganism.
That is one way of looking at it.
Cultures are defined by their environment. Until very recently the biggest factor of the environment was geographical – the cultural rules arising from living in a desert are markedly different to the cultural rules arising from living in the taiga, for example.
Cultures evolve alongside their changing environment. But when that culture is dramatically displaced, then it ceases to make sense. (Celebrating the dance of day and night on the equator would be a perfect example.)
The point of Paganism is not that it is universal, it is that it is myriad.
It is myriad but most traditions started somewhere else. Also, traditions aren’t only their celebrations or the dates they were originally celebrated on. My point is traditions evolve to deal with changes in geography and environment but don’t disappear because of them. New locations and environments means rethinking bits and pieces. Traditions can be adapted to new environments and locations that is one of its strengths. Otherwise there would be no Asatru (most of the texts came from Iceland which was a change in environment and geography) or Vodun (Haiti isn’t Africa after all) or any of the Afro-Caribbean traditions or several forms of Buddhism to name a few.
I find much value in the notion that paganism (of any stripe, certainly with wide variation) is founded in place. I might be placing too much emphasis on the land and Nature here, but I also look at the history of human migration and find the spiritual embedded in places much more than in abstraction.
Perhaps we could look at it with a different logical progression. Pagans adapt to their place quite as much as the place draws them in.
When historical pagans moved around, they often encountered local spirits. The pagans would evolve to accept these new spirits, rather than trying to just transplant their own everywhere. Yes, there is some overlap but, by and large, it can be seen that worship of a particular spiritual entity was confined to a specific geographical area.
Well, until monotheism started corrupting everything.
“Yes, there is some overlap but, by and large, it can be seen that worship of a particular spiritual entity was confined to a specific geographical area.”
I would like to see some examples of this, if you please.
What, historically?
One that I can think of, off the top of my head would be Helith, an Anglo Saxon goddess who is only known in what is now Dorset, England.
More generally, the pre Christian pantheons can largely be described in geographical cultural terms. The Egyptian pantheon (largely venerated around the area of Egypt), the Greek pantheon (largely venerated around the south east of Europe)…
There is, of course, the Roman empire. The Romans had their own gods, but they frequently would acknowledge the local gods as well.
Your above argument would imply that, for example, when the Greeks began to colonize the Mediterranean, they got to each new place and said, “Hey, we can’t worship Zeus, Hera, Athene, Dionysos etc here; we have to find completely new gods now!” Or when the Phoenicians built Carthage they said, “No Ba’al here! It’s not allowed.” Or in a modern example: do Hindus who move to the UK get there and say, “Well, we left India so now we can’t worship Krishna anymore”?
I don’t really understand your geographical argument for paganism because it pretty much contradicts what we know about all polytheistic cultures, everywhere, in the entire history of the world: people move and they bring their gods with them. Such cultures tend to have localized spirits, yes, bound to specific places, but they also have whole pantheons of beings who can be worshiped anywhere.
I’ve noticed that it only seems to be some European Pagans and Heathens who take this sort of attitude and I can’t help but feels that it stinks of a kind of chauvinism. It’s like an even more strict version of ‘folkishness’ where the religion or gods are not only restricted to certain people, but also to certain people in a specific place.
“It’s like an even more strict version of ‘folkishness’ where the religion or gods are not only restricted to certain people, but also to certain people in a specific place.”
In my experience (also with European Pagans and Heathens), it is exactly a kind of reverse-folkishness: in other words, it completely denies the connection between a people and their gods, and tries to instead make the specific geographical place the arbiter or medium between gods and people. In my opinion, not only does this go against a great deal of evidence (as I see you also cite above), but it makes all deities into nothing more than incarnations of geography.
Place is important, but is not all-important. Culture is important, too. And while given cultures have connections to given places, that does not mean that those cultures cannot form new connections to different places. People take their gods with them when they move, and when they come to a new area, they discover there the places where their gods manifest.
