The Colours of Resistance Archive is a collection of analysis and tools for liberatory organizing and movement-building.

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Accessibility

The state of being open to meaningful participation by all people, in particular people whose participation (in this activity or in society at general) is usually limited by oppression of some kind. Accessibility in general means being free of barriers … Continue reading

Silencing

Situations in which people from dominant social groupings dominate discussions or dominate space

Institutional Violence

The use of power to cause harm (ie. violation of human rights) and to enforce structural oppression.

Systemic

Refers to systems of power maintained at the structural level of society. Something is referred to as systemic when it is deeply embedded in a given system, such that its presence may be subtle as opposed to explicit.

Privilege

Unearned social power accorded by the formal and informal institutions of society to ALL members of a dominant group (e.g. white privilege, male privilege, etc.). Privilege is usually invisible to those who have it because we’re taught not to see … Continue reading

Power Imbalance

When certain groups or individuals are privilege to unearned power, which places them in a dominant position in relation to other members of society. Involves the power over others, such that certain groups may be accorded a certain amount of … Continue reading

Oppressor, Oppressed, Oppression

An oppressor is one who uses her/his power to dominate another, or who refuses to use her/his power to challenge that domination. An oppressed is one who is dominated by an oppressor, and by those who consent with their silence. … Continue reading

An Anti-Racist

(As applied to white people), an anti-racist is a person who makes a conscious choice to act to challenge some aspect of the white supremacy system: including her/his own white privilege, as well as some form of oppression against people … Continue reading

A Non-Racist

A non-term. The term was created by whites to deny responsibility for systemic racism, to maintain an aura of innocence in the face of racial oppression, and to shift responsibility for that oppression from whites to people of color (called … Continue reading

A Racist

One who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, … Continue reading

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