On Sept. 4, a group called "Stop the Un-Fair Campaign" unveiled a billboard on Central Entrance in Duluth, designed to communicate to the community that the Un-Fair campaign is racist, with the ultimate goal of ending the campaign.
John D'Auria of Second Chance Photography took the photograph for the billboard, which features two young girls of different races, putting their hands together in a heart shape. D'Auria says he feels the image of the girls, who he learned during the shoot are best friends, conveys the idea that "kids don't see color," and so sends a positive message.
The text of the billboard, which urges viewers to "embrace, not deface" diversity and to "stop the Un-Fair campaign" could be seen as a bit more confrontational, but it doesn't seem to surprise or concern Un-Fair campaign organizers and supporters. Sheryl Boman of the Un-Fair campaign says "Anytime you discuss race in the U.S., it's going to be a difficult topic."
The Un-Fair campaign is the result of a collaborative effort by a number of Duluth area organizations and agencies such as the Community Action Program, the YWCA, and the NAACP, as well as the City of Duluth. It was rolled out to the public in January 2012, and has generated controversy with its message that "privilege can be hard to see when you're white."
The campaign has since garnered national press from both supporters and critics. Supporters embrace the notion of creating dialogue about white privilege, with the long-run goal of ending individual-, systemic- and institutional racism in the Duluth community. This goal is being pursued through a variety of means including speakers, workshops for community members, posters in participating agencies and organizations, and billboards. Though not intended as a comprehensive solution to the problem of racism in Duluth, the position of the Un-Fair campaign is that recognizing and addressing white privilege at a variety of levels, from individual interactions to policies and procedures at the institutional and systemic level, is the single most effective step that white people can take to begin to address racial disparities in our community.
ADVERTISEMENT
Critics of the campaign, supporters of the "Stop the Un-Fair Campaign" in particular, tend to challenge the notion that white privilege even exists, and allege that the Un-Fair Campaign is racist itself, complaining that it "targets whites." Supporters of "Stop the Un-Fair Campaign" take issue with the definition of racism as "behavior belonging exclusively to the dominant culture" and argue that people of color also are responsible for perpetrating racism.
It is disparities resulting in disadvantages to people of color, not the definition of the word "racism," that concerns the Un-Fair campaign and its supporters, according to Boman. Citing racial disparity in housing, education and health care in Duluth, she points out that while there is nothing wrong with celebrating diversity, doing so is insufficient to end racism or to address racial disparity in our community.
Duluth is one of the least racially diverse communities in the nation, with a population that is more than 90 percent white. While we as a community may not be able to agree on semantics, we surely can agree that not only are racial disparities a concern, but also that if we are to embrace diversity by creating an environment in which equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, truly exists, white people will need to take responsibility, individually and collectively, for that process.
The Un-Fair campaign challenges us with difficult questions. One of the primary goals of the campaign, to initiate community wide dialogue about white privilege, has been, and continues to be, realized. Duluthians concerned about addressing racism and racial inequalities in our community should continue the dialogue in an ongoing effort to identify ways we all can create a more inclusive city which offers a high quality of life to all people regardless of race.
All who are interested in exploring the concept of race and racial understandings across different time periods and from different perspectives are encouraged to visit the "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibit at the downtown Depot site of the Duluth Children's Museum. According to Boman, the exhibit runs through September 27.
Duluthian Reyna Crow has a degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin.