Exactly. In historical terms it is probably more accurate to say that gods were seen to go along with specific linguistic-cultural groups more so than specific locales (acknowledging, of course, that gods also moved between linguistic-cultural groups through geographical proximity, trade, conquest, assimilation etc.).
Why does it stink of chauvinism, out of curiosity? It isn’t like I am saying any one place is any better than any other. Quite the reverse, in fact.
I am not saying that when a person moves they must sever all ties to their gods, it is more that they become distant from their centre. (A bit like emigrating and leaving family behind – you can still talk to them, but via long-distance call rather than intimate interaction.)
Chauvinistic in the sense that this way of thinking implies- or outright states- that, for example, Heathens outside of parts of northern Europe at best have a weaker connection to their gods and are less authentic than those living in northern Europe, or, at worst, have no right at all to be Heathen outside of northern Europe (the latter may not apply to you, but believe me there are European reconstructionists who feel that way). This kind of thinking mostly serves as a backhanded way to disenfranchise diasporic peoples living in places where the indigenous religious traditions are off limits from having any sense of an ethno-religious heritage from which to draw.
There are problems with the example of Helith. For one, the paucity of evidence concerning her does not mean that she wasn’t known outside of Dorsetshire. However, let us assume that she wasn’t, and that she was somehow only “discovered” in Dorsetshire. This example does nothing to offset the fact that the deities Wóden, Tíw, Þunor, Frige and others were worshiped over essentially all of Anglo-Saxon England, as well as (under different names suiting the differences in related languages) on the continent and in Scandinavia, whence they were brought to Iceland. I would like to know how your theory of unmoving, purely geographically specific gods addresses that.
Concerning Roman, Egyptian, and Greek pantheons: I think it is more accurate to say that The Egyptian pantheon was worshiped in places where Egyptian culture existed; the Greek pantheon in places where Greek culture existed; the Roman where Roman culture existed. In all of these cases, these cultures were carried out of their original lands by people, _who carried the worship of their people’s gods with them_. A clear example would be the temples to Apollo founded in southern Italy and Sicily by Greek colonists. From what you are saying, it sounds as though you would consider such an act either impossible or invalid in some manner.
About fifteen minutes by car from my home, there is a large Hindu temple. How can this exist, according to your theory? I have attended a Sharad Navaratri ritual where Durga was worshiped, along with Vishnu, Ganesha, and others, by people who had brought the worship of these deities to South America from India, and thence to the United States. How could this have happened at all, do you think? Should this not be impossible, according to the theory you have posited?
Concerning the Romans, yes, they did frequently acknowledge the local gods, most often as by-names for their own, (Graeco-)Roman, gods. This is why Gaulish gods were so often worshiped *as* Apollo or Mars in post-conquest Gaul. This is therefore also not the best example to support your position, I think.
You and I have had this conversation before. I know your position, and you know mine. As insightful and interesting as I find many of your posts to be, I have never been able to understand why you would hold to this position given an overwhelming body of evidence to the contrary.
It may also interest you to know that I have heard this theory before, a few years back from a few Danish heathens on an Asatru list. They used this theory to scoff and look down their noses at anyone practicing Heathenry outside of Europe, which I found it both ludicrous and offensive.
So, as you seem to be intelligent and eloquent, I would like to see an intelligent and eloquent response form you that takes the counter-evidence to you claim into account.
Well said Nick. I agree that the evidence supports people bringing their gods with them as they migrate. I do see the point of certain, more localized deities but it is clear that the tradition and how one learns to interact with local entities is a tradition that moves with a culture/people.
Yes, the landwights are different here than the ones in Iceland but if I follow the example of the Icelanders in getting to know the local entities I am still served by their tradition even though the geography is different.
I am happy that I am not the only one who feels geography can’t be used to determine if something is appropriation or not. I think that geography can be a part of what draws you to a particular tradition but it isn’t the only way.
Also, one of my ancestors was a Ritter so we might be related. It isn’t that uncommon of a name so maybe not but I still like to find ways to be connected to other people.
