Tim Wise on accountability in racial justice

Posted December 29th, 2011 by James DeWolf Perry
Category: Repair and reparations

Tim Wise has a very thoughtful statement on his web site proposing principles for being accountable to others while working on issues of race and racial justice. It’s obviously the product of considerable reflection over time, as well as engagement with many other people, and it’s well worth reading by anyone working in this field—or who simply wants to make personal progress in this area.

A handful of key passages, and a link to Tim’s full statement on his web site, are below.

This is Tim’s overarching description of what accountability means to him:

Accountability, in an antiracist context, means engaging in “the work” (whatever that work might be, from organizing to educating to providing some social service, to parenting, as just a few examples) in a way that is responsive to the needs and concerns of people of color, communities of color, and their interest in the eradication of white supremacy.

It also means being responsive to the needs and concerns of other whites with whom we may be struggling or working. In all, accountability is about openness, and about “checking in” with others whose insights on your antiracist efforts may be more incisive than your own.

Tim acknowledges that the principle of accountability inherently contains limitations:

Obviously, accountability can never be perfect. For one thing, there are many different individuals, organizations and communities of color, and they will not always agree as to the direction in which antiracist work should go, let alone how white antiracist allies should engage in the struggle. But by listening to as many different voices as possible on these matters, and by forging real relationship with individuals, organizations and communities of color, it becomes easier to know whose voices are themselves rooted in structures of accountability, and thus, especially important to heed.

Tim also suggests not allowing accountability to hold up one’s work, but instead to become a way of continually learning and improving in the course of doing that work:

Accountability should never be an excuse for inaction or paralysis — so, in other words, it is not a matter of vetting every action one takes through a committee of some sort before taking a stand or engaging in antiracist efforts — but it does mean being prepared to acknowledge when you screw up, apologize for mistakes, and commit to doing better next time.

The entire essay can be read on Tim’s web site as his “Statement of Appreciation and Accountability.”