Concerning the ‘greater’ gods. Different spirits have greater and lesser spheres on influence. Some may only be found at a single spring, whilst others may well have influence over a large area.
Yes, the Romans are said to have seen the local gods as by-names for their own. A form of soft polytheism, perhaps.
I see it more that there are job titles. Australia and the UK both have prime ministers, but they do not have the same prime minister.
If I was to pray for rain in my corner of the world, I would use a different spirit (and way of address) than if I was praying for rain in another part of the world. It makes sense, to me, to honour the local spirits.
I would not suggest that being a Heathen outside of Europe is invalid, or being a Hindu in Britain, for that matter. I just feel that those being such are more distant from their gods centre of power on this world than those who live locally.
To put simply, I do not believe in omnipresence.
(I am also open to the possibility that I am wrong, so do not condemn others for being different. I merely respectfully disagree.)
Nick, you and Lēoht both make compelling arguments. I feel a bit responsible for opening a can of worms with my “place” reference, so I thought I should expand on my intention.
Caveat: My personal exploration of these issues is superficial, in that I simply pay attention to ideas that are interesting or seem to inform my personal perspective. As such, I also wonder about the value in arguing abstract-level topics using practical “evidence”. Just a thought, as it were.
I read once speculation that the Latin “paganus” could have a linguistic predecessor in Etruscan that meant “divinity of place”. The idea with that is an existential description became attached to the people associated with the description. The influence of the Etruscans on the nacent Romans has much support, if the arguments continue unabated.
As a logical foundation for the notion of “place” being important to the notion of deity, it simply makes sense to me. The rest, I suggest, is subject to the variations that humans bring from shear creativity, simple adaptation, coercive assimilation or some combination.
So describing non-Caucasian as ‘people of colour’ isn’t considered a social faux pas in the US? Though I know it’s written from a different cultural perspective the phrase still makes me uneasy.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer the term ‘people’.
I got a down-vote for being inclusive? Harsh.
People of color is not the same as “colored”. Colored was a slur/derogatory term for African American people, “People of Color” is a term coined by non-white academics/activists to include Asains, ME, African, etc people without saying “non-white”.
BIG DIFFERENCE
I’ll quibble with that. When the term “colored” arose, it was intended as a neutral term, not a slur. NAACP stands for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The organization would not have chosen this term (or kept it) if it were perceived as a slur.
Americans of African descent have run through a series of self descriptors as each one became applied in a condescending or negative way and became spoiled. During the Civil Rights era, Negro was the term of choice. During the Black Power era, Negro was discarded in favor of black, Afro-American and African American.
American Jews went through a milder version of this process. In the nineteenth century, it was considered by many impolite to call a Jew a Jew because Jews were despised. One of the polite euphemisms was “Hebrew”; the major organization of Reform Judaism was called the Union of American Hebrew Congregations until pretty recently. “Hebrew” was a nineteenth century leftover like “Colored”. The plain term Jew is now acceptable to both Jews and non-Jews.
In Canada, the politically correct and I believe legal term for the indigenous peoples is “First Nations”. In the U.S., “Indians” is still acceptable. In Spanish speaking South America, I believe the PC term is the Spanish equivalent of “indigenous”, which has a cultural as well as racial meaning because a great many people are of mixed ancestry.
As you say, “people of color” is currently acceptable in the U.S. as a way of talking about all non-whites as a social group.
I think that’s more US than UK.
Wow, it’s not something I had thought about like this, but there are so many fascinating traditions we reference that are not white European – I can’t believe the community doesn’t welcome the people from those traditions! I hope this can change in the coming years. That Zulu greeting is really meaningful and we could all benefit from that sort of cultural sharing!
“there are so many fascinating traditions we reference that are not white European”
That is what is called appropriation, and doesn’t earn many friends.
Appropriation is a tricky subject in its own right. I think it is natural to include concepts and practices from other traditions if you find them beneficial. I think the line is crossed when you produce a non-authentic form of a tradition and claim you are the real deal (as is done with Native Americans). It is tricky because some would claim that someone of non-European decent practicing a European tradition is appropriation. I don’t hold to that myself. The trick, I think, is to be respectful and not trying to profit off of any other person’s tradition. Especially when their community is a key part of things.
I would be less inclined to put genetics onto the argument of appropriation and look, instead at geographical context.
I am going to strongly disagree with you on geographical context as it doesn’t match the history of these traditions. As the Germanic, Celtic and other tribes migrated they carried their traditions with them. When Iceland was colonized they brought their traditions with them. Sure, they modified things to deal with differences in seasons (specific dates weren’t a big deal but rather events) but there was a new geographical context in all of these. To suggest geographical context as the basis of determining if it is appropriation than every single pagan in the U.S. is guilty of it and should take Native American traditions as their own (something that doesn’t go over well). It also means the Icelanders were guilty of it which invalidates Norse traditions. I am sorry but geography isn’t a good way to determine who can practice what.
We can agree to disagree, then.
On the question of the use of the term “of color”, I see no conflict in following the example of those who use the term to describe themselves. This is not so much as a politically correct or support of reclaiming of a term as it is the recognition of a reasonable attempt to adjust the lexicon. As my precedent, I look to the fact that the “C” in NAACP still stands for “colored” and they don’t seem to mind that.
My personal experience is a bit sad, for me. I meet Pagans of color occasionally, and they either have their own isolated spiritual existence — some more widely seen than others — or they seem passive in the face of being an even smaller minority amongst us than amongst the general population. I must emphasize that I’ve never questioned any of them about it, nor heard them volunteer that knowledge, so I’m just left to wonder if one of the problems is a negative expectation. They don’t “make noise” or step up and be noticed because they expect to be snubbed or worse.
At what point does my personal responsibility to “include” form a crossing-point with their minimal obligation to speak up? I don’t discriminate on skin color, I curmudgeonly criticize everyone who thinks just showing up is enough when doing the work — planning, organizing, logistics, etc. — is too often carried by too few people.
And seriously: Is there a polite way to hang a sign on my organization or event that says “Pagans of color not only welcome, but needed”? Won’t that be seen as patronizing?
“And seriously: Is there a polite way to hang a sign on my organization
or event that says ‘Pagans of color not only welcome, but needed?’ Won’t
that be seen as patronizing?”
That is what I was talking about coming off as racist while trying to be inclusive. it feels like an extra step is needed in making them feel welcome but how to do it without making it seem like I/we are doing it for appearances or to be patronizing. I wish racism was over not only because it would benefit so many mistreated people but it would make everything simpler.
I don’t think for some it is about just a negative expectation. I think that cold be a part of it as well, but also negative experiences too. And also….. There is a difference in being welcoming in intention and the translation. It can be a misinterpretation in general society to think that a “color blind” theory is the best approach and yet many POC do not feel that translates as genuine. I personally have found that openness in Paganism has translated to conforming to the norms and not having a true open door for someone’s personal culture. Much of this may be a result of differing axiology, as I mentioned briefly and plan to write more about in this column.
I could be too cynical, but a journalistic approach might be the only way to break down some of the barriers to honest dialogue on this topic. Honor to you, for this article and your ongoing efforts.
While thinking about this over the last couple of hours, it occurs to me to suggest to the many Pagans who are ex-Christians — and, with respect, perhaps especially those who had traumatic experiences — might find the PoC experience more accessible in that light. Speaking from my personal POV, our understanding of being outsiders and scapegoats is short-lived in our personal heritages, but PoC have been immersed in it for generations. Choosing to also be Pagan might easily be more of the same for them. They don’t need the other vibe from us.
I don’t have a solution to that. I do believe we can find solutions if we make the effort.
Wow! New word for me, axiology, but please do write about differing axiologies.
You said:
They don’t “make noise” or step up and be noticed because they expect to be snubbed or worse.
That applies to a lot of different communities of minorities. A speaker for an American Muslim group spoke on Friday about how Muslims in the US were treated after 9/11, that they understood quite strongly what it was to be black in the US, and that we needed to improve that sort of behavior towards our own citizens, no matter whom.
I remember seeing author Joanna Russ’s partner, in 1975, standing just outside the curtain after a panel discussion in which the author of The Female Man had participated. I could see she wanted to be with her beloved, but hung back out of fear of what might happen if she did. It hurt me to see that, and I had no clue what to do, then, to change it.
While I wholeheartedly support open-armed, open-hearted inclusion and acceptance of ALL people into whatever traditions their souls yearn towards, I have noticed that the only non-European faces and voices in this article are African-American. Where are the AmerIndians, from both American continents? Where are the Hispanic voices ? Also, I take issue with the term ‘person of color.’ My skin ranges from a pale cream to a less pale creamy rose. I am AmerIndian/Dutch/English/Polish/Austrian/Russian, and I am neither colorless or transparent. Like all the creations of the Source of All Things, I have color.
I had this conversation with a white friend who is also an anti-racism activist and who expressed a similar concern regarding your color or lack of it implied by the term “People of Color” (and the fact that it is a term that specifically excludes white-identified people). The term People of Color or POC is a way of describing us according to what we ARE rather than how we differ from white people. Terms like “minorities” or “non-whites” maintains the conversation in context of People of Colors’ relationship to or difference from whiteness. Doing that maintains the illusion that white is normative.
I understand your point, but I would maintain that calling people of European descent ‘white,’ while calling everyone else ‘people of color’ specifically removes the ‘white folk’ from the rest of ‘us.’ There has to be a better way to honor both the common humanity of us all AND the uniqueness of our ancestral roots.
I had a very interesting experience once. I was with a group of Pagan folk for a Solstice celebration and, even though I am part First Nation, I was the palest person there. The priestess of the celebration, in a conversation following the celebration, asked us who identified as a ‘person of color.’ Since I am not transparent, i joined in with everyone else. I was pointedly told that I could not make that claim, as I ‘had no color.’
I was sad.
Do you have a suggestion on how to avoid producing the illusion that white is normative? I’m certainly not thinking of any.
BTW, my mother’s father was named Habib, which I think means “beloved”, and his first wife’s last name was Mubarak, which I think means “blessed”, in Arabic. Everytime I hear “Ya habibi” in a song, I think of my grandfather, and whether he would have been teased a lot for that name. YOU have a lovely name.
Yeah, hi. Latin@ is a much better term than Hispanic and my comment’s up there. Being that Trayvon Martin was a person who’s identity is African-American/black, I and MANY other nonwhite activists are trying our DAMNEDEST to ensure that AA/black voices are heard, especially above our own. We each of us, all of us, regardless of our defined ethnicity have some work to do, always, surrounding how we make space for the voices that have a dog in the race, so to speak.
But, yeah, I’m up there with all my Indigenous Mexica, Spanish, and Italian heritage.
And you can take issue with the term PoC, that’s fine. What’s not fine, is taking issue with it when some of us are working very hard to use it because it appears that to use the term nonwhite (which is the better choice) still causes more hair-raising than PoC. Besides, some of organizations (like the group I run on FB or the Hospitality Suite at Pantheacon) are plays on the term; Pagans of Color. We are out there, we are growing, and we are doing a lot of work. Join us?
Then, Latin it is! Sometimes it is difficult to know how people choose to be identified. Thank you for letting me know.
And I do understand the need to use SOME term to identify oneself and one’s ancestral heritage. I just wish that the language we use was a lot more inclusive. Am I First Nation? Yes, but not enough. Am I European-based? Yes, but not exclusively. Am I a Person of Color? Of course, in that I am not transparent. The only term I have ever been able to use, for myself and everyone else, that covers the human experience on Earth is…well…human. The People. All of US.
Guess I am old enough, at 62, to be more aware then I was at 21 of the lie of US vs/and THEM. I believe it was Martin Buber who said, and I paraphrase, that I and Thou is the proper relationship between all beings, human and not. When you treat another as a thing, I and That, you can do terrible things, for a That is not a person.
And of course I join you. There was never a separation – not really.
Ain’t nobody here but us chickens. 🙂
I self define as Wessaxon. Wessex is where I was born, where I was raised and where I live to this day. My ancestry, on the other hand, comes from lots of different places.
It is not my ancestors that define me, but myself.
Not all of the commenters were African American, as was cleared up a little bit ago. What I would like to add is that it was not meant to be a reflection of all varying sects of color, it was a reflection of some that were accessible and talking. Just like when a piece goes up staying that they are reflections of Wiccans, for example, it is not going to cover all Wiccan voices in one piece. Just a snapshot.
Porsha WIlliams wrote:
‘POC’ should not be allowed to join because of their ancestry not matching those that first worshiped the particular path.
That is so lame, and such a weak excuse, folk saying that! How many Caucasians not of African or Meso (including the Caribbean here)/South American descent are members of African Diaspora Religions? I don’t think they’re appropriating the religions/spiritualities as some Anglos have done with indigenous religions, but they do seem to be a majority, at least in California.
Geez, that’s like saying I can’t involve myself in Celtic music and dance, because as far as I know, no drop of Celtic blood appears in the ancestry of this body I inhabit, and that feeling, when I was in Scotland, that I’d come home, was not valid.
Ewan MacColl had this bug up his nose about not singing folk song not of your own culture, and that’s as lame as the statement of POC not being welcome due to ancestry.
Or that I have the right to learn raqs sharqi, because of my mother’s Lebanese ancestry, but the blondes wearing sparkly bedlahs, dancing Cabaret style should be doing that, because they don’t have the correct ancestry.
Luna Pantera, I was not taught to be tolerant, I was taught equality, and that the worth of a person had nothing to do with color, religion, occupation, gender, ethnicity, social or financial status, and you get the idea. My tiny Lebanese mother was a little dark foreign-looking girl in her youth, in an Irish Catholic school. My parents were union members, and my father served before and after the US military was integrated.
Any POC are welcome to any of the social or ritual circles I’m in, by me, if by no one else–but I’d be very disappointed in the others if that happened, and consider what I would need to do to change that.
On first meeting, all I may know is that there is a person of equal worth (to me) across from, or beside, me. Perhaps later experience shows me whether I want to be around them or not, but their humanity is present in my eyes and actions–as much as I can make that so. Sometimes I don’t succeed, but I have to keep trying, as our future depends on those discriminated-against seeing that not everyone is that stupid and afraid of The Other.
I give out a lot of smiles that go to my eyes, to random passers-by, trying to sow what I wish to reap, or attempting to be the change I want to see. It’s how I saw my parents behave, and I see no reason not to have taught that to my son. I can only teach by example–because I can be clumsy in the spoken word.
Namaste and Sawubona–and I want to hear that, and its response so that I can pronounce them correctly.
I can sympathize with the views expressed here. I have sometimes found that Paganism is sometimes viewed as a European white phenomenon and have found disinterest even resentment when articulating Paganism from an African perspective. I once posted somewhere about the African Goddess Nomkhubulwane the Queen of Heaven, and Mamlambo the Queen of the Rivers and the response was telling. I felt that this was a great loss for there is a lot that African Pagans like me can offer by way of discourse and understanding. But as a solitary Pagan/Witch I do not dispair.
There exists good scholarship around terminology, notably the work of the late and missed Isaac Bonewits. I don’t mean to assert his or any other’s definitions, but they can serve as solid starting points. There is a well-constructed description of “pagan” in “A History of Pagan Europe” by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick.
In that spirit, one of the conversations I’d like to have is with PoC discussing the question “How would you like us to do this?” While our attempts may come up short, our motivation is sincere.
My other suggestion is to volunteer to organize your local Pagan Pride Day. If that’s not practical this year (ours is already set), just show up. If someone doesn’t initiate a conversation with you, do so yourself. I certainly can’t promise how any given PPD group may respond, but I can do so for the Philadelphia event. Seek me out.